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How to preserve photographs worth keeping in three simple steps

Today’s post is written by Sally Jacobs, the Practical Archivist. She has worked on archival collections at the Library of Congress Prints and Photos Division, the Wisconsin Historical Society Archives and American Girl. Thank you, Sally, for agreeing to share your amazing, in-depth knowledge of archival procedures with us.

Before I start talking about preserving heirloom photographs so they last as long as possible, I want to state the obvious: Every photograph in your collection is not an heirloom. In fact, some (most?) of them are photo clutter. If you’re in the process of sorting through your pictures to determine which ones are keepers and which ones aren’t, I recommend checking out the YouTube video I made to help free people from the myth that every print is a treasure. Now, on with the discussion of what to do with the pictures you want to keep …

Ancestor photos are less likely be photo clutter in your home, in part because they are more scarce then modern snapshots. Photography used to be much more expensive than it is today, which means Great Aunt Estelle didn’t have many throwaway shots. Perhaps your collection only includes one portrait of Great Great Uncle Milton — as a soldier or in his wedding suit — but even if it’s just one, you probably want to treat it well. (If you don’t want to keep the old ones, consider passing them along to a genealogist or DeadFred.com.) In addition to these older photographs, you may also have a handful of newer portraits you want to preserve, and this is the best way to keep all of them safe:

Three Simple Things You Can Do to Extend the Life of Your Heirloom Photographs

1. Handle your photos carefully and safely.

Ever wonder why archivists wear white gloves? I use mine so often I wash them and store them in my underwear drawer. Human hands contain oils and salts that can damage photographs, and cotton gloves are an easy barrier to protect photographs. If you’ve seen as many 19th century photos as I have, you’d never forget that a fingerprint that’s invisible today will eventually become an impossible-to-ignore brown stain in the future. White cotton gloves are a simple and inexpensive solution. You can buy them online from suppliers like Uline.com.

If you truly can’t stand to wear gloves while you work on your photographs, I have an alternate suggestion. Wash your hands with soap before you start working, and be sure to wash them again after you take any break. Also, don’t put on hand lotion until you’re finished working with your photos for the day. Other than that, be careful where you place your fingers and try to hold prints by the edges only.

2. Store them in the right spot.

I’ll skip the long boring lecture about temperature and relative humidity and cut to the chase. Like Goldilocks, you want a spot that’s not too hot, not too cold, not too wet, and not too dry. High temperatures speed up the chemical processes that cause damage. Here’s a sobering thought: The rate of decay doubles with each increase of 18ºF. Doubles! High humidity like you find in basements and attics encourages mold and mildew, which can permanently stain and destroy photographs. Fluctuating humidity can cause the photos to crack because the paper backing and the emulsion absorb moisture at different rates. Basements and attics are also at high risk for flooding, and we all know flooding is bad news for any kind of treasure.

So, what’s the right spot? An interior closet in a house that’s cooled in summer and heated in winter is a safe bet. Guest bedrooms and linen closets under stairs work for many of my clients. Under the bed can be a great location, as long as you aren’t putting your photo treasures next to a heating vent.

3. Choose high quality boxes for a longer life

Controlling temperature and humidity levels to a specific zone can be difficult and expensive to accomplish. Fortunately, you can offset what’s going on in a room by putting your photo treasures in archival boxes. This creates a micro-environment that offers protection from UV light damage, dust, and discourages pests. You can even use silica gel to remove excess moisture from the “micro-environment” of your box. Boxing up anything that is loose also protects your photos from folding, crimping, and collecting scratches that happen when a corner of one photo nicks off emulsion from a nearby print.

When I say better boxes, do I mean archival boxes? Well, yes and no…

Yes, in the sense that you want to use the kind of boxes used by professional archivists. But, also no, because the term archival is unregulated and therefore meaningless. Finding a product sold as archival tells you very little about whether it’s a safe environment for your photo treasures. You probably know already that acids will damage paper and photographs. However, a true archival box is both acid free and lignin free. Lignins are a by-product of the paper-making process, and if they aren’t removed they will cause the paper to become acidic over time, even if it’s acid free today.

When it comes to storing photographic prints and film (as opposed to letters and printed material) there is another factor you should consider for your storage materials. The safest boxes for storing photographs have passed the Photographic Activity Test, or PAT. This test is an independent third party test that uses accelerated aging to discover whether the box or envelope will interact with the photographs in any way. You can read more about the PAT in “What Archival Really Means,” an article/rant on my personal blog.

Where can you find PAT-passed materials? Probably not at your neighborhood stationery store or scrapbooking supplier. You can find boxes, envelopes and folders that have passed the PAT in a dizzying array of sizes from archival suppliers such as Gaylord.com, HollingerMetalEdge.com and TalasOnline.com. I also sell an entire kit on my website, if you don’t want to track down individual pieces. (Note from Erin: It’s a nice kit, it’s actually why I asked Sally if she wanted to write a guest post for us. I saw it and thought, “I could really use that.”) If you do right by your photographs, they’ll be around for future generations to enjoy.

