Suzanne Kuhn ponders the issues, both practical and philosophical, that surface as she and her clients surf the tidal wave of paper in the "paperless society."
My mother-in-law passed away on Saturday, March 29, somewhere between 5:30 and 8:00 AM. She experienced excruciating pain in her back. She struggled with nausea that wouldn't resolve. She tried to manage the pain with a couple of stiff drinks. She made peace with her Maker.
How do I know these things about my mother-in-law's final hours? Not because I was there. Not because she told me. Not because someone else recounted what they had seen or heard of Mom's final moments. Because, as an aortal aneurysm slowly ruptured and took her life with it, my mother-in-lawsat in her chair andtook notes in neat, careful printing about what she was experiencing. The police...
Just for fun, this morning I googled "paper organizing" and "blog + paper organizing." Then I threw into the mix a couple of web sites I already like for having good content about this paper wave we're surfing. The result is a list of seven web sites you may not have seen with useful insights on paper management.
Record Retention Guidelines
Although it's always good to check with your tax advisor if you're uncertain, this list provides a good place to start when you're asking the question "Is it safe to throw this paper away?"
http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/bank/19990714a.aspGetting Things...
You're joining us in the midst of a discussion of document files, one of the three super-categories found in most home file systems. Document files detail the events, major and routine, in the life of your household. They include such categories as certificates for major life events, home and car purchase paperwork, banking and investment materials, and documents related to your health, education and employment. To provide an illustrative example, last week I shared the contents of my household's first of two document file drawers, which contains the files for our most heavily trafficked categories: taxes, credit card statements and receipts, manuals and warranties, and education.
This week,...
Back in November, I wrote about documentation files, one three broad groups of files found in most people's homes and offices. Documentation files, as their name suggests, document something: the events, major and routine, in your personal life or your business operations. I listed common categories for personal documentation, including certificates for major life events, home and car purchase paperwork, banking and investment materials, and documents related to your health, education and employment.
If a picture is worth a thousand words, then an illustrative example may be worth almost that much. With this in mind, let me share with you what can be found in my family's documentation files. Our...
Back in December, I wrote about active files, describing them as the most needed yet most overlooked area of filing. Because active files are composed of items you are using regularly now, they need to be kept very close to where you work most often, i.e., right on your desktop or regular work surface.
On my desktop, I have five active files, each housed in a durable, colored vinyl two-pocket folder. My To Do file is blue. Right now, it contains:
· A list of people I need to contact in connection with a charity I'm involved in.
· Three flyers for activities I think my widowed dad, who lives with us, might enjoy at some undefined point in the...
In my ongoing quest to manage paper for myself and my clients, I have come to rely on half a dozen tried-and-true products. I list them here in no particular order:
1. Removable file folder labels. These use the same adhesive as "sticky notes." They save headaches when you're setting up a long-term file system, because you can move them from one folder to another. (Ever think you had your alphabetical files sequenced correctly, and then found you had missed one?) I use a brand that contains labels in plain white plus labels bordered in red, blue, yellow and green. The colors are useful for identifying file categories that belong together, e.g., recipes, tax...
Over the past couple of weeks, I've been revisiting my routines—those things I do regularly to keep my household and my life running smoothly. Gradually, I had noticed that things were unraveling--The laundry never seemed to be finished, family members were complaining about the cupboards being bare, and I made several panicked online bill payments on their due dates.
Then it came me: My life has changed markedly over the past five years.--I've gone from full-time mother of three to part-time office worker, opened my organizing business and taken on the care of my widowed father. My routines, although they have changed somewhat, have not kept pace. I decided it's time to stop...
My absolute favorite book on paper management is Pat Dorff's File, Don't Pile. (Available through this site.) In it, she invites us to ask eleven critical questions about each piece of paper we're tempted to save:
1. Do I WANT it?
2. Do I NEED it?
3. Will it ADD SOMETHING NEW?
4. Is it SIGNIFICANT FOR MY PURPOSES?
5. Do I FORESEE A USE for it?
6. Is it TIMELY?
7. Is it QUALITY?
8. Is it ACCURATE and RELIABLE?
9. Is the AUTHOR AN AUTHORITY on the subject?
10. Is it EASY TO UNDERSTAND?
11. Can I OBTAIN IT ELSEWHERE?
Although Pat wrote her classic in the early 1980s before the proliferation of personal computers and the internet, her questions about paper apply equally well to spreadsheets and word documents,...
I just read "Feng Shui in the Workplace" in Maria Gracia's book, Finally Organized, Finally Free for the Office. (It's available through this site.) In the book, she makes an intriguing observation: "Treat your files with respect. Your file folders represent your past, present and future business. Be sure your files reflect your business goals. This means they shouldn't be ratty or torn. It also means they should be organized." (P. 174.) It's an easy leap to rephrase this idea to apply to paper in general: Treat all your papers with respect. They represent your past, present and future. Be sure your files reflect your goals.
Let's jam on this...
I have a new laptop! It's a Dell Inspiron 1525 running Windows Vista Home Premium. It has a 2 G Intel Core Duo processor, a 160 G hard drive, a CD burner with DVD reader, wireless and Bluetooth capability. Equally important is what it does not have—a webcam, a DVD writer, a fingerprint reader or a specialized graphics card for gaming. After shopping the local computer emporiums and finding that their in-stock models mostly came equipped with these features I knew I wouldn't need, I custom-ordered it from Dell to get exactly what I wanted. Even while customizing my order, I was saying no to things I didn't want, particularly trials of software I knew I wouldn't use. I have equipped the...
Suzanne Kuhn is the owner of ACE ORGANIZING, offering affordable, customized, energizing organizing solutions to homes, schools and small businesses in the five-county Philadelphia area and central New Jersey. Although an organizing generalist, (she'll organize anything!) Suzanne has a growing specialty in paper and electronic filing systems and financial organizing. To receive her FREE booklet, 50 TOP TIME MANAGAGEMENT TIPS, email her at aceorganizing@verizon.net
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