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Ask Unclutterer: Messy mail

Reader Sandra submitted the following to Ask Unclutterer:

Could you please do an article on how to keep mail organized? I considered myself pretty much clear of clutter, except for my mail. It’s driving me crazy. Even thought I toss everyday the junk, some how I have not been able to follow a good system to get rid off my mail clutter on my desk (these are payed bills, insurance stuff, etc). Now it’s taking over my son’s desk. Please help. Love your blog!

Sandra, I love your question!

I want to start by saying that I have every system imaginable in place to handle mail — and there are still times when it all falls apart and I find mail on my dining room table. It’s the constant incoming stream that makes it such a difficult issue for the home. I hope that the following advice, however, keeps these breakdowns in your system less severe and less frequent.

First, start by reducing the amount of mail that comes into your home. Sign up for services like Precycle (formerly GreenDimes and Mailstopper), which stop junk mail before it ever arrives at your door. Try to get as many utility and monthly bills as possible switched to automatic electronic payment. If mail doesn’t come in, it can’t pile up on any desk.

Second, create and use a mail processing station near the door where you get your mail. It should include a trash can, shredder, recycling bin, and pen/pencil. Each day when you come inside with the mail, immediately shred any items that include personal information that might be tempting to identity thieves (a few seconds of shredding can prevent weeks/months/years of fighting legal battles). Toss into the recycling bin any junk mail and mail you only needed to read once (announcements, etc.). And throw into the trash anything that can’t be recycled.

On the items that still remain, write actions on back of envelopes (Pay by 2/10, Complete and return by 2/05, File in Tax Forms folder) and disposal dates on the fronts of catalogs and magazines (Read before 3/1/2010). Nothing should come into your home that doesn’t have a specific to-do note appearing on it somewhere.

Third, since you live with other people, you will also want to have mailboxes of some kind for the other people in your home. These can be cubbies, pockets, baskets, or even file folders. If the mail isn’t for you, you need a place to store their correspondence so they can easily find it and process it themselves.

Fourth, once you’ve put away all of your other items and set things so that they’re ready for the next time you leave (keys on a hook, coat hung in closet, lunch bag out of briefcase), pick up your mail and head straight to your office. Immediately schedule to-do items on your calendar. Store magazines and catalogs in a place where you will read them before their disposal date. File documents that need to be filed, and take care of any action items that can be completed in less than two minutes. Treat your mail the same way you handle your other work.

This routine might take you five minutes from start to finish, but handling your mail in this way will keep you from turning your son’s desk into a mess. Remember that everything in your home needs a place to live — and that includes each piece of your mail.

Thank you, Sandra, 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 Jan 29, 2010 | 32 Comments | Tweet This

Five uncluttering things you can do in your office right now

Grab all of those post-it notes off your screen, phone, keyboard, and bulletin board and permanently capture that information. Enter phone numbers into your address book, put to-do items on your calendar, and hide your passwords in a place where snoopers can’t find them.
Gather up all of your writing implements, and test your pens and markers. Get rid of those that don’t work, and sharpen all of your pencils. Finally, put all of these items in an organized container that is near where you use them.
Process an inch of paperwork from your desk’s inbox. File, sign, scan, read or return the papers as necessary. Don’t put anything back into your inbox.
Get everything out of your office that doesn’t belong there. Walk that dead printer to the IT department for recycling, and give your co-worker back the scissors you snagged off her desk when you couldn’t find yours.
Check your bulletin board for any out-dated office phone lists, take-out menus, or memos, and drop them into the recycling bin or shredder. Rearrange what is left so that the information you reference most often is in the spot that is easiest to see.

Posted by Erin on Jan 20, 2010 | 33 Comments | Tweet This

Boston Herald reporter finds calm after uncluttering

Last Wednesday, Boston Herald columnist Darren Garnick publicly admitted that his previous love of disorder may have been misplaced. In his article “Pride in messy desk replaced with ‘sinking, drowning feeling’” on January 13, Garnick professes his new appreciation for being organized.

From the article:

Three years ago in this space, I passionately endorsed [the book] “A Perfect Mess” and ruthlessly mocked Barry Izsak, president of the National Association of Professional Organizers. NAPO had branded January as “Get Organized Month” and the president ominously told me that his archenemy, clutter, plagued “the bulk of humanity.”

It turns out that his superhero rhetoric was right. My employer’s decision to relocate to larger offices this month has forced me to confront the mounds of documents, newspapers, trade journals and notebooks blanketing every square inch of horizontal space. Despite thriving in this environment for years, I am now strangely experiencing Barry’s prophecy of a “sinking, drowning feeling.”