And, since this week is Thanksgiving in the U.S., I recommend bringing along copies of your old photos to family gatherings — you can ask relatives to help you identify any unknown people and also enjoy looking at the images.

Posted by Sally on Nov 22, 2011 | 18 Comments | Tweet This

Have vacation brain at work? Try some of these mindless, but productive activities

It’s the Monday before Thanksgiving in the U.S. and if you’re at work, it’s very likely your brain isn’t. Oh look, Sharon from accounting brought in doughnuts! I really should talk about the game/movie I saw this weekend with ALL my coworkers! Now is a great time to make my holiday wish list! Shiny!

On a philosophical level, your employer is paying you to do a job, so you probably should be doing something work related. If you don’t have it in you to focus on creating a viable work product right now, consider doing a little mindless work that supports your work functions:

File. Put on headphones (if they are acceptable in your workplace), and start putting papers away where they belong. If all your papers are filed, review your files to make sure you’re not keeping any information that doesn’t need to be archived. Organize your papers so that they help you do your job.
Review your bulletin board. How recent are all those items hanging on the walls of your cubicle or bulletin board? Can you easily see all of the most vital information? Is the calendar from two years ago? Is there anything that can come down or be replaced?
Clean your phone and work surface. When was the last time you scrubbed either? The dust bunnies behind your monitor aren’t going to clean themselves.
Enter information off business cards. If you’ve recently acquired business cards from important contacts, enter the data into your address book.
Backup your computer. If it’s not done automatically, now is a great time to backup the information off your computer’s hard drive. Be sure to follow your employer’s system for doing this task.
Unclutter your bookshelves. Do you have any out-dated manuals or irrelevant reading materials taking up space on your bookshelves? Now is a great time to recycle, shred, or remove these items from your office.
Equipment check. Are you using all of your equipment in your office? Is it in its best possible shape? Could you benefit more by knowing how to better operate the equipment you do have? Make a request to have the item serviced or take the time to read the operator’s manual or get rid of anything you don’t use.
Restock. Do you need more tape, more pens, more notepads, or any more office supplies? Go “shopping” in the supply closet if you do.

Mindless work often gets a bad reputation as “not working,” but the reality is that you need some down time to let your brain process all that mindful work you are usually doing. Researchers at the University of California, Davis, found that “alternating between mindful work (work that requires intense thought and focus) and mindless work (routine activities that require very little processing power) enhances your efficiency and creativity.” In the end, a little mindless work might actually help you do a better job at producing your mindful work — I call that a win-win.

Posted by Erin on Nov 21, 2011 | 15 Comments | Tweet This

Functioning in a printer-less office

Since moving offices more than four months ago, I haven’t yet plugged in my computer’s printer. I keep thinking I’m going to have a reason to use it, but so far that hasn’t been the case. I’ve told myself that if I don’t plug it in by September — the six month mark — I’m going to give the printer to charity.

Living without a printer has become significantly easier in the past couple years. I save important files as PDFs, I attach digital signatures instead of physically signing papers, and I clip articles I want to read to Evernote or InstaPaper instead of printing a copy. And, apparently, I’m not alone in my quest to kick the printing habit.

The New York Times recently addressed this topic and alternatives to printing in the article “Dump Your Printer to Escape the Madness.” Columnist Sam Grobart gives five tips for how to let go of your dependence on a printer, this being his third:

One of the main reasons many people own a printer is because we still live in a world where a scribble of ink on a piece of paper, also known as a signature, is required for many documents. It remains an infuriating process: You have to print the document out to sign it, then mail it or scan it and either fax or e-mail it back to the sender.

An online service, Hello Fax (hellofax.com), keeps a digital image of your signature on file, which you can then position and resize onto any document you upload to the service. Once the document is “signed,” you can e-mail it or send it to a fax machine from your PC. The service can also, for a fee, provide you with a fax number. Incoming faxes can then be viewed — and signed — onscreen.

Even if I plug in my printer before September, I still might get rid of it. I’m fantasizing about what I’ll do with the extra storage space in my office, the money I’ll save, and the frustrations I won’t have when it doesn’t get all buggy or run out of ink or have a paper jam. True simplicity may be found in a printerless office.

Posted by Erin on Jul 21, 2011 | 68 Comments | Tweet This

Ask Unclutterer: Dreaded filing

Reader C submitted the following to Ask Unclutterer:

My husband and I have a problem — while we’ve managed to declutter our little apartment to a state that makes us both happy, we both *hate* filing papers. It’s the one task that never seems to get done because we both avoid it, hoping the other person will break down and do it. Once papers make it into the filing cabinet they’re fairly well organized, but there always seems to be a heaping pile of envelopes and documents sitting on top of it. Do you have any advice for how to overcome this reluctance to deal with our filing?

I dislike filing, too. I wonder if there is someone out there who enjoys it. Anyone?

