Even in today’s digital world, you probably still find yourself buried under a lot of paperwork. There’s bills, insurance papers, birth certificates, and any number of things you get in the mail, from work, and so on. And after a while, it can really start to pile up, can’t it? If you’re constantly awash in phone bills and coupons you’re trying to save, don’t fear - you’re not alone, and The Shelving Store is here to help! Figure Out What’s Worth Saving: This is always the hardest part, but it needs to be done - and generally first. Don’t get in the habit of saving everything that comes your way, and try to identify stuff that needs to be held long-term as opposed to for a few days or weeks. Utility bills might be worth hanging onto until the next month’s comes along, whereas tax paperwork and IRS receipts are better to keep for a few years in case it comes up again. And expired coupons and junk mail? Generally not worth it, even if you don’t know when you’ll be ordering from Domino’s again. Separate The Old From The New: Some paperwork worth hanging onto is going to be inherently a little old: birth certificates, property deeds, car titles, etc. An easy way to separate paperwork is to divide them by active or inactive, old or new, or however you want to label it. Divide the stuff you need to hang on in the short term or that needs to be attended to more quickly (like utility bills) from the stuff that you’ll be keeping for a while to better remember what you’re working on. Don’t Overstuff Folders: Depending on what you have to save, you might need to make a few different folders to hold similar items. Try to break down over filled folders into smaller individual folders sorted in whatever way helps you the most - for example, tax returns can be filed by the year instead of cramming them all into one “Tax Returns” folder. Tidy Up Those Desks: A lot of people will ‘organize’ their paperwork into two big piles and consider it done. Instead of falling into those traps, why not get some desk organizers or filing cabinets to help keep everything together? Adding some wall shelves to your home office can help you free up desk space by giving you somewhere else to put everything. After you get used to where everything sits and where it’s supposed to go, it’ll be a habit you’re happy you got into. Step Into The Digital Age: Finally, if you really have an abundance of paperwork you can’t part with for whatever reason, you might want to consider digital document management. A lot of paperwork can be safely scanned, edited, and worked with digitally without taking up a lot of valuable organizational space. Software and apps exist to help scan, catalog, and manage any paperwork that needs to be retained long-term, and it can all be printed out and retrieved later at your convenience!