Today I have some tips for dealing with paper clutter. I don’t know about you but it seems that the more paper I get rid of the more there is!
The first thing I did was take steps to eliminate the amount of paper I receive. You can register on the Direct Marketing Association website, dmachoice.org and the Consumer Credit Reporting Industry’s website, optoutprescreen.com to remove your name from lists for mailing and credit card offers. Then call you card issuers and ask them not to send you things like balance transfer checks, you can request them if you need them.
When shopping online make sure you uncheck the box that allows the company to send you their catalogs. Also watch for little boxes that sign you up for mailings. Don’t give your address to anyone unless you want something in your mailbox from them.
Most utility companies will allow you to sign up for paperless billing. You can do that for your mortgage as well. Eliminating the number of pieces of mail you get tied to financial institutions reduces the risk of identity theft as well.
Most banks will allow you to receive your statements online, you can view them or save them to a file on your computer. Read the newspaper online, many magazines are also available digitally.
Now that you’ve reduced what comes into the house, what can you do with it once it’s made it’s way in?
Set up a shredding station. Have your shredder easily accessible so you can shred it as it comes in. Put your shredded pieces into a paper bag and the whole thing can go into the recycling bin.
Save peoples contact information digitally instead of on scraps of paper. Toss most receipts and if you need to save them, do so digitally. Take pictures of kids artwork instead of saving it all and put the pictures in a scrapbook.
Less paper equals less clutter, something we can all use.