I can’t take it any more. Why would I save a Wal-Mart sales flier from 2004? Looking at it, I had no idea which product originally enticed me. Why would I save DVDs for Microsoft Front Page 2000 or Microsoft Explorer 5 – for the dream software museum I hope to launch one day?

And, my favorite clutter-busting anecdote in his piece has to be:

With the help of some consulting co-workers, I begrudgingly threw away a banged-up VHS tape of World War II newsreels. They convinced me I was not the only one with footage of the Nazi invasion of Poland.

Publicly admitting that you feel overwhelmed by disorder and chaos is not an easy thing to do. I commend Garnick for changing his tune and working to get the clutter out of his office. I hope his column and new desire to pursue an uncluttered life inspires others to do the same.

Are you like Garnick and me — previous messies turned unclutterers? Share your transformation tale in the comments.

Posted by Erin on Jan 19, 2010 | 29 Comments | Tweet This

Sort, scan, and file your stacks of papers

As the year winds down, my husband and I are embarking on The Great Paperwork Filing Project of 2009. It’s such an undertaking it feels appropriate we give it an official name with capital letters. (Similar to The Big Move of 2004 and Project Remove Splinter from My Finger, which unfortunately is still ongoing.)

Most of the papers we’re dealing with right now are from our son’s adoption. We have about eight inches of documents that need to be scanned and destroyed or scanned and filed. It’s a relatively easy process, but, even with the help of the new Fujitsu ScanSnap S1500M we’re test driving from the manufacturer, it still takes awhile to review every sheet of paper to decide its fate.

We’re following the method I describe in the “Tuesday at Work: Fixing Your Files” section of Unclutter Your Life in One Week. If you’re also looking at a Great Paperwork Filing Project of 2009 or 2010, try the following method to get it under control:

Determine what papers you have that need to be processed. If you don’t have a firm understanding of what work you need to do, you can’t create a plan for handling all of it.
Determine what rules should define what to keep and what to purge. You’ll end up getting rid of too much or not enough if you don’t have firm guidelines in place before you begin.
Determine how you will classify, categorize, and arrange your documents. You hope to one day be promoted/sell your company for millions/have someone help you with your work, so your system needs to make sense to you and others. Create a system that you can maintain and that can easily be explained to others when your big promotion comes in!
Sort, scan, and file your documents. I recommend tackling an inch of paper at a time. As long as you have less than an inch of paper coming in a day, you’ll eventually make it through your stacks.
Back up your digital system to protect from loss or damage. If it’s not backed up, you run the risk of losing everything when your hard drive fails. And, as we all know, there are two types of hard drives — those that have failed, and those that eventually will.

(The image associated with this post is from the FreedomFiler website. Check out our post on Paper file organization systems for more information about FreedomFiler. It’s a solid tab labeling system, especially for home-related papers. And, before people ask in the comments, we don’t receive any sort of kick backs for recommending it.)

Posted by Erin on Dec 17, 2009 | 33 Comments | Tweet This

Suggesting disposal

Professional organizer Scott Roewer sent me a Christmas card this year with an uncluttered message printed on the inside of the card. After the seasonal greeting and his signature was the phrase:

“This card expires January 2, 2010, at which time it should be recycled.”

Scott got the idea from Jill Revitsky, a professional organizer from Pittsburgh, who produces a line of greeting cards for organizers. On the inside cover of each of her Clearly Noted cards she includes the phrase:

“This card is good for one week — Then you have my permission to toss it!”

Unfortunately, I’ve already mailed my holiday cards, so I can’t do something comparable this year. However, I’m definitely going to add a similar sentence to my cards in years to come:

“You should immediately recycle this card or run the risk of it turning into a monster that will eat your arm.”

Okay, so maybe not exactly that, but you get the idea.

Posted by Erin on Dec 15, 2009 | 44 Comments | Tweet This

Keep notes close with a pocket briefcase

I’ve mentioned before that I’m a huge fan of using 3×5 cards to capture and organize tasks and ideas, but they can be somewhat inconvenient to use. Various cases and Hipster PDAs attempt to make note cards easily accessible, but they rely on carrying around yet another item in your pocket.

Last year, I picked up a Pocket Briefcase, which has now become one of my favorite organizational tools. Instead of carrying around a wallet and a stack of note cards, I’m able to carry just a wallet, because the cards fit inside. This particular briefcase has a pocket for cash, slots for a few debit and ID cards, and two pockets to organize used cards. I recently went on a trip out of the US and discovered that my Pocket Briefcase will even fit my passport.

This works for me because even when I don’t want to carry a notebook, I’m always carrying my wallet, so I’m never without a pen and paper. If you use note cards with your personal information on them, then you’re carrying business cards too!

