Uncluttering My Office

I have been widening the range of sites that I keep an eye on through Google Reader; my reading list is here if you are interested.

One of the recent additions to my daily reading list has been http://unclutterer.com/ a site that does what it says on the tin!

This got me thinking about how much stuff I have in my home office that I don’t need. As you can see from the reflection I have a four drawer filing cabinet. In the mirrored wardrobes there are a few shelves with lever arch folders too. I decided to have a uncluttering session.

Only once I started to review the paperwork that I religelously deal with and then file as soon as it lands on my desk, did I realise that I am actually a hoarder. Not a lable I would have given myself.

Here are some of the highlights of what I found.

• Every bank statement for every account I have ever had since 1987 (I was 17), even if it is closed.
• Every telephone bill I have ever received, even for previous houses.
• Every mobile phone bill I have ever received.
• Every credit card statement I have ever had.

At that point I ran out of time.

I decided to keep the first of each bill so I can keep track of when I opened each account (unless it is a closed account). See I am a hoarder! The thinking behind this was when my mobile contract is due for renewal it is always a good tactic to throw in; “I have been a loyal customer since….”

I decided to keep all bills/statements from January 2006, giving me two years of complete history. No logic in this other than it seemed like a nice round number.

Conclusions

• Every time I file something, I should bin something.
• I should have a purge every six months or so, time to add a task to RTM.
• Shreading takes a long time (6 sheets at a time, maximum) so don’t let it build up.
• Shreading is a DIRTY job, I now have to vacum and dust my office (and check INSIDE the PCs).

Question

• What should I do with 4 bags full of shreaded paper?