The Clutter Diet Blog

My Client Lost 783 Pounds in One Day!

How would you like to lose 783 pounds in one day? My client just did. Do you have multiple boxes of many years' worth of papers in your garage or basement that really should be shredded and discarded, but you have no idea how to approach the project? You probably don't want to sit there with a household-grade shredder for hours going BZZZT, BZZZT, BZZZT. No, you don't.

Here's the answer: Hire a mobile shredding truck to come to your house and get it all done in about 30 minutes or less. Here's my little tour of the process, and I'll give you some tips at the end on how to make sure you choose the right company. All of these photos can be clicked to view in a larger size.

First, let me just say that when I witness the destruction of these papers I do it with the relish of a little boy seeing a big red fire truck. I think this is terribly interesting and cool! The truck arrives and the shredder technicians start loading the paper into these bins. We had about 20 file boxes of paper, which weighed in at 783 pounds when we were all done. Each full bin is about 300 pounds, and we had 2.5 of them.

 

As they are filled, they roll the bins to the truck and send them up the chute to be dumped into the shredder. It all happens inside the truck, and there are cameras inside so you can watch what is happening.

 

 

The truck's console has a monitor where you witness the destruction. Here are pictures of the console and views of the blades and the papers getting chewed up. If you are old enough to remember Dudley Do-Right, the evil villain Snidely Whiplash used to use dastardly blades like these-- I always think of that when I see them spinning menacingly in there. :)

  

 

 

You can even see a view of the back of the truck from another camera and see your actual pile-o'-shreds back there.

When investigating options for shredding companies, here are some questions to consider:

• Does the company seem legitimate with sound business practices?
• Ask for specifics on what they will be able to take (3-ring binders, hanging folders, binder clips, CDs, floppies).
• Will they take it off-site, or shred on-site? (Mobile shredding trucks are most secure because you can witness the destruction)
• What are their payment terms (invoicing, check or credit card)?
• How do they charge– by weight?  By box? For mobile shredding trucks, cost is usually a minimum per trip charge plus an amount per pound. (This project was about $230.)
• Do they provide a Certificate of Destruction immediately?
• Are their employees carefully screened?  Do they do background checks and drug tests?

When you've decided on a strategy, here are some tips for coordinating the project:

• Make general notes about what is being shredded as you gather the materials. Type up, print, and file afterward with the Certificate of Destruction.
• Centralize all of the items to be destroyed. Make sure it's very obvious what is supposed to be shredded and what is not.
• Witness that the documents are secured or destroyed, and make sure you get the Certificate of Destruction.

If this project is too big for your needs, look for other options for shredding smaller quantities--you may be able to take a few boxes yourself to the shredding company offices, and you may find that there is a community "shred day" where you can take your papers (usually for one free box).

Whatever you do, PLEASE SHRED. Identity theft is a huge problem and getting worse. Do you have any fun stories of losing that many Clutter-Pounds(SM) in one day? Share in the comments! Many thanks to my trusty vendor, Marshall Shredding, serving Austin & San Antonio. You guys are always terrific to work with!

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Information Gluttony- Revisited

This past week I have been swept up in the time/space vortex that is the annual NAPO conference, this year in Orlando, FL. (National Association of Professional Organizers) Yes, there were about 800 of us crazy organizer people in one place, can you imagine? I will be sharing what I learned and favorite new organizing products from the expo in our newsletter this week. You can click here to sign up for our newsletter at no cost. It goes out every Thursday. And now for something completely different...

One of the most popular topics I discuss and have posted about is "Information Gluttony." Our Clutter Diet members and experts were recently chatting in our message boards about this as it relates to people-pleasing, and I thought this was an excellent point to expand upon.

Sometimes I have seen clients keep lots of magazine clippings, newsletters, and other types of information for the purpose of sharing it with others. Are you trying to be a Know-It-All with all of the information you're collecting?