Levenger’s pocket briefcase isn’t cheap, so if you want to see if this kind of tool will work for you without spending a lot of money, you can find similar items in many stores that carry office supplies.

Posted by Brian on Oct 12, 2009 | 22 Comments | Tweet This

Combatting backpack clutter

Reader Lisa, a college student, wrote in to Unclutterer asking if we might be able to help her with her backpack woes:

Pens and pencils, chapstick, scissors, flash drives, cell phone, iPod, granola bars, random electronics cables, pens, calculators, flashcards, earrings, more pens … etc, etc. And not only do I wind up with all this unwanted stuff, when I do want something I can never find it! I most definitely need some help.

I thought about saving this question for Friday’s Ask Unclutterer column, but with school starting for so many students I thought earlier might be better than later.

The first thing you’ll want to do is assess what you need to carry with you each day. The list you gave is a good starting point, but you probably also carry notebooks, textbooks, paper, folders, keys, and a few other odds and ends with you. Whatever these things are, set them out on a table so that you can see them all at once.

Next, evaluate these things. Are you missing anything you regularly need? Do you have duplicate items? Are the items in good condition? Are the objects durable for constant travel? Get rid of anything you don’t need and get your hands on those things you do need for the school year.

When evaluating durability, you’ll want to be honest with yourself about how hard you are on things. When I was in school, I found that I couldn’t use paper folders. Three or four weeks into the semester they would be torn and tattered. I had to use three-ring binders for all of my notes and an aluminum portfolio for my artwork (I started college as a painting major). This also meant that I carried a small three-hole punch at the front of each binder so that I could immediately store all of the handouts. (I also loaded 100 or so loose-leaf sheets of notebook paper into each binder for taking class-specific notes.)

Be sure to use sturdy containers for food stuffs, like your granola bars. It’s never fun to find smooshed up food at the bottom of your bag. And, don’t forget to regularly clean this container.

You will also want a backpack organizer of some kind to give all of your tools a proper place to live. I prefer the pocket organizers like the one pictured, but you could easily get a pencil case and put all of your supplies into one zipper pouch.

Finally, set up a routine for when you get home to immediately process all of the contents of your backpack. Much like you would sort mail, you will want to recycle, trash, scan, file, wash, and deal with everything from your bag. Within five minutes of arriving home, your bag should be empty except for your tools stored in your backpack organizer.

Lisa, I hope this advice helps to get your backpack organized. Good luck at school!

Posted by Erin on Sep 16, 2009 | 28 Comments | Tweet This

Ask Unclutterer: Mom the mailer

Reader Cate submitted the following to Ask Unclutterer:

My mom cuts articles out of my hometown newspaper and mails them to me. every. single. week! I read the clippings and then toss them into the recycling … She has a computer, internet connection, and email account, but she doesn’t use them. How can I encourage my mom to stop sending me clippings and email me links instead? I haven’t said anything to her. I don’t want to upset her but I hate that she is wasting money and energy mailing me clippings. Where do I start?

The first thing you should figure out is what would your mom do if she didn’t send you these newspaper clips. Would she continue to cut them out and keep them herself or for you the next time you visit? If so, I don’t know if I would put an end to the mailings. You might be a way for her to get rid of clutter from her home. She can justify sending you the clips, but she might not be able to throw them away if she doesn’t send them to you.

If she can easily get rid of clutter, I would have a talk and possible training session with her the next time you visit. Start by asking her why she sends you the clips. Maybe she enjoys the ritual of going to the post office once a week? Maybe her mother mailed her clips after she moved away from home? She’s obviously sending you these clips because she wants to share a part of her life with you, so let her share even more of her life with you.

Introduce the idea of e-mailing you links instead of sending clips and see how she responds. If she’s interested in learning how, sit down with her and show her how to do it. Explain how to search your hometown newspaper’s website, copy links, paste links into an e-mail, and e-mail you the clips.

After returning home, send her a couple of e-mails that contain links from your current city’s newspaper to encourage continued e-mail exchanges. Respond to her e-mails (either with an e-mail or by picking up the phone) so that there is more interaction online than what she was getting by mailing you clips.

Thank you, Cate, for submitting your question for our Ask Unclutterer column. Be sure to check out the comments to see if our readership has additional ideas.

Posted by Erin on Aug 7, 2009 | 77 Comments | Tweet This

All-in-One Card Stamp

Ji Lee, creative director for Google Creative Lab, created an “All-in-One Card Stamp” to make card sending simple.

Why buy many cards for different occasions if you can have an “One Card for All Occasions Stamp”? It saves time, money and headache.

I wholeheartedly agree that it saves time, money and headache, but I don’t know how my specific group of loved ones would respond. I think they would laugh the first time they received a card from me, but on second and third mailings it would start to wear thin. Utilitarian? Yes. Solution for everyone? No.