Because filing is such a dreaded task for many people, I recommend making the chore as much of a routine as possible so you don’t ever think about it. This either means doing it every day as a regular part of your mail processing routine (open mail, process it, file important documents, be done with it) or doing it once a week at a scheduled time (Saturday mornings after your cup of coffee). And, when I suggest scheduling it, I literally mean putting it on your calendar at a specific time.

If you go with the once a week system, get a decorative box with a lid that is only a few inches deep to set on top of your filing cabinet. The box can be the depository for the papers that need to be filed until your regularly scheduled filing time. Also, if you use a shallow box as recommended, your filing can’t ever get out of control because not much paper can fit inside of it.

Be sure to check out our Paper Clutter Begone, part 4 to make sure you’re not filing papers you don’t need to keep. I didn’t get the impression you were from your question, but a nice review of what to keep isn’t a bad idea for any of us.

When at work, I’ve found it’s convenient to file whenever I’m on a conference call that doesn’t require my active participation. Also, if I’m trying to solve a problem, I’ll file to give my brain some down time. Researchers have found that alternating between mindless work (like filing) and mindful work increases your overall productivity. If you’re trying to solve a problem at home, maybe sneak in a few minutes of filing even if it isn’t your regularly scheduled filing time.

Thank you, C, for submitting your question for our Ask Unclutterer column.

Do you have a question relating to organizing, cleaning, home and office projects, productivity, or any problems you think the Unclutterer team could help you solve? To submit your questions to Ask Unclutterer, go to our contact page and type your question in the content field. Please list the subject of your e-mail as “Ask Unclutterer.” If you feel comfortable sharing images of the spaces that trouble you, let us know about them. The more information we have about your specific issue, the better.

Posted by Erin on May 27, 2011 | 37 Comments | Tweet This

Ask Unclutterer: Is Google Docs safe for backing up confidential information?

Reader OB submitted the following to Ask Unclutterer:

I am in the process of scanning all of our tax returns older than seven years and am considering storing them on Google Documents. Do you consider that safe, since they contain a lot of confidential information? Thanks for your opinion.

To answer your question, I contacted Timothy B. Lee who is a computer science researcher at Princeton University. Here’s what he told me:

It really depends on the user’s tolerance for risk and what her other options are. If you place confidential information on Google Docs, the risks include: Google being compromised by hackers, Google itself using the documents for nefarious purposes, your account being compromised, governments or other third parties requesting and obtaining access to the documents, and Google losing your information. None of these outcomes are very likely, but they’re all risks to keep in mind.

Personally, I wouldn’t put confidential information on Google Docs because I keep regular backups of the data on my hard drive and I’m vigilant about the security of my machines. If you run a business or are in a profession where you regularly handle confidential data, you have an obligation to do the same in order to safeguard your customers’ confidential data. But I know that, in practice, ordinary users don’t always follow these best practices. For those users, there may be a larger risk of losing information in a personal hard-drive crash or malware infection than having something bad happen to data in Google Docs. So trusting Google Docs may be a rational, calculated risk.

If you do decide to put confidential information in Google Docs, you should strongly consider signing up for 2-step authentication. This is a free service that greatly improves the security of your Google account. It won’t protect you from all the threats I listed above, but it will at least protect you in case a malicious party gets your password.

Thank you, OB, for submitting your question for our Ask Unclutterer column. I hope Timothy’s information helps you come to a solution that is best for you.

Posted by Erin on May 6, 2011 | 21 Comments | Tweet This

Mail sorting solutions

Mail has been a huge problem for us since we moved. One of the reasons we have a problem is because part of our system for processing mail is in one house, and the other part is in the new house. For a month and a half, I have found mail on the kitchen table, the kitchen counter, my desk chair, on top of the washing machine, and in the car (and, as much as I would like to blame my husband for this, I’m primarily the one responsible). It’s amazing how when there isn’t a set system for processing mail, it ends up everywhere except for where it is supposed to be deposited.

The other component to our problem is that we don’t have a good place to hide our paper shredder, recycling bin, and trash can in the new place (the tools we use to get rid of junk mail). The foyer doesn’t have wall space, so hiding these items by the front door is impossible. All the mail, including junk mail, has to come inside the house. This bothers me. And, instead of looking for a solution, I’ve been ignoring the problem hoping it will magically go away.

Obviously, the problem won’t magically go away.

The first goal was to put a sorting system in place so the mail has a place to go immediately upon entering the house. I had a sample of Peter Walsh’s “Inspired Message Board” system that is part of his You.Organized line for OfficeMax. Peter (or likely his publicist) gave it to me when the line was released, and I had been using the calendar in the other house but not the mail sorting components. Adding in some of the components, I created this to hang on a wall near the entrance to the office:

The second solution is to get a closed storage bin to hide the shredder, recycling bin, and trash can in the office. The bench will live immediately below the mail sorting system. Our current shredder is 18″ tall, so we need a storage bench capable of accommodating it. I’m thinking this is what we’ll use:

The toy chest is the right height and has a thin panel in the back that will be easy to drill through to make a place for the shredder’s power cord. The bench will also work well with a child safety latch, to prevent our toddler and cat from having an accident with the shredder. I don’t love this bench, but I have yet to find something I like more. I’ve made a deal with myself that if I don’t find an alternative by the week’s end, I’ll order the toy chest.

