Paper Management

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… Read more »

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… Read more »

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… Read more »

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… Read more »

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… Read more »

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… Read more »

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… Read more »

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… Read more »

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… Read more »

This Sunday the Austin American-Statesman’s Life Guide column, by Sarah Lindner, featured some of my tips on managing paper. Here are some snips from the article: What makes paper so hard to deal with? "Every piece of paper represents a decision that hasn’t been made yet," she says. "And so when people see that large… Read more »