Still, I like it’s practical nature and that Ji Lee was thinking of ways to reduce clutter. What are your thoughts? Uncluttered and cool, or over-the-top minimalist?

(via NotCot)

Posted by Erin on Jun 22, 2009 | 53 Comments | Tweet This

Review: NeatDesk and NeatWorks for Mac

A few weeks ago, the Neat company sent me their new NeatDesk for Mac scanner and its NeatWorks software to review. I have been a Fujitsu ScanSnap loyalist for the past two years, so I wasn’t super excited about doing the NeatDesk review. In fact, I tested one of their mobile scanners a year ago and was so disappointed with it that I didn’t even post the review to the site (why clutter up your time with an awful review?).

To my surprise, however, I liked the NeatDesk for Mac. Specifically, I really liked the NeatWorks software. (If you buy the scanner, the software comes with it. The software also sells as a stand-alone product.)

The physical scanner is basic. It was easy to assemble, simple to install, is speedy, and it has a streamlined, uncluttered design:

What I want to talk about more in-depth is the accompanying software. Like most other programs, it automatically straightens scans, has text OCR and a document feeder, can automatically generate PDFs, and has settings for color, black/white, and image-only. Where it stands apart from other programs is with its field mapping on business card scans (it generates a contact card in Address Book with the data populated straight from the scan), it supports third-party scanners (Fujitsu, Canon, HP), and it allows you to create custom field values (this is great if you scan both business and personal receipts on the same scanner, so you can have drop-down menus for different credit cards, etc.).

Additionally, I liked that I could create custom reports based on my scans. If I wanted to pull up only my receipts from May 2009, I can do that and have the cover page reflect that information. If it’s a nice receipt, the software will also map vendor, date, and amount fields, similar to how it does with business cards. However, I only got this to work twice out of 10 times because I usually crumple up my receipts when I stick them into my purse and the text wasn’t very clear on the receipt when I scanned it. (I think of this as user error, not the program’s failing.) Here is an example of a good scan:

My only real complaint is that color paper seems to throw off all field-mapping abilities. If a piece of paper, receipt or business card isn’t black and white, it won’t map the information well, if at all. Take for example, my business card:

My card is just white text on a green background, and the software program didn’t map any data off of it. Actually, the system initially thought it was an image, not a business card. I was able to type all of the accurate information in by hand, so it doesn’t completely mess up the system, but I still wish it were more accurate. That being said, a lot of document feed scanning software systems have the exact same problem. In my opinion, it’s not a reason to keep from buying the software.

I think the scanner is fine, but I strongly recommend the NeatWorks software for Mac to use with whatever scanner you own. The software was extremely convenient and performed very well. It is much better than the software that ships with the Fujitsu ScanSnap, is right around the same price as DevonThink Pro, NeatWorks is simple to use with Evernote, and it’s a great way to control paper clutter. It earns a big thumbs-up in my book.

And, my cat Charlie is a big fan of its storage box:

Posted by Erin on Jun 8, 2009 | 43 Comments | Tweet This

Ask Unclutterer: Swimming in financial prospectuses

Reader Erin submitted the following to Ask Unclutterer:

I’ve been focusing a lot lately on reducing my paper clutter in my home office. I’ve made some good progress, but there is one particular type of clutter that nags at me every time I try to cut down: The Financial “Prospectus” that every fund and investment seems to send out every other week (OK, maybe it’s a few times a year. It feels like a lot).

I am only 27 years old and therefore don’t have too many investments, and yet I still have a few stacks of these bulky booklets that are at best the size of a magazine and at worst the size of a small novel. I can only imagine that there are other readers out there who are just SWIMMING in these booklets.

What’s the rule of thumb? How long *should* one keep these books? If you tell me I can recycle at least some of them, I will be one happy girl.

The first thing you need to do is call your financial advisor and see if he or she can e-mail you PDFs of these booklets instead of mailing them to you. Most financial institutions are looking for ways to cut back on expenses right now, and the trend is to provide these as digital documents to their clients. I made the switch about two years ago. It saves them money and saves me space.

Unfortunately, this won’t take care of the documents you already have in your home. I’d ask your financial advisor if he or she can e-mail you copies of the old ones, too. If your advisor doesn’t have access to those files, I recommend keeping just the annual booklets for anything more than a year old. You may want to keep the quarterly booklets from the current year if you have an interest in such things.

And, when I say “keep,” I mean pull out the staples, scan the document, save it as a PDF on your computer’s hard drive, and recycle the original. These documents are good to reference, but they’re not legally necessary for you to keep in paper form.