Having a set sorting and processing station will keep junk mail from over-running the house and will make sure everyone in the house finds his mail when he needs it. I’m ready to have mail in just one location and not strewn about the house and car.

What physical system do you have in place to sort mail in your home? Share your solutions in the comments.

Posted by Erin on Apr 19, 2011 | 47 Comments | Tweet This

Creating a home paper management system

Reader Steve sent us a great solution for keeping mail off his family’s kitchen counter tops and dining table:

Our problem was that every piece of mail, receipt, kids artwork, etc. lands in our kitchen and ends up in endless piles. With everything from tax forms to our 4-year old’s “masterpieces” piled together, we never know where anything is. Since our home office is upstairs in our home, nothing ever seems to make its way there. As a result, I used six mini “Command” removable hooks and six 10″ x 13″ mailing envelopes to create a paperwork organization wall on the inside of a coat closet door, adjacent to our kitchen. I labeled the envelopes for “Bills,” “My paperwork,” “My wife’s paperwork,” “HSA receipts,” “Worthwhile Coupons,” and “SHRED.”

This new system allows my wife and I to easily sort paperwork into its appropriate place and then hide it away by simply closing the door. We can then grab the folders, as necessary, on our way to the office, the store, or the shredder, and bring them back when we are done.

I think this is a wonderful solution that could work for many busy people and families. If you’re someone who might take an envelope up to the office and then forget to immediately return it to the door, you could easily hang two additional empty folders on each hook. Instead of using envelopes, you could also use large binder clips.

Thanks, Steve, for sharing your terrific solution with us.

Posted by Erin on Jan 18, 2011 | 34 Comments | Tweet This

We’re celebrating our fourth birthday by giving away three S1100 Fujitsu ScanSnaps

Today is Unclutterer’s fourth birthday! As part of the celebration, Fujitsu has generously provided three of their new, ultra-portable, S1100 ScanSnap scanners for us to give away to three lucky Unclutterer Twitter followers.

We’ve teamed up with Fujitsu to help our readers cut back on paper waste, digitize clutter, better organize work/home offices, and celebrate our big four. We will give away three ScanSnap S1100 scanners next Tuesday, January 11, 2011, at 10:00 a.m. EST.

How to enter to win: Entering to win is simple. All you need to do is follow us on Twitter. If you aren’t already on Twitter, create an account and then follow us @Unclutterer.

We will randomly select three winners from our Twitter followers. You only need to follow us once (and please, only once), to participate in the giveaway. If you already follow us on Twitter, then you are already participating and need not do anything more. Winners of the giveaway will have 24 hours to respond to a direct message from @Unclutterer to claim their new scanner. Failure to respond within 24 hours will disqualify you from the giveaway.

While you’re following @Unclutterer, consider also following Fujitsu @ScanSnapIT for scanning tips and news. I know that some of you aren’t interested in social media and will complain about having to sign up for Twitter to participate in the giveaway — however, this is the easiest way for us to manage the giveaway and it ensures that many of our readers are already entered to win with no additional effort on their part. Also, if you’re an avid Wired magazine reader, you know that social networking sites can help increase worker productivity if used efficiently. If you still wish to complain, well, please don’t because you can always cancel your account after the contest has ended. This is simply the easiest way for us to conduct the giveaway.

I am so exited about this birthday event and cannot wait to give away three Fujitsu ScanSnap S1100 scanners. Remember, you have until 10:00 a.m. EST on Tuesday, January 11, to follow us on Twitter for the scanner giveaway. Good luck, and again a special thanks to Fujitsu for their amazing generosity!

Posted by Erin on Jan 6, 2011 | 28 Comments | Tweet This

The Fujitsu ScanSnap S1100: An ultra-portable paper clutter reducer

Yesterday at CES, Fujitsu released its latest model in its ScanSnap scanner series. The S1100 is a mobile color scanner, smaller than my shoe:

ScanSnap sent me a model to test a couple weeks ago, and I think it’s a great little machine. (It’s weird how I drool over scanners and their paper clutter-reduction powers … I may have a problem … ) It works with the same dependability and quality as other ScanSnap products.

It took me about four minutes to install the software, and I was able to use the scanner instantly after that. The software works with both PC and Mac.

My only complaint is that it doesn’t scan both sides of the paper you feed into it. However, since I have a desktop scanner that does duplex, it’s not such a big deal to me. This device is really built for lugging around in your briefcase or suitcase, so its compact size and convenience outweigh the lack of duplex scanning. If you attend a lot of conferences, you want a small scanner like this that weighs next-to-nothing (my home scale said it weighed half a pound) and quickly processes all the paper you collect. You could easily leave an event without a single piece of paper cluttering up your travel bag.