Being a Know-It-All is another way of trying to be a "pleaser." (See our related post on "Overdoers Anonymous") You may want to play the role of always having the answers and being the Go-To-Guy or Gal. Is this role really serving you? Is it the best use of your time? Are there better ways you could help the people in your life?

Is this really something the people in your life want? Are you sending this stuff to them to try to reinforce a point or prove an argument you were having? (Example: "See, you should be eating less salt because of your high blood pressure. This article says so!") If so, this may be annoying and unwelcome.

Most of the time when I work with clients like this, they have never gotten around to sending out all of this helpful information to people anyway, so it's certainly not helpful if it's sitting there unsent. And often the information is outdated by the time they re-encounter it.

I highly encourage all of you who are saving these items in paper form to "go electronic" and at least try to send the info to others via e-mail with links they can pursue on their own. Less clutter for both of you.

Can you relate to being a "pleaser" with information? Share your thoughts in the comments.

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National Organize Your Files Week- Yippee!

The third full week in April (next week, 4/19/09-4/25/09) is National Organize Your Files Week-- aren't you excited? How will you celebrate?

What do you mean, you're not celebrating?

Let's just get this out of the way-- Nobody really gets excited about paper. Even those of us who teach about managing paper and help others file things for a living really don't love it either. We just don't mind when it's someone else's paper. Our own papers are much less fun.

Why is that? Objectivity! If it's someone else's paperwork, you have no emotional attachments or guilt related to the decisions in the piles. You can breeze through them faster.

We talk about how all clutter ultimately is delayed decisions and actions. Paper is a very concentrated dose of this-- each pile of stacked thin sheets is compactly and efficiently holding potentially hundreds of delayed decisions and actions in a small 8.5 x 11" space.

When going through your own paperwork and mail, try to step back from it mentally and concentrate on these three questions to help you get through the piles faster:

1.  What is this? What does this paper want from me? I have had years of practice refining this skill... scanning the paper to quickly figure out the bottom line. You can learn this too! Look for the first question or sentence in the letter; anything that is bolded, underlined, highlighted, large, or red; and the last sentences in the letter. Look for catch words and phrases like "Pay by," "Due Date," "Return by," "Statement Enclosed," or any actual dates on the page. 

2.  Does this paper fall into the category of Action, Reference, or Trash? (Just remember A.R.T.) Once you've figured out what the paper is and what it wants from you, you can decide if you want to take action on it, keep it in your files, or shred/recycle it. If it requires action, keep it separated from the papers that you're simply keeping for reference. This is half the battle, my friends. Don't mix the two together.

3.  If this person or company knocked on my door or called me on the phone, would I spend time talking with them? For all of the catalogs and junk mail sales pitches directed your way, pretend that you are a super-busy executive who has time for only the things that matter most. Try to quickly bottom-line what they're selling and whether you are remotely interested, and don't fall for the trap of essentially "going out shopping" in the middle of the day by leisurely browsing through catalogs. Save the catalogs for a time when you really want to shop and put them together in a reading basket. Don't let them distract you from sorting all the way through the pile.

See if these questions will help you make the piles disappear more quickly! It leaves you more time to celebrate occasions like National Organize Your Files Week, which I plan to celebrate like author Katherine Mansfield, who said, "Tidied all my papers. Tore up and ruthlessly destroyed much. This is always a great satisfaction." Next post: dealing with the actual files already in your cabinet. Share your favorite paper tips in the comments!

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THE RULES about Paper

I was in the bookstore recently and ran into that book that was popular several years ago called, "The Rules." It was about how women are supposed to behave to attract and keep a man. I remember disagreeing with it... but regardless, spotting it on the bookstore table made me think about how there are rules about so many things in life.  I recently worked with a client extensively with paper issues and it made me think about what I would like to sum up and say to her about "The Rules" for paper. I will probably add to this and think about it some more, and I am sure my organizer colleagues will chime in with their comments and additions too. But here's my first stab at explaining it this way.