Thank you, Erin, for submitting your question for our Ask Unclutterer column. Great name, too!

Posted by Erin on May 15, 2009 | 20 Comments | Tweet This

Not getting things done? Try WSD

I want to welcome guest author Tim Chase and his “family friendly” version of WSD. His system is just as simple, just as much fun, but with a less-adult vocabulary.

Thanks to my local public library, I’ve joined the ranks of folks who have read David Allen’s Getting Things Done. However I became bogged down in the implementation details. Then I stumbled across this article on smallist.com and in a lightbulb moment I recognized it as a similar technique I’ve watched my father use for years.

Failed by GTD

Overwhelmed by GTD’s buzzwords (contexts, ubiquitous capture, tickler files, 43-folders, buckets, etc), the simplicity of WSD is appealing:

Find something to write on.
Find something to write with.
Finally, and most importantly, WRITE STUFF DOWN.

GTD also seems to promote beautiful yet expensive implements — PDA/smart-phones, Moleskine® notebooks, space-pens. WSD has no such pretensions. While you can use your PDA/smart-phone, your Moleskine or your space-pen, you can certainly employ a wide varity of writing surfaces and implements.

Writing Surfaces

Write on whatever is handy — 3×5 cards (Hipster PDA-ized or otherwise), Post-It® note pads, cheap spiral-bound pocket notepads, envelopes, margins of newspapers or magazines, or even paper-towels, napkins, tissues or toilet-paper in desperation. You can carry them with you at all times or just as needed. I prefer to only carry paper when I know I may not have something on which I can write. A box of old business cards and a small whiteboard in the kitchen for grocery lists; page-a-day calendar sheets in the study for to-do lists; a small tablet by the bedside and in the car; Post-It pads at work. For other places, I simply take a little pocket-sized notepad (a four-pack at the local dollar-store).

Things on which you should not write your important brain-droppings: receipts, bills you have to pay, cheques, paper currency, contracts, library books, the Dead Sea Scrolls, or the Magna Carta. Unless you copy them off ASAP to something less transient (and in the case of library books, the Dead Sea Scrolls, or important constitutional documents, I suggest removing your writing from them first).

Writing Implements

Writing implements also abound — while you can use your space-pen, that $180 gold-encrusted beast engraved with your name and business, or your favorite Hello Kitty® glittery gel pen with the glow-in-the-dark purple ink, I lean toward the cheap and abundant options. You’re not illuminating monastic manuscripts, you’re getting an idea out of your head and onto paper. Out and about, I usually carry a Papermate® medium-point point pen because they write well and come in 12-packs for under $2 (USD). Occasionally, I augment with a #2 automatic-pencil, also obtained in multi-packs under $2 (USD). I’ve found that the long narrow “tool pockets” in carpenter jeans/shorts hold my writing implements so they don’t jab my thighs like a regular front pocket can. And they make for a snazzy quick-draw holster effect when you whip out a pen on demand.

Depending on your location, you may find you don’t need to carry a writing implement. We keep stashes of implements around the house — in the nightstands, in the desk, in the catch-all drawer, in the bill drawer, in the cars, etc. If you’re the type who steals pens from coworkers and banks, cut that out. Or, at least give them back. At conferences, many companies hand out business-branded pens for free. In addition to the craft-boxes, parents likely find crayons under foot, in couch cushions, up noses, and on the floor under little Johnny’s wall-art. For those who do their best thinking in the shower, you can find shower/tub crayons to scrawl on the shower wall.

Conclusion

Get something to write on. Get something to write with. Write stuff down.

Posted by Tim on May 11, 2009 | 43 Comments | Tweet This

What’s in your office?

When you imagine a CEO’s office, you probably think of a wood desk, an ornately framed print of a stale landscape, a couple diplomas on the wall, a bookshelf of leather bound classics, a large window with a decent view, and everything well organized with no clutter anywhere. I could probably create a coffee table book filled with thousands of examples of this exact office.

For better or worse, most CEO’s offices send the message: “I am in charge, and I get work done.”

Forbes recently profiled the offices of 10 CEOs in the article “What CEOs Love To Keep In Their Offices.” The article discusses the not-so-obvious things that some big-wigs keep in their spaces. But, I have to be honest, none of the items they mention are really that far off the regular path — a dry erase board, a dart board, an executive bathroom.

CEO offices are consistent because they are, in many ways, the face of the company. Consumers and employees alike judge CEOs based on the image they present. If a CEOs office is full of clutter and chaotic, then it sends the message that the company is cluttered and chaotic. So, the CEO of a company will always have an office that looks like the one I described in the first paragraph.

