BellaOnline Forums Home and Garden Cleaning For those of you trying to tame paper

And seriously, even if your piles have piles--just get the Filing JOYS system from this site (very inexpensive) and walk through their very short 10-page, 10-step process to taming your paper.

THERE IS NOTHING PAPER-WISE YOU COULD HAVE IN YOUR POSSESSION THAT THIS WILL NOT TAME!! (Well, except for genealogy stuff! )

No, I don't get referral credits for this. So help me, I'd be rich by now if I did. It works. There is nobody who has drowned in more paper than myself and I promise you that if you work the process and really read it and commit to doing it the right way--it totally works. I am one year paper-tamed. I can't tell you what that's like... you have to feel it for yourself!!!!

HA. I will have to take a look at your article. Paper is the bane of my cleaning existence.

I have to admit I'm hesitant about any system which involves buying things first. I handle my paper piles through regular hanging folders, which I already have I have an open file box on my table behind my desk and I file things immediately in it. Amazon receipts, grocery receipts, they all have a spot and they go in there and are all done.

All my bills auto pay, so all of that is taken care of without any action. I highly recommend that.

What are other techniques people can use that are free?

I don't think I've actually looked at a bill other than to file it in 11 years. I'm such an autopay fanatic that it occasionally backfires when rates increase and I don't catch up to it for months because I don't look at the bills--it's on autopay. (my autopay is not where they take the money--I have it set up to send the money).

The JOYS system is $35 and will use the stuff you have--just adding the methodology and the file tabs that follow the methodology. It's based on hanging files, but doesn't come with them (because they have no clue how many you'll need for your situation/papers). I'm very organized, but this is a way I never thought of this stuff. I mean seriously--I used to do business process engineering which is nothing more than finding the most efficient way of doing things, capturing info, and storing it for easy retrieval (electronically and physically). I felt dumb reading this little booklet and going "Wow".

I honestly don't know of any free "systems" per se. I looked long and hard before breaking down to buy JOYS--which is about organizing papers and filing, nothing else.

Hey, check out OrganizedHome.com You can print their templates and they are free. Though, I generally just make my own versions on Word, etc so I can change pictures, etc. It will give you a good idea.

I love organizedhome.com--especially because they can actually give you enough printables to contribute a huge portion of a home management binder (which isn't really the domain of the cleaning site. ).

The template section has nothing for organizing paper. I believe they have articles and ideas about it, though. Things like "open your mail near the garbage can so that garbage mail never hits the counter"--things like that. No insight on how to set it up so that all your papers have a place to be. But helpful, none-the-less.

Hmmm... I should do an article on all those little helpful hints. I know enough to rattle off 20 at a time.

Here's one thing I do, in terms of "organizing paper" and that is to not have as much. Like, when I was doing my Bella Online training, the lessons said to print them and save them. Well, I didn't, I went to the printer friendly version, then copied into Word and saved. I can still refer to it, if I need to, but I don't have the paper around. For things I have to print, I use both sides of the paper, though it's sort of a nuisance since I have to manually turn the pages over. I just hate all the paper around.

I printed out the printer friendly version of the ones that I thought I would refer back to and they're all in a Bella Online notebook.

I am a big fan of binders for important things, on a shelf, organized. I'm also a fan of opening mail near a recycle bin (not a trash can) so I can recycle everything. I have a bin for shredding, so things that need to be shredded go there. My filing "box" is one of those portable filing cabinet things and I leave it open by my desk. So when I get receipts and such they go right into their hanging folders.

I really do look back through those files fairly regularly for taxes, for doing rebates and other things. Both my current year and previous year filings are by my desk and get looked through regularly.