Actionable paper...now what?

Actionable paper refers to paper that has an action attached to it.  This could be making an appointment, responding to an invitation, paying bills, planning a vacation, reimbursements, ordering information, prescription refills, coupons, etc.

Where does it all go?

First, I would suggest that you make a pile of the actionable paper that needs to be taken care of this week.  This will help you see that you don't need to focus on all of it.  Just the most immediate and timely things.

Finding a home for your papers is pretty important so that you can stay up on things, and not miss deadlines.  I have been using the Sunday Basket paper organizing system.  It has eliminated excess paper and given me a place to put everything each week.

Papers are sorted into slash pockets, and stored in my Sunday Basket.  If you don't have either, you can start with folders and a basket or container to hold your papers.  It's important that all of the paper that comes into your homes goes into the same container. This way you eliminate losing things  :)

Create categories to hold your papers as you organize all the actionable papers that you have.  This can include family members, bills, school, work, errands, phone calls, etc.  This gives everything a temporary home until you take care of it.  As you look through your papers each week, you can easily sort what has come into the house each week into their proper categories as well as having a handle on what needs immediate attention.  

Leaving papers in piles and not giving them weekly attention can cause us to fall behind, forget things, and become overwhelmed.  I encourage you to take the time to organize your papers.  The initial investment of time and money will be a huge help and eliminate the feelings of overwhelm going forward.

I know it's not easy to get through all the paper, but grab a friend who's also living under a paper mountain, and share these ideas with her.  We all need some help now and then :)

I'll be back tomorrow to talk about what to do with the reference paper!

Part 3 in a 5 part series