papers.
Marie Kondo’s basic principle for papers is to discard everything. This is not to be taken literally, but for most of us, papers do not spark joy, so there’s no need to give them our physical or mental space.
All papers should fall into the category of “action,” “reference,” “sentimental” (to be reviewed later) or “discard” (to be shredded or recycled).
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how to review your active papers.
When reviewing papers, first, start with your active papers—this is your incoming mail, stacks of to-dos, receipts from your wallet, etc.
Step 1. Gather all of your active papers in one place.
Step 2. Sort paper into piles by type (e.g., bank statements, credit card statements, tax-related, personal letters, handwritten notes, manuals, etc.).
Step 3. Go through each pile, opening up any envelopes and discarding the supplemental papers such as marketing or return envelopes that you will not use).
Step 4. Identify the action item associated with each piece of paper (e.g., make an appointment, or confirm account balance). If the action can be completed quickly, go ahead and do it. If it will take some more time, write the action down onto the paper itself or on a sticky note, so that you can get the to-do out of your head and come back to it later.
Step 5. If there is no action to take, ask yourself if the paper is sentimental or an important reference paper that you need to keep a physical copy of. Set aside sentimental papers to be reviewed later, and file away the reference papers.
Step 6. If neither apply, the paper can be discarded. Thank each discarded item as you let it go.
tips for active papers.
Create a “pending box” for the papers that you need to take action on, and assign yourself one day a week to check in and process the most urgent items in your pending box.
A vertical magazine file box works great for your pending box because it takes up very little space, can be easily tucked away, and is less likely to end up lost when stacks of paper get piled together.
Whenever possible, “batch” your actions together so that they can be completed at once. E.g., “Call Kaiser to check on a medical bill” and “call Kaiser to make an appointment” can be batched together because they can often be completed with one phone call. Similarly, “pay phone bill” and “pay electricity bill” can be batched together because they often involve sitting down at your computer and pulling out your credit card or finding your bank account routing number.
Place all papers associated with one batched task into a clear file folder so that they stay together and are recognizable at a glance.
Within your pending box, consider creating the following “evergreen” folders:
Inbox— This is where you can place incoming papers that you have not yet identified an action for.
To file— Collect papers to be filed here so that they can be batched later.
To shred— Collect papers to be shredded here so that they can be batched later.
If you will shred a large volume of papers at once, consider using a shredding service rather than running stacks of paper through an in-home shredder. Places like Staples and UPS have drop-boxes for shredding, and there are many local services that you can take your paper to and watch it shredded before your eyes.
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how to review your sleeping papers.
After you have addressed your active papers, move onto the “sleeping” papers—these are papers that have been filed away and untouched for a long period of time.
You can refer to my general recommendations for paper retention to determine what to keep vs. discard, but I recommend also checking with your CPA or Attorney for additional needs specific to your personal situation.
Step 1. Gather all of your sleeping papers in one place.
Step 2. Sort paper into piles by type (e.g., financial, medical, auto, home, education). If there are multiple people in your household, separate papers by person as well.
Step 3. Go through each pile and set aside anything that is an important reference paper that you need to keep a physical copy of. Refer to my guidelines, as well as additional advice from your CPA or Attorney. If you want to store files digitally, set aside a file of papers to scan and organize digitally.
Step 4. Group important reference papers by category, and opt for high-level umbrella categories such as “financial” or “medical” rather than very specific categories such as “auto loan payment” (scroll down for a list of common categories). Place each category in a folder, label the folder, and store it vertically in a file box, file cabinet, or magazine file.
Step 5. Set aside papers that are sentimental so that you can review them later. If you want to store files digitally, set papers that you will scan and organize digitally.
Step 6. Gather the papers that you will discard and thank them as you let them go.
tips for sleeping papers.
If you will shred a large volume of papers at once, consider using a shredding service rather than running stacks of paper through an in-home shredder. Places like Staples and UPS have drop-boxes for shredding, and there are many local services that you can take your paper to and watch it shredded before your eyes.
Below are some common categories for your paper filing system. Ultimately, the categories that you use will depend on what kinds of papers you have and choose to keep physical copies of. In some cases, you may prefer to break these down into more specific categories (such as “stocks,” “loans” and “banking,” rather than just “financial”), or you may combine a few categories together under one umbrella category—again, it depends on what you have and need to store.
Personal (one for each person, as a catch-all for anything that does not fit into a broader category)
Home
Auto
Assets
Financial
Taxes
Health
Insurance
Memberships
Vital Records (These can also be stored in a safe, go-bag, or off-site safety box such as a bank vault.)
Pets
Sentimental (If you are KonMari-ing your home and have not yet reviewed your sentimental items, remember that the papers you put into this folder should still be reviewed when you get to the sentimental category.)