Paperwork sucks! Any suggestions for getting a home office desk decluttered?

Question

:) Also, once you get your desk space looking right... how do you keep it that way?

Answer 1

1. Buy a paper shredder
2. Buy a 2 drawer big size file cabinet with ample supply of folders and labels.
I have done this and it seems to eliminate the clutter of paper that accumalates in the home.
If you are at the point of having old bills,new bills, insurance papers,work papers and the like in shoeboxes or simply in piles,well you have to start somewhere.
It is a good idea to save utility bills if you own a home for at least a year,just save the bill amount and write the check number to correspond the payment on the bill ..down to one single piece of paper and file it.
Organize your file cabinet according to all your utilities,insurance ,work papers etc.
If you have court papers(I did) until I bought a shredder and did not need them anymore. Paper shred anything you get in the mail with your name on it and address to prevent identity theft from prowling hands in garbage dumpster.
Even if it is junk mail,especially credit card offers...someone can fill those out with your name on it and your credit will be ruined for a long long time.
Evenutually you will find that the paper will diminish in your life if you keep it up . If you work everyday like I do,then attempt to set one day aside to go through all your accumalated paper work to go through and shred things immediately that you don't want that come through the mail with your name on it..that is junk.
I bought an Aurora paper shredder with a credit card shredder also attached to the top of the unit..which makes the paper into confetti.
It is amazing how many things you might have that is just garbage and junk that "you didn't want to throw out".
Arrange things in piles while going through all your paper work to start off to start to get yourself organized .
Then once you have your file cabinet arranged..simply file the piles into the folders and swish them away in your file cabinet.
Hope this helps...It helped me..and I elimiated tons and tons of boxes of paperwork that I had accumated throughout the years.
I also bought a divider that I keep on top of my desk for "current" things that I know that I need to grab hold of and pay such as "current bills" and monthly items that need attending to in timely manners.
This way they won't get lost...Once you start getting into the habit of doint this it will be second nature and no more paper clutter.

Answer 2

Get a scanner and Adobe Acrobat software. Scan your paperwork and file/sort it on your computer in a way that it would be easist for you to find, perhaps by year, and then month. Once you get the bulk of this work done with exisiting documents, future documents will be a lot less time-consuming to organize.

For remaining paperwork, it usually looks neater to have few vertical stacks on your desk instead of a lot of small stacks.

There are also racks you can by at an office supply store that will keep papers in tidy piles.

Answer 3

I have the exact same two problems, getting rid of clutter on my home desk and once it is gone h ow to keep it gone.

If you find out before I do would you send me the one you selected as the best answer.

I have a shredder near my desk and use it, I have a large black garbage bag in front of the desk, yet the desk is still full and cluttered with stuff.

I Have tried putting the paper work in binders and labeling the binders, Now I have about 9-10 binders labeled and still a desk full of crap

I hope this has been of some use to you, good luck.

"FIGHT ON"

Answer 4

If you need the information that's on the paper, you can always scan them with a scanner. You'll have them in your computer instead of your desk.

You can purchase a scanner for under $100. I've provided a price comparison website below that shows you who's selling scanners at the lowest price.

Answer 5

Take all the junk, set it in a bin, and set it ablaaaaaaze! :)

As tempting as that is, best thing to do is come up with an organized system for dealing with the mess...an in-box, maybe, a pending box...evaluate the type of stuff you have going on and determine what you might need from there.

Answer 6

Buy the book Organizing from the Inside Out by Julie Morgenstern (or get it from the library)
It saved my life...or at least my sanity!