Can you take a few cues from the CEOs? I’m not advocating that you retrofit your cubicle with wood laminate and bad artwork, but can you keep your office clutter free? Can you project to your co-workers and clients that you are efficient and productive and able to handle all the work that comes your way? Does your office say that you’re organized and ready to lead?

Posted by Erin on May 4, 2009 | 16 Comments | Tweet This

Six tips for going paperless

Please welcome Mark W. Shead, who blogs once a week on the informative Productivity501.com. He is a business management consultant focusing on using technology to streamline businesses.

I have been moving toward a paperless office for two reasons. First the amount of paper in my life continues to grow each year and I’ve grown tired of spending so much effort just wrangling physical paper. Second I spend a lot of time on the road. It is nice to have access to all my files whether I’m in working in my office in Kansas or waiting for powder to fall in Colorado.

The move to paperless has been an interesting experiment and I’ve been amazed at just how attached I have become to the pieces of paper I have saved over the years. Here are some tips for people looking to make a similar transition.

Scan what makes sense – Go for the biggest bang for your buck. It doesn’t make sense to scan every single book you own, but it does make sense to scan in your bills, receipts and insurance paperwork.
Give yourself time to adjust – You are probably going to find yourself very attached to your papers. I got over this by creating a “to shred” set of files. I kept the paper around until I was comfortable with my electronic access to it and was ok with shredding it.
Backup, backup, backup – Make sure you have a reliable way of backing up your data. Not only do you need to back your data up, you have to test it as well. Also make sure you store your backups in a safe place. I keep one backup in my office and another encrypted on Amazon’s servers using Jungle Disk. That way if a flood or fire destroys my computer and backup hard drive, I can still get my data back.
Get some help – If you have a lot of paper to scan consider hiring someone to help. A high school or college student can go through quite a stack of papers in a few afternoons. The worst part of switching to paperless is when half of your data is on paper and the other half is digital. Getting a bit of help initially can make your system much more useful to you right away.
Think “Where will I look for this?” – There are many ways to file your scanned documents. When you are designing your system, make sure you don’t fall into the trap of thinking “Where should I put this?” You need design you system around the question “How will I look for this?”
Don’t skimp on your scanner – The ScanSnap is one of the best scanners for the money. You want to make sure you don’t get something that requires putting each page, one at a time, on a flat bed. If it is too much trouble to scan in a new piece of paper, you won’t do it.

Posted by Mark on Apr 15, 2009 | 23 Comments | Tweet This

Paperless postal service

While checking out NEWScan, a site that shows the front pages of fourteen major US newspapers all on one page, I came across an interesting story on the front page of the Los Angeles Times on paperless mail.

The article highlights Steven Stark and his experience with using a paperless mail service. From the article:

Millions of Americans receive online versions of their bills and bank statements. But Stark is one of tens of thousands who have decided they don’t need any physical mail, be it love letters or advertising come-ons.

Instead of plodding down to the mailbox, they open their Web browsers. Rather than stuff file cabinets with paper, they keep their mail online.

…

Earth Class Mail assigned him a post office box in Los Angeles. For $11.95 a month, the company opens all of his mail — letters, bills, catalogs and all — then scans and uploads it to the Web so he can read his correspondence online. Stark doesn’t have to give the post office his new address every time he moves. He can go on vacation to Palm Springs or Las Vegas and not miss any important mail. By checking a box on his computer screen, Stark can tell the company to shred, recycle or forward the mail to him. He can have the company send packages to his house or pick them up at the nearest Earth Class Mail Center. “It’s just more convenient,” he said.

From the Earth Class Mail website:

No matter where our customers are, they simply log in to their secure Earth Class Mail account to view scanned images of their mail envelopes. They then decide which items to have opened and securely scanned so they can read the contents online, and which items should be recycled, shredded, archived, or forward-shipped to them wherever they’re located – all with a few clicks of a mouse.

I’m not sure this is going to catch on as fast as email, but I can see it being more popular among younger folks who have very different views of privacy in an increasingly online world. Thoughts?

Posted by Matt on Mar 17, 2009 | 34 Comments | Tweet This

Ask Unclutterer: What to do with receipts?

Reader Kate submitted the following to Ask Unclutterer:

When I buy something, should I put my receipt in the bag or in my purse/wallet? I think I would prefer in my purse, so that I can empty them all out onto my banker’s spike at once, but I am often rushed thru the checkout line, so it tends to get stuffed in, rather than filed in my wallet.

The worst thing about receipts is that they’re always handed to you at the most inconvenient time. You’ve just started grabbing your bags of purchases and the store clerk reaches out her hand with your receipt. You hastily grab the receipt and either stuff it in a bag or cram it into your pocket or push it to the bottom of your purse. The process itself is flawed from the very beginning.

