Overwhelmed by paper and just want to make it vanish?  Paper processing is a way to be sure you are getting rid of as much extra paper as you can.  Check out these ideas!

 

Gather paper together mail, your kids’ backpacks, and other areas.

• Set up a command center with slots for action, pay, file and receipts.
• Set up baskets for your kids’ school papers to keep for a month
• Process incoming papers 5 minutes each day
• Create a weekly administrative time for one hour to process everything in your command center and file.

 

Kids papers

• Once a month review your kids papers. Keep only what is precious.
• Keep precious papers and art in a box in your kids’ closets, photo it for a photo book, or use a large portfolio to store it.

 

Annual paper review

• Each February as you prepare for taxes, gather papers for tax prep, archive financials, and shred papers.
• Group papers by year that may be of  more importance, such as medical explanation of benefits, credit card statements or kids school documents.
  

Going paperless

•  Use PaperKarma to eliminate paper
• Use Catalogchoice.com to eliminate junk mail and magazines.
• Choose a scanner to move from paper to digital.
• Include a To Be Scanned section in your command center.

 

References for what to keep

• Oprah.com ABCs of Important Papers
• Real Simple 5 Steps for Simpler Record Keeping
• Ellen’s Blog Important Papers

 

More ideas for getting rid of paper in my monthly newsletter.  Join here!