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May 2008
Feature Article: "How to Lose 30 lbs on The Paper Diet!"
May is the month
to cull out paper files - tax season is over, summer relaxation is coming, and
with spring winding down it's one of the best times to clean up and clear
out files!
I know - I'm on a 50 lb diet! I've lost 30 pounds
... of paper from my files. Each day I've been cleaning out 2-3 lbs. and it's
getting done. Read today's article to do so.
Important News . . .
*
"Secrets of Getting Organized"
special edition magazine by Better Homes and Garden is a
"must have" for your organizing tools. I was honored to be featured
(photo and all!) next to HGTV's Peter Walsh!
Check it out at Barnes and Noble and amazon.com, or newstands.
* Moving Celebration: We are offering our most popular product, The Deluxe Package which includes one of everything! Help me move lighter to San Diego this month!
FEATURE ARTICLE: "How
to Lose 30 lbs. on The Paper Diet!"
by Marcia Ramsland, "The Organizing Pro"
Are
you looking for an easy way to get your files cleaned out? One of my
organizing rules is "Make your organizing memorable and fun." I have
lost 30 lb. of paper files in a week by doing just that. All you need to
do is set a date (say by Memorial Day), get a scale (a postage scale
works), and chart your progress.
My
"Paper Diet" started when the movers had a limit on what we could move.
Each pound to move costs 60 cents a pound. I wasn't going to get rid of
my book collection, but figured I had some files, binders, and favorite
magazines I could cull through. So I set my goal of a 50 lb. diet
in 3 weeks. It's working!
Measuring Your Progress on "The Paper Diet"
l inch of paper = l pound
l file drawer = 18 or 24 inches
* "Power Surge" Weight Loss = recycling binders,
catalogs, and magazines.
The
Paper Diet Goals:
Main Goal: Simplify and reorganize files and desktops to
stay "clean and lean!"
* Declutter flat surfaces the have paperwork until clean (i.e.
desk and floor).
* File current papers by making room in current file drawers.
* Tidy up paperwork after tax season.
* Clean out before summer relaxation sets in.
* Create an annual spring cleaning of file drawers.
Why
Clear out Files and File Drawers?
It's important to your
productivity!
The fewer files and piles you have, the fewer crises you will have and
the more work you will get done. You'll be working instead of searching.
Begin at the
back of each file drawer and pull out ten inches of papers. Place these papers
on your clear desktop, line up the recycle bin to your left, and start sorting.
As you view each file or paper, ask yourself these two questions:
1. Is this file or paper part of my present and future work?
2. Do I need to keep this file or paper, or is it
time to pitch it?
Here are more
tips to speed up the process of file sorting:
·
Stand and get into a toss rhythm
·
Have a decisive person work with
you
·
Postpone eating dinner until you
finish
·
Limit the file sort time to one
hour
·
Plan a big reward for completing
your files in the time allotted
Now stand back and survey your desk space. Is there anything more you can
do to move paper out of your way? Label your binders, see what ones you can recycle paper from, and weigh
the paper for the day. Chart your progress with 3 columns:
* Date: 5/6/08 Tuesday
* Paper Pounds recycled: 2.5 lbs. from Top Right File Drawer and 5
lb. from old Binders
* Time spent: 40 minutes 12-12:40 lunch hour.
Usually 30 minutes is a good average per day, though you will see faster progress with two focused hours in the evening or on the weekend. You'll lose more weight the more often you work your "Paper Diet."
========================================
Further paper and email tips can be found in Simplify Your Space: Create Order and Reduce Stress" and related CDs at www.OrganizingPro.com.
Today's
Space-Saving Tip:
"Sort
your paperwork by asking, "Is this paper worth my time and space to deal
with it?" If the answer is no, let it go. If the answer is yes, get it
done as soon as possible.
-- Simplify Your Space . . . Space-Saving Tip #30
Moving Celebration - Our Most Popular Package
 Moving
Celebration: We are offering our most
popular product,
The Deluxe Package which includes one of everything! Don't
miss this opportunity to help me clear out my office before I move
to San Diego. |
Warmly,
Marcia Ramsland
"The
Organizing Pro"
P.S. Let
me know how you do on "The Paper Diet." It's a wonderful
feeling to let go of paper from files, files drawers, and magazine
holders. You'll wish you did it sooner once you reach the point of
feeling free!