What ever happened to the 'paperless' society?

"The physics of clutter is that it will come into your office without your assistance, but will not go away without your assistance."

-- Julie Mahan


Can you remember all the grand predictions that the invention of personal computers would change the world and create a paperless society? Well, no one could argue that they have indeed changed many, many things but they have certainly not done away with paper. In fact, it could be argued that they have increased it.

Paper clutter is one big area where I see a constant reminder of what Regina calls the failure to make a decision. Life gets busy and maybe a week goes by that I haven't been able to take the time to clean off the table I have by my front door. It is supposed to be completely empty except for a thin woven basket to hold important things like bills or notices. So, the flyers begin to add up, for one thing. There are a lot of stores in this city who want to entice me to buy things and they are relentless in giving me pieces of paper full of self-promotion.

Magazines are another thing. Some I have subscriptions to, some are gifts, and some have simply been sent in the hope that I will like them and then subscribe. I also receive invitations to various local events, and postcards from realtors who are hoping they can entice me to move. Credit card companies constantly send me letters which tell me that I work hard, need a break, and wouldn't I enjoy a relaxing vacation? As well, restaurants and take-aways from this area of the city hope that I will come home from work hungry, have a busy night ahead, and opt to order dinner rather than spend time in my own kitchen. It really does add up.

Regina has some good simple advice here: immediately toss out the junk mail that you KNOW you don't want or need. As for everything else, either toss it out, file it away, or deal with it straight away. That is the hard part. Sometimes the biggest challenge for me is simply not knowing what to do with it. Regina talks a lot of setting up a proper filing system, but cautions: "Files are storehouses of the active information we need. They are not meant to be paper cemeteries."

So, I have gathered up all of the paper on the little table, as well as all of the paper clutter that came out of my newly spruced up bedroom, and put it all into a plastic bin. This weekend I was busy with yard work, had errands to do, and had company, so I couldn't get to it. It was inspiring to see the table completely clean, though, so I am encouraged. This week I will spend some time, probably watching the Food Network, and quickly plow through all of this paper. I find it somehow easier to do this when my brain is semi-distracted.

I hope to get rid of a lot of this clutter, and to come up with a way to organize the bits that are important to keep. And I think from now on I'm going to pretend there's a big paper barrier at my front door so I will inspire myself to be more ruthless. Only pieces of paper which can prove themselves to be of value to me will be given a pass. But not a free pass. No, they will very quickly be shown the filing system and invited to step inside.

Have a good, paper-clutter-free week!


Diane