{"id":12745,"date":"2026-04-10T21:48:56","date_gmt":"2026-04-11T01:48:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/parmaks.com\/Resources\/how-to-deal-with-paper-clutter-what-to-keep-what-to-toss-and-how-to-stay-organized\/"},"modified":"2026-04-10T21:48:56","modified_gmt":"2026-04-11T01:48:56","slug":"how-to-deal-with-paper-clutter-what-to-keep-what-to-toss-and-how-to-stay-organized","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/parmaks.com\/Resources\/how-to-deal-with-paper-clutter-what-to-keep-what-to-toss-and-how-to-stay-organized\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Deal with Paper Clutter: What to Keep, What to Toss, and How to Stay Organized"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <a href=\"https:\/\/hop.clickbank.net\/?affiliate=infohatch&amp;vendor=J1R2C\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-10614 aligncenter\" src=\"http:\/\/parmaks.com\/Resources\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/profit-gen400px.png\" alt=\"Profit Gen\" width=\"400\" height=\"217\" srcset=\"https:\/\/parmaks.com\/Resources\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/profit-gen400px.png 400w, https:\/\/parmaks.com\/Resources\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/profit-gen400px-300x163.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"50952\" class=\"elementor elementor-50952\" data-elementor-post-type=\"post\">\n<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-41a5ef75 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"41a5ef75\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-1207b3f4\" data-id=\"1207b3f4\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-cfa8be4 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"cfa8be4\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">An earlier version of this article was published April 16, 2019<\/h2>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-240a4a2 elementor-drop-cap-yes elementor-drop-cap-view-default elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"240a4a2\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-settings=\"{&quot;drop_cap&quot;:&quot;yes&quot;}\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n<p>Paperwork is one of the toughest forms of clutter to vanquish. Often, it\u2019s much more anxiety-provoking and draining than going through a clothes closet or a desk drawer.<\/p>\n<p>What makes paper clutter particularly difficult is that so much of it feels important. You\u2019re not sure what you&#8217;re supposed to keep, so you keep everything.<\/p>\n<p>The good news is, a lot of it can go. Here&#8217;s how to think through it.<\/p>\n<h2>What to keep and what to toss<\/h2>\n<p><strong>To decide what to keep and what to toss, ask:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Do you actually need this piece of paper or receipt? What <em>specific use<\/em> does it serve?<\/li>\n<li>Have you ever used it? If you&#8217;ve never referred to a category of paperwork, apparently you don&#8217;t need it.<\/li>\n<li>Will it quickly become dated\u2014like travel or summer-camp information?<\/li>\n<li>Does the internet mean that it\u2019s no longer necessary? For instance, the instruction manuals for most appliances are now online.<\/li>\n<li>What\u2019s the consequence of not having it if you do need it?<\/li>\n<li>Was it once necessary but is now related to a part of your life that\u2019s over? This can be hard to recognize. Do you need that sheet of home phone numbers for the members of a team that you left two years ago?<\/li>\n<li>Could you scan it, so that you have a copy if you need it?<\/li>\n<li>At work or at home, does someone else have a copy of this information?<\/li>\n<li>Look in your paper-organizing gizmos. When I look at people&#8217;s work spaces, I notice that they often have file stands, wall-mounted paper organizers, stacked shelves and in-boxes&#8230;all full of old papers that no one ever looks at. Unless you&#8217;re actively moving papers in and out, empty out those units, and get rid of the units altogether! They&#8217;re often just clutter magnets.<\/li>\n<li>Have you verified your assumptions? For instance, when you took your current position, your co-worker told you, &#8220;I always keep these receipts,&#8221; so you assumed that you need to keep them, too. But maybe you don&#8217;t.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Whenever we clear cutter, it&#8217;s useful to ask, &#8220;<strong>If I had to replace something I&#8217;ve tossed or given away, how hard would it be<\/strong>?&#8221; This question can help with papers. If you shred a bank statement but end up needing it, you can get the statement online or call your bank. If you toss your diary from high school, you can&#8217;t get it back. So think harder about the diary than the bank statement. (<a href=\"https:\/\/gretchenrubin.com\/articles\/gretchen-rubins-archiving-and-saving-guide\/\">Check out these ways<\/a> to archive and save things that matter to you.)