When ScanSnap contacted me to see if I might want to review one of the S1100 models, I asked if they might be interested in giving away a few units to our readers in celebration of Unclutterer’s fourth birthday (assuming I liked the unit). They were generously game (the units are currently retailing for $199 a piece), and later today we’ll provide details about the giveaway. Stay tuned if you’re interested in winning one for yourself. I think a lot of Unclutterer readers could use an ultra-portable scanner like this.

Posted by Erin on Jan 6, 2011 | 26 Comments | Tweet This

Never forget to send a card with Jack Cards

With holiday card sending season on the horizon, my husband and I have been trying to decide what we want to send this year. While researching our options, I learned about the website Jack Cards, which is an incredibly helpful service for busy people. It’s more than a holiday card sending service, it’s a service to use throughout the year to remove the stress of buying cards and stamps. An explanation of their service from the website:

Jack Cards is designed for busy people who value sending a handwritten birthday, anniversary or ‘miss you’ card but find it hard to get to a card shop or post office on time.

Based in San Francisco, California, Jack Cards uniquely focuses on delivering pre-scheduled ready-to-go (stamped and addressed) greeting cards to the sender just in time to write their own personal message inside and drop it in the mailbox.

Registration for the service is free, but you pay for the price of the card, shipping the card to you, and postage to the card recipient (domestic and international postage are both available). They have bulk discounts when you buy 5 or more of the same card, which you might do for the holidays. Jack Cards has a very strict privacy policy, so none of the information you give to them will ever be sold and is stored safely. The hardest part of the process is setting up your “My Planner” section, which involves answering questions about the type of cards you wish to send and providing contact information. Setting up the “My Planner” section, however, takes much less time than heading to the store to buy cards and stamps numerous times a year. How involved you want Jack Cards to be in the process is your decision — they can pick out cards or you can do it, they can write a message or you can, they can address the envelope or you can, they can mail the card or you can.

For busy people who like the art of sending handwritten cards, Jack Cards is a terrific service. If having someone else involved in the process isn’t for you, check out “Birthday cards and reminder systems” for tips on how to get cards out the door on time.

(Pictured card by Bumble Ink, available through Jack Cards.)

Posted by Erin on Nov 18, 2010 | 49 Comments | Tweet This

Wrap it up in silver

One of the things I discovered during my uncluttering process is that silver wrapping paper works for every gift-giving occasion — weddings, anniversaries, birthdays, baby showers, housewarming, etc. — and when you only have a few tubes of wrapping paper to store, it takes up very little space in a closet. A simple wrapping storage solution can easily handle all of our paper and supplies.

Before using silver paper, I’d been trying to use brown butcher paper for all my wrapping. However, I felt the brown paper was too casual for some occasions, like weddings and anniversaries. I ended up buying small batches of wrapping paper whenever a more formal gift-giving experience arose. The same was true for using fabric bags, and fabric puts a storage burden on the person receiving the gift. I also like the idea of reusable gift bags, but these only work on gifts that coordinate in size to the bags, so you have to store multiple sizes of bags for all different types of situations. Plus, reusable gift bags can be significantly more expensive than wrapping paper and after a couple uses start to show signs of wear. Silver wrapping paper doesn’t have any of these disadvantages — it’s inexpensive, always appropriate, fits all different sizes of gifts, can be recycled, and it doesn’t put a storage burden on the gift recipient or the gift giver.

Silver wrapping paper is in stores in abundance this time of year, and is when I typically stock up my wrapping supplies for the next 12 months. (For some reason, silver paper is much more difficult to find at other times of the year.) Before children, my husband and I could usually survive on two tubes of silver wrapping paper a year. Now that we have a son, we’ve decided to pump that number up to four.

The best deal we’ve found this year is at Ikea. Their SNÖVITA gift wrap (available only in stores) is just $1.99 a roll for 2 ¼ yards:

If you can’t find silver wrapping in your area, a white or a gold wrapping paper might also be a signature wrapping that could work in all situations the way silver does. Whatever style you decide to use, consider a method that will help to keep your wrapping paper clutter to a minimum in your home.

Posted by Erin on Nov 15, 2010 | 51 Comments | Tweet This

Ask Unclutterer: In-home safe or safety deposit box?

Reader Dawn submitted the following to Ask Unclutterer:

Do you have any thoughts on whether it’s best to have a safety deposit box vs. an at-home fire/water-proof safe?

We have a fire/water-proof safe mounted to the floor in our master bedroom closet that stores all of our super important documents, as well as some valuables. Maybe that’s not the best idea? Do you have any thoughts about which would be best for safety purposes? It is so convenient (and obviously cheaper) long-term to have these items stored at home, but maybe a financial institution safety deposit box is smarter storage.

There are positive and negative aspects of both options. Ultimately, it comes down to what works best for your family.

A safety deposit box at a bank is nice because it’s 1. fireproof, 2. waterproof, 3. not in your home (in case someone breaks in or a disaster destroys your home), 4. under tight security, and 5. its contents are legally protected in the case of death.

