Teamwork & Tips

Dear Bettina,

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My son and I have made great strides together taking back space in our home. The next step is a room that used to be a half-baked office but that transformed into a complete junk room over the years. I’m taking it all apart and setting up completely new systems. Do you have any tips on setting up filing systems and storing office supplies?  Thanks, Team G & T

My son and I have made great strides together taking back space in our home. The next step is a room that used to be a half-baked office but that transformed into a complete junk room over the years. I’m taking it all apart and setting up completely new systems. Do you have any tips on setting up filing systems and storing office supplies?  Thanks, Team G & T

Dear Team G & T,

Congrats to you both on your progress. It is much easier to do when you have another pair of motivated hands. Good show!! 

I would start with getting David Allen’s book Getting Things Done.  It’s my playbook for more than tips on setting up a system but that is certainly covered. It is uber relevant and he has a huge community of followers. Make sure you get the one that says revised in 2015. This includes all the paperless and techological advances we have made. 

The three keys to keep in mind:

1. Keep as little as possible paper possible. Most manuals & directions can be found online. If you are in doubt, recycle them. You can fit a LOT of paper decisions to be made and to do’s in a pile and it takes way more time than any of us want to spend on dealing with it.

2. Make your system simple-part 1. Honestly, first you have to start with a ridiculously reasonable amount of paper to begin with, then the most basic system I have been able to manage is a monthly accordion file to keep receipts, invoices, statements that are paper. When it comes to most things, but paper in particular, if it isn’t simple, we just don’t follow through.

For me, asking myself “what month is this?” then tossing the paper in that month is simple. I then have a whole year to need that paper again before the month comes around and I pull out last years Feb papers and quickly flip through and then recycle. If I do need an invoice or receipt I can USUALLY remember about when I made purchase give or take a month. Takes only mins to find and I know where to even start to look.

3. Simple system-part 2. For paper that you may need to refer back to (like insurance policies, plans or current or recent projects), set up a general reference file. Simply alphabetical. Getting Things Done has a great description on how to do this, but basically it involves a stack of new 1/3 cut file folders and a label maker at the ready. DON’T get fancy with hanging folders, DO make the $20 investment of a label maker. A printed label makes finding the folder so much easier, I don’t care how nice your handwriting is.

4. Don’t keep too many containers. This includes bookcases, tables with drawers and cabinets. I found the more places I had to keep things, the more I kept. Best thing I did for my office a few years ago was “Say YES to less”. What we need most in our thinking rooms is open space, clear space, floor and wall space so we can think. 

Good luck you two. This is a good start and following Getting Things Done will be a game changer. It’s a great life, simplified

What are strategies to you follow to keep your paper at bay? 

Bettina Blanchard

About Bettina Blanchard

It’s not what we have, it’s what we do that makes life fun. Professional organizer, business owner, radio show host, accordion player, I love to live and write about finding the balance between having and doing.