Paper Extravaganza!

I felt overwhelmed with my piles of paper! Now imagine 25 years of paperwork! That much paper sounds overwhelming and perhaps even impossible to sort through; but in our recent organizing project we did it!

A normal day in my dad’s home office might look something like this.

We can all have days that look and feel like this. As an elementary teacher I had days that looked worse than this, with so much paper swirling around my head and desk I couldn’t even think straight. So when I first stepped into this office, I could certainly relate.

Especially since I started digging out from disorganization in my paper piles, I know there is a way to manage paper that leaves you feeling more in control. When paper gets out of hand though it can be overwhelming to find a clear path out of paperwork clutter and remove the fog that is clouding your productivity. Sometimes it means calling in a neutral third party to support your efforts and maintain your focus, ta-dah that’s me!

My dad works from home and creates a lot of paperwork as a Biblical studies teacher and as a leader in a non-profit. One thing my dad excels at is creating files. He can whip out files likes a clown with balloon animals. He has a file for every class he has ever taught and every track meet he’s ever attended (a tiny exaggeration but close).

The problem is he has run out of room for all his well-labeled file folder. This is a perfect example of a system that works for him to a certain extent but needs some tweaking.

He upgraded his file cabinet two years ago, but it has been completely filled. He even omitted hanging files in the hopes of maximizing space. (The black bars in the picture below are intended to hang files horizontally as opposed to how they are positioned vertically below.)

A back up filing system in a plastic container is on the lower shelf of a cabinet.  Notice all the paper stuffed in the sides too.

There is also a back up to the back up files container which has now found a home on the floor. This temporary solution has almost become a permanent fixture. The office either needs another filing cabinet or the paperwork needs to be sorted through with a critical eye ready to question every piece of paper.

With paper now housed in every nook and cranny, I knew an additional file cabinet would only postpone the inevitable. A second file cabinet would be filled in no time and the office would be right back in its chaotic shape.

We needed to focus on the root of the problem and avoid focusing only on the paper clutter. Even the desk drawer was not immune to the paper overload!

To avoid becoming overwhelmed, we started with the visible paper on the desk. Usually the paper on your flat surfaces or on the top of the piles are the most recent. By diving into the paper you recognize, it can be easier to make decisions and start to build momentum.

As you sort, you can ask yourself, “What is the next step that needs to be taken with this piece of paper?” You want to focus on the action of the next step so we move papers through the office without letting them pile up.

Each paper you keep should be held on to for a specific reason. If you create a file for the paper you are unsure what to do with you are postponing making a decision. If a paper is worth keeping, it needs to have a home.

As you sort, notice what types of paper are floating around. Do they fall under tasks to do, contacts to be recorded, information you would like to read? These are for your Action Files. As you are sorting through the individual papers, themes emerge and the types of action files you need tend to fall into place.

I must say, my dad was a trooper as we sorted through the almost endless stream of files. I went through a few files with him, questioning if he would refer to something again or if he really needed it

We set up broad categories for the classes he taught, but then he had to go through each paper on his own. He was able to move through his existing files and sort them into categories that he would be able to easily reference in the future.

I was happy most of his files have a home in the filing cabinet with room to spare. By the time I left he had a few more piles to sort through from the plastic container (25 years is a long time), but when he is done, there is space for them in the filing cabinet. The cabinet is now decked out with hanging files and labels to help divide the files into larger categories.

The office was a huge project, and so I will be sharing a few steps at a time before the big reveal. But I have to show just a tiny bit of the new file cabinet. Remember the before pics with papers and picture frames stacked all around.

Now papers are in their place and pictures have been hung!

Doesn’t it look great?! The flowers are courtesy of my soon-to-be sister-in-law. She has that design talent thing. I can’t wait for her to come redesign my home one day (I’ll wait until she is comfortable in the family first of course before I am so presumptuous as to volunteer her efforts). But that girl knows her way around a color-wheel!

I am itchin’ to show you the rest of the office but I will refrain, and just share with you that the desk is now clear! Here is a peek.

How do you keep you paper under control? Anyone else addicted to creating new files?

*Update- Jump to Part 2 of the Office Makeover and the Final Result of the office makeover.