In these hasty situations, I always tell the clerk to put it in the bag. When it goes into the bag, I’ll be forced to deal with it when I get home and have more time to think about how to handle it. If I put it in my pocket or purse, it runs a greater risk of being forgotten or mishandled.

Receipts fall into one of four categories and should be dealt with based on their type:

Useless. These are receipts for consumable purchases you paid for with cash, things like coffee and food. Once you eat or drink the item, you’re certainly not going to return the product. The receipt has no identifying information on it since you used cash and should be tossed into the trash immediately. In fact, if you can refuse the receipt, do it. Let the store deal with the trash.
Business. These are receipts for business-related expenses. You have to keep these no matter what, and most accountants require that you still keep the original receipt. I keep a zip top bag in my purse with the month and year written on it with a Sharpie. I’ll jot a note about the expense on the back of the receipt and then slip it into the zip top bag. At the end of the month, I reconcile the receipts against my credit card statement and then toss the whole bag of receipts into an expandable file at the back of my filing cabinet. At the end of the financial quarter, I pass the receipts and my bank statements on to my accountant.
Large ticket items. These are receipts for items like cars and furniture. For some reason, these receipts are usually physically large, and therefore don’t get lost or crammed into purses or pockets. I’ll scan these when I get home and put a copy of the digital file into my monthly to-do file on my computer. When the bank statement arrives, I reconcile the purchase and move the digital receipt to a receipts file in my documents folder. The original receipt immediately goes into a “Large Purchases” file in the filing cabinet and remains there until we get rid of the item. Since these large purchases are rare, most people don’t have difficulty processing them.
Everything else. These are receipts for all of the other purchases in life. For most everything, I pull receipts out of my purse or pockets when I walk in my front door and immediately snap a picture of the receipt with my cell phone. Then, I’ll drop them in the shredder right there. Whenever I charge my phone, I sync the images off my phone and transfer them to my monthly to-do file on my computer. When my bank statement comes, I reconcile the amounts and move the digital receipts to a receipts file in my documents folder. I don’t shred receipts for clothing or grocery store food until after I’ve worn the clothes once or eaten the food on the receipt. I just clip these together with a binder clip and shred them whenever the binder clip gets full.

I’m not sure I 100 percent answered your question, so I would love it if our readers could add even more ideas into the comments on this topic. I’m always looking for better ways to handle receipts. I sincerely can’t stand them.

Thank you, Kate, for submitting such a great question for our Ask Unclutterer column.

Posted by Erin on Mar 13, 2009 | 62 Comments | Tweet This

Xerox pushing services that eliminate machines and cut paper use

According to the Wall Street Journal article “Xerox Tries to Go Beyond Copiers” (subscription required), Xerox is pushing consulting services that show clients how they can save money by eliminating unnecessary machines and cutting down on paper use. From the article:

For decades, Xerox and others built their businesses by pushing companies to buy more office machines and supplying pricey ink and toner. But increasingly these vendors are now advising big customers to reduce their number of machines and find ways to cut printing costs.

[continuing ...]

Xerox, Hewlett-Packard Co. and others say they are seeing strong demand for consulting services that show companies how to eliminate desktop printers and force workers to share multifunction devices that copy, print and fax. The vendors say such moves can reduce printing costs up to 30%.

According to research by Xerox, companies spend between 3 and 4 percent of their revenues on producing documents. With the downturn in the economy and the increased profile of being “green,” companies are very interested in becoming more paper savvy. More from the article:

The services push comes as office copiers, fax machines and printers have merged into multifunction devices that are linked to corporate computer networks. Although these devices often cost $10,000 to $20,000, vendors install them when they manage a company’s printing because compared with desktop devices, they are more efficient, break down less and can use cheaper supplies.

Last month, Procter & Gamble Co. agreed to turn over to Xerox its vast fleet of printers and copiers in a multi-year contract valued at more than $100 million. Filippo Passerini, P&G’s chief information officer, says the decision is expected to cut paper usage 40% and costs 20% to 25%. He declined to disclose dollar figures.

Unclutterer is all for a paperless workplace. We have written about this subject in the past and we’ve offered tips on cutting down on your personal paper output.

Could your office survive without paper?

Posted by Matt on Mar 3, 2009 | 19 Comments | Tweet This

Creating a central binder for your home

As much as I tend to store information digitally, slips of paper still manage to sweep into our home, such as gym schedules, school lunch menus, and event flyers. That is why I have set up a central home binder. It offers a safe haven for important papers, vital contacts for anyone to access, and a receptacle for health information.