<\/p>\n<p>Beware of <em>binders<\/em>! For some reason, I&#8217;ve noticed that many people have an urge to put papers in binders. But do you really need those papers <em>at all<\/em>? <strong>One of the biggest wastes of time is doing something well that didn\u2019t need to be done <em>at all<\/em>. <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Along the same lines, I got an email from a teacher who complained about how much time she\u2019d spent shredding old lessons plans and student essays. Why do those papers need to be shredded <em>at all<\/em>? I talked to a guy who was planning on putting all his papers in chronological order in binders (binders!), then realized that most of the paperwork was related to pet insurance, and he could access his account online. He didn&#8217;t need to save those papers <em>at all<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>Some people worry about <strong>regret<\/strong>\u2014that they&#8217;ll sort through the papers, get rid of a lot of it, then wish they&#8217;d kept some of it. In my observation, this is rarely a problem. However, if it&#8217;s a real stumbling block for you, create a holding box. Put papers in that box for six months\u2014or even a year, if you&#8217;re really worried\u2014and see if you ever need to retrieve anything from that box. If you don&#8217;t, get rid of the box\u2014and importantly, don&#8217;t re-open it first! Or you&#8217;ll re-ignite the whole problem of uncertainty.<\/p>\n<h2>How to organize the paper you\u2019re keeping<\/h2>\n<p><strong>We want to get organized, but not too organized.<\/strong> Don&#8217;t make files so specific that you can&#8217;t find anything later, or so that you spend all your time labeling files.<\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;ve come up with a system that works really well for me. I have a folder for every month of the year, and any information related to that month goes into that file, whether it&#8217;s a party invitation, agenda for speaking at a conference, information about a school event for my daughter, or notes for one of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.gretchenrubin.com\/events\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">the live shows that Elizabeth and I are planning<\/a>. That makes it easy to know exactly where to find timely information, no matter what part of my life it relates to, and easy to see when paperwork is no longer necessary.<\/p>\n<p>Bonus: To make those files more fun to maintain, years ago, I bought bright, well-designed folders and had my then-little daughter Eleanor write the days of the month on them. It&#8217;s still fun to see her childish handwriting when I grab a folder.<\/p>\n<p>A few other ideas for organizing:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Go digital where you can.<\/strong> A scanner (or a scanning app on your phone) lets you keep a searchable archive without the physical pile.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Set up a simple inbox system.<\/strong> Pick a tray, basket, or drawer for holding papers that need attention. You\u2019ll need to commit to processing it regularly though, so it become a permanent pile. This can also be helpful if you deal with a lot of <a href=\"https:\/\/gretchenrubin.com\/articles\/7-tips-for-clearing-clutter-in-the-office\/\">paper at work<\/a>.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>This kind of paper clutter is difficult, but so rewarding! Think of how great you&#8217;ll feel when you get that pile of files off the floor, or clean out that stack of curled up, yellow papers. <strong>It&#8217;s tremendously freeing and energizing to clear out that stuff.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section><\/div>\n<p>The post <a href=\"https:\/\/gretchenrubin.com\/articles\/dealing-with-one-of-the-most-challenging-forms-of-clutter-paper-clutter\/\">How to Deal with Paper Clutter: What to Keep, What to Toss, and How to Stay Organized<\/a> appeared first on <a href=\"https:\/\/gretchenrubin.com\">Gretchen Rubin<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/hop.clickbank.net\/?affiliate=infohatch&amp;vendor=J1R2C\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-10614 aligncenter\" src=\"http:\/\/parmaks.com\/Resources\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/profit-gen400px.png\" alt=\"Profit Gen\" width=\"400\" height=\"217\" srcset=\"https:\/\/parmaks.com\/Resources\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/profit-gen400px.png 400w, https:\/\/parmaks.com\/Resources\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/profit-gen400px-300x163.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>An earlier version of this article was published April 16, 2019 Paperwork is one of the toughest forms of clutter to vanquish. Often, it\u2019s much [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12745","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-habits"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/parmaks.com\/Resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12745","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/parmaks.com\/Resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/parmaks.com\/Resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/parmaks.com\/Resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/parmaks.com\/Resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12745"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/parmaks.com\/Resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12745\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/parmaks.com\/Resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12745"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/parmaks.com\/Resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12745"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/parmaks.com\/Resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12745"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}