On the other hand, a safety deposit box isn’t all that great because 1. the bank isn’t open 24 hrs a day or on Sundays, 2. it’s easy to lose the key to it, 3. your bank is probably in the same part of the country you are (a natural disaster that wipes out your home likely would destroy the bank, too), 4. there is an annual fee, and 5. since the contents are legally protected, in case of death, typically your estate has to close before the executor of your estate can access the box.

An in-home safe is nice because it’s 1. locked, 2. easily accessible, 24 hours a day seven days a week, 3. when mounted to the floor a burglar can’t easily run off with it, and 4. it’s a one-time expense.

An in-home safe isn’t all that great because 1. based on its fire rating, what is stored inside of it isn’t protected from heat damage for very long, especially digital items, 2. almost all at-home safes are only water resistant, not waterproof, so a fire hose putting out a house fire can still damage the contents, 3. it’s contents are not protected in case of death (which could be either a pro or con), 4. if a natural disaster destroys your home your stuff is gone.

For more information on in-home safes, check out our article “Fireproof storage, part two” from 2007.

We use both an in-home safe and a safety deposit box. Our home safe stores things we might need access to in an emergency (mostly documents, like our Wills), and our safety deposit box stores hard drives and a few small items we would never need on a moment’s notice (like negatives of our wedding photographs, since we were married in ye olden days). Our home safe is only water resistant and not certified to protect digital data, which is why the safety deposit box is something we need.

I also recommend scanning all documents and photographing the valuable items you keep in either location, encrypting these files, and placing a copy securely online. Services like Carbonite and Backblaze are fine for this. Having a copy online is nice if your home or bank are ever destroyed in a disaster (assuming the online data storage facility is in a different part of the country), so you can at least report to an insurance company what was lost and be able to see what items you’ll need to replace.

Thank you, Dawn, for submitting your question for our Ask Unclutterer column. I hope my response was able to help you. Check the comments for more suggestions.

Posted by Erin on Oct 29, 2010 | 29 Comments | Tweet This

A place for everything, and everything in its place

Without getting up from your chair, do you know exactly where:

your keys are?
your 2009 tax documents are?
your car’s registration is? (If you own a car.)
your winter gloves are?
your social security card is?
your flashlight is?
your phone charger is?

How did you do? Were you able to answer at least five of the questions exactly? All seven? One?

Except for your keys and maybe your phone charger, you’re probably okay with not knowing exactly where the other items on this list are currently located. However, wouldn’t it be nice to not have to waste time hunting for these items the next time you need them?

What do you need to do to find a place for all your possessions and have everything in its place? Do you need to file your important papers? Switch out your winter and summer clothes? Set up a reception station in your home with a place to store your keys each evening and charge your phone? Clean out your bedside table and make a storage place for a flashlight?

If you know where all seven items on the list are located, is there anything in your home that doesn’t have a permanent home that should? What items are constantly out of place in your home and might need a new permanent place to live?

Posted by Erin on Oct 26, 2010 | 42 Comments | Tweet This

Organize your writing, J.K. Rowling style

The website /Film reported on Friday about author J.K. Rowling’s method for organizing her books. Using pen, notebook paper, and a simple grid, she plotted out the direction of her stories. Pictured here is the chart for chapters 13-24 of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix:

(Note: /Film includes a larger version on their site for detailed reading.)

The grid outlines the chapter, month, chapter title, explanation of how that chapter relates to the over-arching plot of the book, and then columns for each of the book’s six subplots (prophecies, Harry’s romantic interests, Dumbledore’s Army, Order of the Phoenix, Snape and crew, and Hagrid and Grawp). Like the /Film post’s author, I believe that Rowling likely used more organizing tools in her story preparation. However, I think it’s wonderful to see how an author planned out her story before writing it.

When constructing memos, documents, short stories, novels, or whatever it is you’re writing, do you map out where you’re going and all that you want to include? Could adopting a method like Rowling’s help you to be a better organized writer? I’m certainly taking a few tips from her method and applying it to my own work. I’m thoroughly impressed.

Posted by Erin on Oct 12, 2010 | 22 Comments | Tweet This

Creating a mail center in your home

One of the easiest ways to keep paper clutter from overwhelming your space is to set up a mail processing center immediately inside the door by your mailbox. In a buffet, chest, armoire, or another piece of furniture that matches the decor of your home, install a recycling bin, shredder, and trash can. Also, have mail cubbies for each person in your home so whoever sorts the mail can have a place to immediately store everyone else’s mail.

When you sort the mail, you have four options:

Recycle. Most flyers, postcards, and papers can easily be recycled. If you don’t want or need the mail, and it doesn’t include any personal information, drop it straight into a recycling bin.
Shred. Credit card applications, notifications, and other junk mail that includes your private information should be shredded to help prevent identity theft. A few seconds shredding these documents can save you hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars fixing a stolen identity.
Trash. Not all mail can be recycled. Check with your local recycling center to know which types of papers and envelopes can be recycled and which ones can’t. For example, envelopes with the plastic window pane often have to be trashed.
Process. Keep a pen in your mail center to write action items on the mail you choose to keep. “Pay by November 1.” “Send to lawyer by October 15.” Give yourself as much direction as possible so you don’t waste time re-reading the mail again.