1. Think prevention. Try to keep the mail and other papers from coming into your house in the first place. Unsubscribe, opt out, decline, leave the papers there, get them electronically instead.

2. Don't let the mail get taken to a "second location!" Bring the mail in to one spot (your main household "inbox") and leave it there until it's officially processed. Don't let one person take it over to the kitchen and casually leaf through it, leave it there, then shuffle through it yourself later and strew it further about the house. Do not pass Go, do not collect $200. Leave the mail there until you're ready to process it.

3. Think about your inbox the same way you think about your kitchen sink. What is your tolerance threshold for doing dishes?  Can't go to bed with dishes in the sink? One day? Two days? You should have that same nagging feeling about processing your mail, because it's exactly the same as your dirty dishes--it's going to keep piling up more every day until you deal with it. Decide what your tolerance threshold is and process that mail, whether it's every day or every three days. It's got to be done.

4. Always have your preferred disposal methods nearby when handling your paper:  Shredder, recycling bin, just plain old trash can, or all of the above. Just like you'd have your hot water and dish soap ready to do dishes.

5. Pull out all reading material first to make the pile more manageable. Don't get distracted by it--make it your reward when you're finished processing. Keep your reading material corralled in a centralized spot as much as possible based on where you read it. Use a limiting container for the magazines and catalogs so that when it's full it's your cue to clean it out.

6. Your first job in processing is quickly deciphering what exactly each paper is telling you or asking of you. Skim for the highlighted parts, the bottom line, the bolded sections. Say it out loud to yourself if that helps, something like, "This paper is telling me to pay my car registration fee by the end of this month." If you have giant backlog piles, start with the most recent and work your way backward.

7. Separate Action papers from Reference papers and Trash. (Think A-R-T, Action-Reference-Trash.) Anything that requires action, pull it out and sort further from there. "What is the next action?" as David Allen would say. Is it a bill to pay, a phone call to make, a form to fill out, an order to fill? Get in on your calendar or task list and into your system to make sure it gets done. That system is whatever works for you...files, trays, piles... as long as it gets done on time and you're happy. Group action papers together if they relate to a bigger project, and make sure you always understand the next actions required.

8. If there is no action required, you might need to keep it in your files as Reference. If you really must keep it and can't get it electronically or any other way, either file it immediately or put it aside in a basket "To Be Filed." Remember that the 80/20 rule applies-- 80% of what you file will never be looked at again. Be smart about this fact.

9. Practice safe disposal! Shred anything that will damage your identity, your privacy, your finances, or your reputation. ;)

10. "Lather, rinse, and repeat." Like it or not, paper is an inevitable part of our lives and appears that it will be for a long time to come. Denying it, ignoring it, postponing it... none of that works. Keep processing your paper regularly and you'll soon have it under control. Make it fun-- Dave Barry says, "I like to cheer myself up by pretending that my mail actually screams when I throw it into the wastebasket."

And those, my friends, are The Rules. Anything to add?

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Are You an Information Glutton?

The Magazine Publishers of America say there were 22,652 different magazines published in 2007, and hundreds of thousands of new books are published each year in the US and the UK alone. If you are one of our Kindle readers, you could be holding over 200 books in your hand, and you can choose from over 1000 blogs available.*** And outside of the Kindle, we're one of literally millions of blogs you could potentially read any given day.

Each day we collectively send over 210 billion e-mail messages, sometimes with attached documents to read, and we can visit billions of web pages (and print them out). The amount of information available to us is truly infinite, as it grows daily and shows no signs of stopping.

The availability this information is a great thing. However, the expectations we put upon ourselves to digest this information can be unrealistic and stressful to the point of gluttonous excess.

I have seen several clients over the years who suffer from this "Information Gluttony." Typically intelligent and diverse in their interests, they subscribe to many magazines, they order from catalogs, and they read a lot of information online. They also subscribe to professional journals that they feel compelled to read. Each day when the mail arrives, it's overwhelming to even sort it out and make sense of where to start! And that is not even counting the electronic information they have piling up on their hard drives, often resulting in stacks of printouts they have not yet read either.

