Going paperless

The paperless office was a much predicted and totally unrealized forecast in the early days of digital. Ironically it appears that computers have resulted in offices (both work and home) having even MORE paper. But as individuals we can cut our paper usage and storage down. Several sites offer solid advice for accomplishing this. The first, and one of my favorite sites on the web, is Lifehacker, and their article, The Complete Guide to Going Paperless is spot on with great advice. I found one user's comments about electronic notary intriguing, I will have to read up on that one later. But as you can tell from other users' comments everyone has a different comfort level that has to be met.

I'm betting you can probably find some files, articles, clippings, etc. that could be scanned and utilized better if they were in electronic form. I challenge you to pick one you think would be more convenient if only it were digital and give scanning and storing it on your computer a serious try.

Mine is going to be all those dratted insurance claims sent to me by my health insurance. They often have multiple appointments, patients, and doctors listed making it impossible to sort properly. They end up in one file folder and stay there. I don't need to save the paper copies but do need to check dates, which doctor, and what's owed occasionally. I could create a word or excel list of the claims, list the basic information (date, doctor, what it was for, and for whom) and insert a link to the related electronic copy. That would not save trees but would free up some file cabinet space.

Even better I could check with my insurance company to see if they could email my claim receipts so that I wouldn't need to scan them myself. That would save trees and time.

Note: I since checked my insurance company's web site and they don't appear to offer electronic delivery by email. I can access my records (in a different form and layout) online but only back about a year or so. Which is probably all one needs. But I think I will call them and suggest this as an option. They'd even save postage, and what company doesn't want to save money?

Other related articles and sites:

• Seven Strategies for Going Paperless - check out the rest of their blog, A Small Notebook for a Small Home. It focuses on simplifying one's life and home and has some great ideas.


• Six tips for going paperless

And naturally there is a possible downside to going paperless, see this interesting article at Going Green: Going paperless has its costs

Drawer organizers for clothes

In the fit of organizing that I mentioned in my last post, I also attacked my dresser drawers. I used a few of those spring-loaded drawer dividers (but higher ones) along with some sock & lingerie organizers. Everything has it's place, and in the case of socks they are even organized by color.

Some of you might think that's just too much trouble, but the better organized your dresser drawers are the less time you spend getting ready in the morning. I'd rather spend time folding and rolling in the evening or on the weekend then digging frantically in the morning while trying to get to work on time. For me it's worked out great, I pick out my clothes and then grab socks and what not to match. Because everything is organized ahead of time it takes only seconds to grab what I need. Which is good because I'm not a morning person and the less alert I have to be the better things work out.

An added bonus is when I'm folding and rolling after doing my laundry I can identify immediately which socks are missing mates and can put them aside so that I'm not dealing with them on work day mornings.

I ended up getting several of the sock boxes shown below, they work well and they ship flat which means less packaging. There are other options but these accommodated the various thicknesses of my socks. These and similar products are probably available locally (look for the area where they sell clothes hampers) or via some of the online stores I mentioned in my previous post.

Drawer organizers for the kitchen

In one of my fits of organizing fever I bought some drawer dividers for our kitchen drawers. They've turned out pretty well since it's easier to find things. Mine are simple separators and they fit well because they are adjustable depending on the size of your drawers. Which is good because I don't think ours are a standard size.

Mine are these spring-loaded Dream Drawer 2 Drawer Dividers, avaialble from Organize.com, Bed Bath and Beyond, Amazon, and others. I've found them in different heights and lengths, they're are easy to move, and you can take them with you if you move.

This site (one I'm a little too fond of) also offers a wide selection of what I call "drop-ins" because they are self-contained units that you can insert 'as is' into your drawers. They are expandable so they encompass more of the drawer space available.

Amazon has a variety including wooden ones such as this Axis Expandable Kitchen Drawer Divider.

Today I discovered this site, which has some pretty elaborate drawer organizers. My only criticism is that some of the products are permanent, which doesn't allow for changes either by you or by new owners if you ever sell your home. You also can't take them with you when you move, Lifestyle Systems: E-Z-Organizers.

Another site, and one I've ordered from myself, is Stacks and Stacks. They have a nice selection of drawer organizers for kitchen, office, and bedroom. You can spend a lot of money here so watch yourself!

Be sure to measure your drawers first before shopping online or in your local stores.

The Container Store

The Container Store is one of my favorite stores in the world. When I lived on the East coast it was a favorite jaunt on the weekends. We don't live anywhere near one now and I really miss it.

It's an organizer's dream but can be an expensive excursion. I can't be the only one to think so since my sister-in-law called it a "dangerous place" after I told her that's where she could find the fridge jug.

Go with a list of problems you're looking to solve and/or a budget or you will leave with more than you can afford.

Why do we keep so much stuff?!

We are being buried by our possessions. Why else would the home storage products industry make 4.36 billion per year?¹ That's not counting what we pay for self-storage units, other organizing products, books, magazines, and even consultants called "professional organizers" to help us weed our possessions and organize the leftovers.

Why do we put up with inconvenient and uncomfortable homes? How many of us have possessions simply because we haven't looked at them with a critical eye and asked ourselves why we still have them? Not only are we 'material' and buy into the idea that 'things' will make us happy, but we never get rid of anything whether it succeeded in doing what we bought it for or not. In fact, "80% of what we keep we never use."² Given the size of the 'organizer' market we must be on the verge of being buried alive by our possessions. We are obviously not doing ourselves any favors. If you analyze your space and its contents unemotionally, "it costs an average of $10/square foot to store items in your home."³ So if you are thinking of moving just because you think your house is too crammed and cluttered, you're making a big mistake.

"The Self Storage Association (SSA) represents the $22.6 billion (annual revenues) self storage industry in the United States that comprises 51,223 primary facilities with more than 2.2 billion rentable square feet."⁴ So some people are paying for storage rather than move, but they are still probably losing money because of possessions they may not even want anymore!

It's obvious to me that we all want more space! What I call, 'room for oxygen.'

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¹ (statistics from the web site by Professional Organizer Jamie Novak

² The National Association of Professional Organizers - (Barbara Hemphill, Agency Sales Magazine, 4/1/03

³ The National Association of Professional Organizers

⁴ From Jeri's Organizing & Decluttering News: Self Storage - A Growing Business