These 6 Tips Will Save You Hours of Sorting Paper Clutter

What’s the #1 most efficient way to reduce paper clutter in your home? Prevent it from coming in! I know, I know, this seems like a tall order, but there are really simple ways to do this.

Most of us have a million things going on. It’s no surprise that our homes get clogged with paper clutter because we don’t want to take the time to deal with it.

Instead of spending tons of time in the future trying to figure out what should stay and what should go, why not look out for your future self by preventing the paper from coming into the house in the first place?

I’ve got 6 tips to prevent paper clutter from coming into the house that you can do right now.

01. No more junk mail.

Did you know you can opt-out of junk mail? You can opt-out of receiving pre-screened credit card offers as well as magazine offers, catalogs, donation requests, and retail promotions.

When I receive these papers at my house goes into the shredder or the recycle bin anyway. By opting out, I can take a few steps out of the process by not having to retrieve, sort, and shred these papers. It’s a lot of work.

If you’re already overwhelmed by paper, cut down the amount by opting out.

You can opt-out of prescreened credit offers for 5 years at www.optoutprescreen.com.

You can opt-out of direct mail (such as catalogs and retail promotions) at www.DMAchoice.org.

02. Subscriptions

Do you have stacks of magazines around the house that you never read? Do you still receive the newspaper but only read the news online? It might be time to cancel those subscriptions.

If no one’s reading them and they’re not adding value to your life it’s ok to stop receiving them. If you decide you want them again, you can always resubscribe.

03. Stop printing!

If you’ve ever printed out a recipe and then wondered where it went, this is a good reason to stop printing. I’ve pulled out stacks of recipes from the back of kitchen cabinets. Most of them were used once, then forgotten about.

There are so many options now for going digital that unless you plan on using a paper frequently or need to take handwritten notes, it’s better not to print.

04. Use a digital filing system

It’s really easy to store recipes and other notes digitally using apps like Evernote, Google Drive, and Dropbox. 

I scan receipts and business cards to make it easy to search for things I need …no more digging through filing cabinets. All I have to do is enter some keywords into my search bar and track down exactly what I’m looking for.

05. Go paperless

Anytime you can receive a paperless statement, opt-in! Keep track of your bills online through your bank, or use a budget app like Every Dollar or Mint. Don’t lose or forget to pay any bills because you can’t find them in a stack of paper.

06. Just say “no”

When you go somewhere and vendors are trying to hand you papers that you don’t want or need, politely tell them “No, thank you. My family is going paperless.”

You aren’t obligated to take it home, and I think a lot of people these days will respect your decision to go paperless.

Paper clutter prevented

These 6 tips can save you hours of time later. You won’t have to take time out of your day to sort through as much mail. Better yet, you won’t have to dedicate an entire weekend to sorting papers you don’t even need. Your future self will thank you.

If you’re working on decluttering paper, download my free Paper Organizing Cheatsheet to get all the steps you need to get it organized.