I personally set up a very simple system for less than $15. Here is how to create one of your own:

First, decide what categories best reflect the kind of information you refer to often and that you want to store in your central home binder. Categorize by type of information or by family members’ names, or both. I keep my categories to five or less for simplicity — I don’t want the binder to be an overstuffed catch-all for everything.

The Categories (one per binder tab):

Contacts
Health & Fitness
Food
House
Travel

The Tools:

Simple Binder
Tabs
Plastic Pockets for In Between Tabs

Simple Binder

Select a binder size to match the number of categories and size you think you’ll need. Unless you have many people sharing the binder, a 1 to 1.5-inch binder should do. I use a simple, 1-inch binder with a plastic cover that’s sturdy yet malleable. It’s easy to squeeze it in between cookbooks in a cabinet beneath the kitchen counter.

Tabs

Use the number of tabs to match your categories. I purchased a package of five by Avery with large, easy-to-read tabs and printer-friendly labels.

Plastic Pockets for In Between Tabs

Some sheets that come into our home will simply be 3-hole punched and placed in the binder, such as a sports schedule. But others, like smaller pieces of paper, can be stored in clear pockets.

Filing Suggestions

Contacts: Keep a list of emergency contacts here. Phone trees, especially for your child’s classmates, are great since entering everyone into your address book would be unnecessary. Permission slips can go in the front pocket, too.

Food: Insert standard shopping lists and meal planning worksheets in this section.

Health and Fitness: A blank sheet of paper to record prescriptions fits nicely under this tab. Note which prescriptions need to be renewed and when. Jot down free medication sample names so that you know who and what they’re for in case you need a full prescription. Use pockets to insert doctors’ notes. Store exercise programs and fitness class schedules here also.

House: The section pocket is a great place to temporarily store recent house maintenance receipts for things like plumbing bills. That way, you have quick-access to the information in the event of a repeating issue. Also include cleaning checklists in this section.

Travel: If you employ a babysitter, this is a good section to include maps to locations your children may have to travel while you’re not at home. Google maps directions to music lessons and sports practices are appreciated by the people who aren’t a regular part of your routine. If you have frequent house guests, store a city map in this section to easily have on hand.

What systems have you used for your home-central information? Let us know in the comments, we are curious to know what has worked best for you.

Posted by Sue on Feb 11, 2009 | 40 Comments | Tweet This

Wrangling newspaper recycling

As a devoted environmentalist and pragmatist, the circles labeled “recycling” and “convenience” don’t always align on my Venn diagram of life. Sometimes what is most convenient, isn’t great for the environment.

Stak-N-Tie stacking bins solve two household problems for me:

a rugged container for storing read newspapers awaiting recycle pick-up day; and
a can’t-miss device to single-handedly twine-bundle your stack of papers.

The elevated corners of the Stak-N-Tie leave enough room underneath the newspaper pile to slip your bundling twine. Once knotted, the whole stack lifts easily from the crate. Until recently, my town made me separate newspaper from other recyclable paper, so I bought two. My town now lets me co-mingle all my paper and no longer requires a twine-knotted bundle, so the entire crate gets toted to the curb on pick-up day. And, if I ever need to dispose of the crate itself, it’s recyclable, too: #2 HDPE.

Available from the Recycling Center for $12.95 plus shipping, it’s a great way to keep old newspapers from cluttering up your home.

Posted by Cory on Dec 20, 2008 | 29 Comments | Tweet This

Google can now OCR all PDFs

When you scan a document, your computer interprets this data as an image. You can see the words on the screen, but your computer doesn’t. As far as your computer is concerned, the letters could be birds or your child or a boat.

When you put this scan up on a website, search engines haven’t been able to index any of the content of your documents because it didn’t recognize the text as text … until now.

Google has a new system that scans Acrobat PDFs on the web for words using Optical Character Recognition (OCR). Similar to its process for using OCR to detect words in PDFs that have already been OCR processed, the new system will do the same for scanned documents posted online that haven’t yet undergone OCR.

If you have scanned PDFs and are interested in having them converted into text, you can upload the images to your website and take advantage of this service.

Simply follow the instructions for how to use Google OCR from the Digital Inspiration website:

Create a folder in your website (say abc.com/pdf) and upload all the PDF images to that folder. Now create a public web page that links to all the PDF files. Wait for the Google bots to spider your stuff.

Once done, type the query “site:abc.com/pdf filetype:pdf” [into Google] to see the PDF documents as HTML.

Lifehacker recommends using “Google’s Webmaster Tools to reign in what gets scanned and indexed on your site, although you should assume anything you put online can be found by those looking for it.”

This is a really terrific way to get rid of paper clutter in your work space and in your home since you can now see the words in your scanned documents.

Posted by Erin on Nov 8, 2008 | 12 Comments | Tweet This

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