Organize Your Paper and Plans

By Jodi Bryson

Children love mail. The thrill of seeing their name on an envelope is huge. This affection lasts, of course, only until we become adults and mail comes with address windows and words on the front such as "invoice enclosed" or "Internal Revenue Service." As for the daily deluge of junk mail: there's a reason it's called junk.  Don't you wish it would all just disappear?

"There are ways to stay on top of the paper that endlessly flows into the home," says Stephanie Denton, professional organizing expert and owner of Denton & Company organizers in Cincinnati, Ohio. "What's frustrating is having to think things through over and over: Did I make the appointment? Did I pay that bill?" But if you set up a system for managing all your paper, the amount of time and thought you expend will be greatly diminished. "You'll love being organized and in control of the paper!" Denton says.

Bills, Mail, Paperwork

Mail: Find a container -- basket, wire, wood -- to become your inbox, and place it near the entrance to your home. "When you come through the door, especially with one or more children in tow, you need to be able to toss the mail," explains Denton. "An inbox puts it all in one place instead of today's mail in your purse and yesterday's on the kitchen counter."

Bills: When you take your inbox (do this at least every other day -- it won't take long) to where you do your paperwork, create three stacks. "A large part of what comes in is just garbage -- this is your first stack which are tossed, recycled or shredded," says Denton. "The other two are designated for 'Reference Information' and 'Action Information.'"

Reference Information includes all things you don't need to do anything with but want or need to keep.  For example, letters with routine test results from the doctor; reports and information from school, things for your files, and so on.

Action Information includes all things you need to do something about.  For example, bills, an RSVP letter, a consent form for school, and so on.  Set aside an hour or more every week to tackle the action items.

Denton says a common mistake moms make is putting reference and action material in the same place, and this leads to a bottleneck. Vertical sorters, cubbie holes in your desk, even wall pockets work to streamline this paper information.

Personal, Professional, and Family Schedule

"I recommend not separating professional from personal," Denton says. "The truth is you're only living one life with separate activities. The key is to put everything in one place so at a glance you can know what you have to do." Take all the pieces of paper that reference events (party invitations, school notices, doctor's appointments, and so on) and transfer the information to a calendar. Here are a few suggestions to keep one calendar for activities for the whole family.

Color code: Put work in red, kid appointments in green, spouse info in black, and so on.

Wall calendar: If your husband helps maintain the schedule and planning, you can transfer information to a big wall calendar in the kitchen. Remember to be mindful of coordinating your personal calendar and family calendar on the wall.

Perpetual calendar: This is a place to record things that are going to or need to happen at the same time every month and every year. "Many of my clients go through the perpetual calendar at the beginning of the year and the beginning of each month to transfer items onto their personal and wall calendars. You'll never miss a sister-in-law's birthday or auto oil change again."

Free Your Time, Free Your Mind

Setting up paper management systems can benefit your family in valuable and quantifiable ways.  First, you will discover there is more time to do things you truly enjoy. Second, it will bring peace of mind to you and your family. "Create these systems, and try them for a few weeks," says Denton. "When things have a place to go and a time to go there, you not only free up your time, but you get to stop thinking about these things."

Jodi Bryson, a former magazine editor, is now a freelance writer based in Los Angeles.