The truly organized might also have a scanner in this location to immediately scan materials that don’t need to be kept in physical form, but can be retained digitally.

You can be proactive and reduce a good chunk of junk mail by opting out of direct marketing materials through DMAchoice.org. Additionally, call the customer service number on any catalog you don’t want and request to be removed from their mailing lists. You can also contact the three credit reporting agencies to opt out of credit card applications for five years at a time. (You will need to contact all three agencies — TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian.) There are also companies that do all of these mail reduction services for an annual fee, such as 41pounds.org and PreCycle.

A mail center is also a great place to empty clutter out your pockets, backpack, and/or briefcase. The less paper clutter that comes into your home, the less clutter you have to worry about getting rid of later.

Posted by Erin on Oct 4, 2010 | 18 Comments | Tweet This

Filing with zip top bags

Reader Arnette has created an unconventional filing and reminder system that works wonders for keeping her organized. She wrote to me about it, and I wanted to share it with you because it’s unlike any system I’ve used. From Arnette:

This idea came to me when I was trying to find a way to file small notes to myself or related small pieces of paper on a particular subject. For example, each time I set up an appointment with a new doctor or dentist, I prepare a “baggie file” and then any time I think of something to discuss with the doctor, I put a note in the file, which I review just before the appointment. I currently use quart freezer bags as a mini filing system. I place a used white envelope (appx. 4×9″) into the baggie after writing the “label” information on it at the top (on the clean back of the envelope). I put all info related to that subject in the labeled baggie. I then place these mini files in a small crate or bin which can then be placed on a desk or in a file drawer. This system works very well when traveling, also (minus the bins) especially if the trip involves many different locations. Each baggie contains everything needed for each location, such as maps, hotel info, etc. I always have one labeled “home” in which I place receipts and notes to review when I get home. If needed, I place all the quart “files” in a gallon baggie and zip it for security. I also use a similar system when shopping.

If zip top bags you can buy at the grocery store aren’t professional looking enough for your needs, check out Uline’s selection of reclosable bags. Some of the options are professional enough to take to meetings.

Thanks to reader Arnette for sharing her system with us.

Posted by Erin on Sep 28, 2010 | 42 Comments | Tweet This

A very stylish document scanner

In celebration of its 50th anniversary, the Fujitsu company has released a ScanSnap unit with a traditional lacquered finish, but — and this is the painful part — it appears to only be available in Japan:

The S-1300 and S-1500 units can fold up to look like a decorative box on your desk, which is as clever as it is beautiful. Fujitsu announced the commemorative document scanners by way of a manga advertisement, and you can see both pages of the advertisement online: Pages 1 and 2.

In addition to the stylish new exterior, it looks like the 50th anniversary ScanSnap models might also come with two tea cups and a sushi mat (although, I don’t think the raven is included):

Now, I’m crossing my fingers and hoping the Fujitsu company considers releasing decorative models in more markets. To learn more about getting your paper clutter under control with the help of a ScanSnap, check out our article “Scanning documents to reduce paper clutter.”

Happy anniversary, Fujitsu! And, thanks go to reader Jen for letting us know about this item.

Posted by Erin on Sep 2, 2010 | 13 Comments | Tweet This

New office products: Antimicrobial file folders and bookmark index cards

My friend and professional organizer Julie Bestry recently headed to Office Depot to see what is new in the back-to-school supplies section. Her recap of the adventure introduced me to two new types of organizing products I wanted to pass along to you.

First up are Pendaflex Antimicrobial File Folders, which protect “against the growth of mold, mildew and odors.”

Pendaflex and Smead makes a similar product. These folders are perfect for businesses and homes when you expect to store a file for decades. Any business that puts documents into long-term storage would also benefit from folders such as this. If you’re not planning to store copies of printed documents for 20 or 30 years, these are probably overkill. However, they’re perfect for birth certificates, marriage certificates, etc.

The last product I want to bring to your attention are index cards with small cut-outs in them to use as bookmarks:

Oxford makes these Book Mark Cards and sells them exclusively in Office Depot brick and mortar stores. Mead’s version of the product can be found online and in many non-Office Depot office supply stores.

These bookmark index cards are great for writing in books that aren’t yours without the fear of sticky residue being left in the book, like you might experience with Sheer Colors Post-It Notes.

Have you found any great new office products in the back-to-school aisles? If so, let us know about them in the comments.

Posted by Erin on Aug 11, 2010 | 17 Comments | Tweet This

Ask Unclutterer: I’m organized but my workplace isn’t

Reader Anonymous submitted the following to Ask Unclutterer:

I’ve started to notice how disorganized my office is … not my personal office, but the office as a whole.

