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Home Improvements

Uncluttering My Office

Bags A Rubbish Shot !

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?

5 replies on “Uncluttering My Office”

Great job getting your office into shape! I love reading success stories šŸ™‚

What to do with the paper? The answer to that depends on your level of concern about what will happen to it. Me, I’d put it in the recycling. If you’re more worried, there are lots of places on line to learn about how to turn the paper into pulp to use in lawn care/gardening type projects.

Terrific job!

Thanks for the encouragement!
The worst case is it will go in the recycling bin.
I was wondering if there was any creative uses I could put the shreadings to, mind you, that will probably involve storing bags of shreadings…. which I’m not keen on now I have tidied !

Ross

a) I was unsure if it was guinea pig safe, I know they can eat their bedding.

b) It would end up the size of an elephant if I bunged it all it !

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