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One of the biggest challenges of organizing around the home is paper clutter management. If you feel like you are drowning in a heap of old papers, it is time to get your paper clutter under control. If you haven’t already, go back to Part 1 to read these tips for how to organize important documents at home:

1. First of all, go paperless to stop the influx of new paper clutter.
2. Get three large bins and label them with “Recycle, Digitize, or Keep.”
3. Recycle as much as possible, digitize everything you can, and keep only what you need to.

Read on to learn more about how to organize years of paperwork.

4. Do not make assumptions about what kids want to save.

If you have kids, you will inevitably come across a lot of old schoolwork and artwork while you are organizing. This is especially common among parents of younger children, who may at first treat every piece of paper as if it is a precious relic.

After a while, you may be tempted to throw most of this work away. Before you do, though, check in with your kids—you may be surprised by what they want to save. If they are concerned about it, you can give them the papers to go through on their own. It is best to set a deadline, or they will probably put it off indefinitely.

5. Donate or recycle old magazines (depending on their quality). Get rid of unimportant subscriptions.

Another smart move at this point is to recycle most of your old magazines—you probably will not ever read them again. If some of them are high in quality or are collectible (like old issues of National Geographic), you can donate them to a library instead.

6. Come up with a filing system for incoming documents.

You now need a paper organization system for the new documents making their way into your home. I suggest a set of plastic bins for this purpose in conjunction with a filing system using binders and folders. Papers need to be filed right away when you get them.

7. Purchase a plastic bin for recycling and put it in your mudroom or next to your family command center.

One last item of advice is to buy a plastic bin to use for recycling. It does not literally need to be a recycling bin—just a bin which you label “Recycling” and put somewhere convenient near your door. That way when people walk in with mail and other documents, they can immediately throw away papers they do not need to keep. This can go a long ways toward preventing future paper clutter buildup.

You now have a lot of tips which you can use to get your paper clutter minimized, organized, out of the way and under control. It will be a big project, so be prepared for that. But it will be such a relief when it is done and everything you need is easy to find!