Some examples:

Office supplies are disorganized, so no one knows where to find anything, which leads to ordering more of things we usually already have.

Our shared computer folders are a mess — everyone has their own systems which makes it hard to find anything unless you ask someone for it.

No one has cleared out the paper files for years. When people leave a position, their paper files (which the new person probably doesn’t need or has their own system) get shoved onto a shelf somewhere and pretty much never looked at again, but no one will get rid of them!

I’d like to find a way to help with these problems, but I’m struggling with it because it’s not really my job and I don’t want to step on any toes or take on additional work just because I’m the only one who brings it up.

Any suggestions? I’ve heard about some companies doing a 2x a year “office clean-up” day — I don’t know if my office will go for it, but I’m interested in hearing if others have experience with this method.

Thanks in advance for your help!

Anonymous, I think you could have entered your name as “Everyone,” seeing as most of the working world is in the same position you are. Companies waste so much money being disorganized in the exact ways you have mentioned. They’re doling out unnecessary dollars for wasted productivity, duplicate supply ordering, increased network storage, and offsite archival paper file storage. A little organizing and uncluttering could save companies thousands, but often these activities are seen as wasted time.

The first thing I suggest doing is documenting on a sheet of paper some of the troubled areas in your division or department. Don’t add commentary to the listed items, simply write notes like, “No inventory system on the office supply closet. Janet has two drawers of files she hasn’t opened in two years.” Then, track down your favorite human resources staff member and see if you can take him or her out for coffee or lunch.

During this casual meeting, talk about some of your concerns. Put greater emphasis on the positive benefits that result from a more organized workplace. Don’t complain or blame or bring up office politics — just focus on why you think uncluttering and organizing could save your company money and improve worker productivity. If all goes well, the issue will be pushed up the chain of command and eventually your HR department might make a twice-a-year organizing day a reality for the entire company. Every time I’ve worked with a company for such a project, I’m always contacted and contracted through the HR department, so my assumption is that this is how it would be handled at your company. If your organization is structured differently, go through whatever department is most likely to be responsible for planning such an event.

A few, rare and wonderful companies have regular organizing days. They’ll hire one or more professional organizers to come in and give a pep talk at the beginning of the day and then be on site to assist workers as tough questions arise. Some of these companies have organizing weeks if it’s the first time they’ve gone through the process. And, these uncluttering days usually help to build employee morale because everyone is working together to improve their place of employment. Happier, more organized, and more productive employees — I’m surprised all companies aren’t already doing it.

Regarding your specific examples, your office could save money by installing a more formalized inventory system for office supplies. Also, check out our tips for organizing a shared drive and the comments to the post for ideas on how to tame the data on your office network. Finally, before clearing out paper files (and there are lots of tips for how to do this in a corporate environment in Unclutter Your Life in One Week), talk with a lawyer. You might not be able to get rid of all of these documents based on whatever it is your company does.

Thank you, Anonymous, for submitting your question for our Ask Unclutterer column. Good luck!

Posted by Erin on Jul 30, 2010 | 27 Comments | Tweet This

Ask Unclutterer: Best methods for recycling?

Reader Lynne submitted the following to Ask Unclutterer:

I still love the feel of paper in my hands … real books or magazines. I cycle through my magazines relatively quickly. But yesterday as I was ripping off the address labels so I could pass them along (Purple Heart takes magazines), I had another thought. I recycle almost everything. In passing these along, is it much more likely they will end up in a landfill?

Technically, if you pass along the magazines to someone else and a second person gets use out of a product, you’re recycling. Re=again. Cycle=a full turn. An object doesn’t have to be repurposed to be recycled, it just needs to be used again. If a dairy sanitizes and reuses their glass bottles, they’re recycling (putting the bottle to use again). Simply passing along your magazines to another person is recycling, in the strictest sense of the definition.

However, I think your intention is to keep the item out of the landfill, which means you hope that the paper is repurposed. I would start by asking Purple Heart exactly what happens to the magazines after you donate them. If they’re packaged up and flown somewhere overseas, well, you have to weigh the environmental impact of the oil, exhaust, and other damage the airplane will put on the environment against the environmental impact of the recycling center you normally use to process paper. In this case, my guess is that if your desire is to have the smallest amount of environmental damage, your choices would be: Best–local recycling center, Middle–local landfill, Worst–flying them overseas. Conversely, Purple Heart might just donate them to the local VA Hospital and the hospital may have a paper recycling program of their own. So, donating to Purple Heart might be a great choice all around if the magazines are staying local. You won’t know, though, until you ask.

If you haven’t read the book No Impact Man or seen the documentary, I recommend you do. Colin Beavan talks at length about his struggles to determine what actions have the least amount of impact on the environment. You may not like Beavan’s personality (he rubs some people the wrong way), but the content of his message is still interesting.

Thank you, Lynne, for submitting your question for our Ask Unclutterer column.

Posted by Erin on Jul 23, 2010 | 24 Comments | Tweet This

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