The biggest organizational offenders are the stacks of “stuff” we encounter when meeting with a new client. What makes up those stacks? Bank statements, credit card statements, cell phone bills, car payment statement, utility bills—sound familiar? Most people collect them in stacks and eventually the statements make their way to paper files. Or not. Sometimes the stacks just procreate into more stacks. Not yours, of course. I’m sure you file yours immediately, right?
Tip: Go paperless with your monthly statements.
Sign in to your bank, credit card, or other provider and opt to “go paperless.” They will send you an e-mail every month to let you know when your statement is ready. You can then review it for accuracy, download it to a folder you’ve created on your computer and you’re done! If you want to eliminate even more paper, you can take this one step further by paying online either through your bank’s bill pay or directly from the provider’s website.
Voilà! Just a few clicks away to no more stacks, files, folders, checks, postage and vastly reduced paper clutter!
Next month we’ll discuss a few of my favorite organizational apps.
Ruth Lundi owns Topanga Office Services, formerly RuthMultitasks, Topanga Chamber of Commerce Business of the Year in 2014. She and her team have been streamlining Topanga homes and businesses since 2011. She can be reached at 310-455-2016.
By Ruth Lundi