The compounding problem is that, even with the tremendous guilt and anxiety they feel as they survey the stacks around them, they continue to buy more and add more to the piles.

Here are some tips to stop the cycle of Information Gluttony:

• Accept the fact that you cannot ever possibly digest it all. Just as you can only comfortably eat until you're full, there is only so much information one can consume before you run out of time and capacity.
• Prioritize what your top three areas of focus are for learning at this time. For one doctor client of mine, it was her practiced medical specialty, her culinary hobby, and her religious study. All other subjects were then considered second-tier. Re-evaluate this as your interests change.
• Prevent more information from coming in. Stop buying and subscribing to new things until you feel you're back in control. Unsubscribe to magazines you have not read and anything that does not contribute to learning in your three prioritized subject areas. Make sure you check privacy policies when purchasing from catalogs or online stores so that you can prevent being added to more mailing lists. You can also manage catalog subscriptions at www.catalogchoice.org.
• Purge all information older than a certain cutoff date that you determine. For some, anything older than 3 months will be too old, and for others, anything older than 6 months or one year. Adjust this threshold to your comfort level, and then stick to it. Recycle your way back to a manageable stack or two.
• Prune the information that continues to come in by continuing to unsubscribe to unread items and using a "limiting container" to keep the piles managed. When the container, like a basket, is full, it's time to clean it out.
• Stop feeling responsible for creating your own personal library and index of information. Clipping a few articles is okay, but extensively clipping and filing simply is not necessary any longer now that almost everything is searchable and retrievable online.

You can also prioritize by using our A-B-C-D method: 

"A" magazines are ones you never want to miss or you must read for work.
"B" publications are favorites but are not quite as important as the "A" ones.
"C" publications are ones you are rarely reading, and
"D" publications are ones you are not reading at all.

Most people have time to read only A and B items, so seriously consider getting rid of anything that is C or D.

For a summary of some of these concepts, watch the video from my spring News 8 Austin series on managing your reading material.

***Hey, guess what!? We're the #2 bestseller overall on Kindle Blogs. THANK YOU everybody!

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We ARE Moving Toward Paperless...

I personally do not believe there will ever be such a thing as a completely paperless world. (Yikes, this might be really funny someday if I am wrong!) I know so many clients who just like their paper. They like to hold it, mark on it, fold it, carry it, and keep it. And so many times it's convenient to print something and use it for a brief time even if you plan on ultimately keeping it electronically.

It is very interesting to see, however, that we are moving toward a more paperless society. I visited a client on Thursday for whom I had done a massive filing system project five years ago. I was training the new manager of the department on the system, which was all paper filing, and we were teaching her how to put her new papers into the system. "What papers?" was the answer... she gets and keeps everything electronically, and so does everyone else in the department. They may print things out for a short time, but they are not needing to file papers like they used to. It was such a huge contrast to five years ago!

What could you do today to go toward a more paperless existence? (And a related question, do you have a good backup system to make this work?)

Related posts: Sudden Hard Drive Crash, Find Stuff on Your Hard Drive

The "Bottom" Line on File Folders

I was working with a client Friday and was reminded that many people still don't know about Box-Bottom File Folders. They are terrific for those very bulky files that would dwarf an ordinary hanging folder and cause the contents to bow up out of the top.

This picture is from the FedEx Kinko's website of a Smead product, which was the best photo I could find that shows how these work. (Other places sell them, though, and other companies produce them besides Smead.) They come with these cardboard inserts that you place into the bottom of the folders, which are themselves larger than normal to accommodate the insert. They come in different sizes, and many people are tempted to order the "assortment" box of various sizes. In my experience, just get a box of 2-inch box-bottom folders and not the assortment. The 1-inch size is barely worth bothering for, and the 3-inch size is so large that you might want to think about other options for that much paper!

