Why is there so much paper?!

Talk about clutter! As soon as your mail pile gets low, more comes in!

How many of you have this problem? You get home, check your mailbox and find that it's mostly filled with junk!

One of the biggest sources of clutter is paper. Between not having a proper organizing/filing system in place and the onslaught of junk mail it can seem impossible to keep up with it all! The majority of your mail ends up in either piles on your desk/table/counter or in the trash!

There has to be a way to tackle this problem, right?!

Of course there is!

Here are a few tips on how to handle the paper in your home and keep it to a minimum.

1. File it - If you don't have one already, get a file cabinet, box or folder. To start, create a file folder for each bill you receive paper copies of.
2. Organize it - Designate an inbox for the mail you need to keep (i.e. bills/invoices). Whether it's a basket on your kitchen counter or a document holder on your desk, select a spot that you will be forced to see it an not forget about them.
3. Throw it out - Throw out old catalogs, magazines and newspapers. Although we all like to browse through catalogs, how often do we actually order from one? Not often because we can order pretty much everything online. And as far as magazines and newspapers go, once you've read them, it's not very likely that you will go back and reread them, so go ahead and toss them!
4. Shred it - Shred the offers and items with your name on them. This is some advice I need to take myself! There are so many incidents of identity theft these days, we shouldn't make it as easy as picking through our trash to get our information.
5. Opt out! - We've all heard of the "do not call list", but did you know that you can opt out of getting junk mail? I didn't, until I finally got fed up with all the wasted paper, so I looked it up. My search led me to the Federal Trade Commission website which had a link to opt out of unsolicited credit card offers, insurance offers and advertising. You can either call 888-567-8688 or visit www.optoutprescreen.com where you can opt out for 5 years. There is also an option to mail in a form and opt out permanently. I did it and I'm amazed at how little junk mail I get now!
6. Go paperless - These days the majority of your bills can be paid online and you have the option to go paperless. Setting yourself up to go paperless will (obviously) help reduce the paper that enters your home.

I hope you found some of those tips to be helpful.

​Please comment or share if you have any additional tips or think someone else can benefit from them!