Using box-bottom folders is a great way to neaten-up your filing cabinet and make it easier to wrangle those large files. Do ask yourself why you're keeping that much paper, though, and make sure that makes sense!

Throw Out Your Manuals With Confidence!

We are always telling our clients that manuals and user guides are obsolete the moment they are printed. Of course there are some you may use more frequently and those are great to hold onto, but there are some you probably never would use. You can now throw electronics-related manuals away with confidence because of this great website called "Retrevo." You search for the electronic gadget you have and it pulls up the manual for you, usually in PDF form. Try it! They also have great product reviews and buying information if you just need a new printer, for example.

I looked up my printer, my cell phone, and my camera and all of the info was there. You may want to verify that the information is online before you throw the documentation out, and keep in mind that the information may also be very easily available on the manufacturer's own website too. Retrevo appears to be just for electronics, but this concept of finding the information online applies to appliances, software, toys, and many other things too.

These kinds of booklets take up a LOT of space in file drawers and on shelves in many people's homes and offices. Liberate yourselves and liberate the space!

Lorie the Laminator

You've heard of the Terminator... now meet "The Laminator." I really like laminating important pieces of paper! Here are some ways that I use laminating pouches around my home and office:

• Checklists for packing, speaking engagements, and other recurring needs
• Workout training program- taped to my treadmill
• Schedules for newsletter releases and other recurring business events
• Procedures/instructions posted up on a wall or cabinet
• Rate charts, price lists, tax tables
• Cheat sheets
• One-page downtown map in my car
• I could go on and on...

I don't have a laminating machine--I use laminating pouches that you "peel & seal." I like the "Scotch Self-Sealing Laminating Pouches" product #LS854-25G. I have found them at the best price at Sam's Club (this photo is from their website), but I know you can get them at lots of office supply stores too. I use an architect's ruler to smooth the pages out while I peel off the backing (3-sided ruler that is easier to hold onto), but you can use any straight edge that works for you.

What could you laminate today? Get creative! It's fun AND efficient.

Three Simple Secrets to Paper Management

Yes, Monday, January 14th is National Clean Off Your Desk Day. Did you know that the #1 reason that people call us for services in person is PAPER?

Whether you are a filer or a piler, managing your paper has only gotten more difficult in the last ten-to-twenty years. We all thought we'd have a "paperless office," but the advent of computers has just made things worse. We now send e-mails but then we print them...and we can create something instantly that would have taken us a week to send off to the print shop when we were growing up.

Here are three simple secrets to effective and efficient paper management to help you clean off your desk:

1. Learn to identify papers quickly. A skill that is often overlooked is the ability to actually know WHAT a paper is. Cultivate your "skimming" skills so you can look over a paper quickly and understand it. What does this piece of paper want from you? For example: "This is an insurance paper. They want me to reply to confirm the details of my accident by February 3rd."
2. Be decisive. (Read my previous post entitled, "You Should Probably Be More Decisive, I Think") Shuffling papers around results from not making decisions about the paper. I don't necessarily believe in the "Only Handle It Once" rule-- just that you should DECIDE about it once. Is there action required, and if so, what is that action? Put similar actions together, like Calls, Bills, etc.
3. Identify a trigger. When you have identified an action for a particular piece of paper, don't go on to the next one until you have thought through what your TRIGGER is for that action to take place. How are you going to remember to do this later? Should you put it on your calendar? Put it in a tickler file? Should you put it next to your car keys? Maybe make a task reminder pop up in Outlook? Use a sticky note somewhere strategic? Whatever works for you... make sure your solution is foolproof so your brain can let go of that information and relax.

Our paid Clutter Diet members are working on some great home office projects in the next few weeks to put these skills to good use.  Also, for more great productivity and paper tips, see my good friend Susan Sabo's blog at Productivity Cafe.

Now, go clean off your desk!  ;)  Check back here and comment to let us know what you got done.