Ok hands up all those amongst you who feel like they need to move house just to escape all the paper piles accumulated around your home. I know it can seem like it’s a never ending battle having to deal with all the paper clutter. Apart from the legitimate mail you receive from family and friends there is the enormous amount of junk mail that fills our mail boxes every day including the stream of credit card offers and local store brochures. What do we do with most of this paper clutter? we throw it on the kitchen table or whatever is the most convenient piece of furniture to discard it on.

Did you know you could do away with some of this paper clutter by going online and signing up to have your bills paid automatically. This also helps you avoid paying excess charges because you forgot to pay your bill on time.

If you must throw your mail down somewhere before opening it make a point of sitting down as soon as you can and going through it, sorting out the bills from the junk offers. Throw all the junk in the trash can and keep your bills organized in a filing cabinet or drawer designated just for important bills. As soon as you have paid the bills, scan them and save them to your PC system ( if you have one ) and tear up the bill, putting it in the trash after scanning it will help avoid paper clutter.

Some years ago we purchased a small paper shredder from Wal-mart and I can honestly say it’s been very useful in keeping us clutter free. I use it for shredding all our utility bills and bank statements along with the credit card offers. This helps prevent paper clutter and identity theft which has become widespread here in the states.

Other forms of paper clutter include magazines that you may subscribe to and leave lying around the home instead of keeping them in a magazine rack or cupboard out of the way. If you have small children you no doubt collect all their little doodling’s and drawings brought home from school, maybe you have some of them stuck on your fridge but I’ll bet you also have them lying around in places you didn’t designate for them. why not use Scrap books to organize your child’s paintings instead of allowing them to add to the paper clutter your trying to clean up.

The telephone can also be a cause of paper clutter. Just think of all the times you have received a call and had to reach for a piece of paper to scribble a note on or write down a number to call somebody back on. How many bits of paper ended up cluttering up the telephone area. If you use a cordless phone this can mean scraps of paper all over the house adding to your problems. Having a good sized notepad and pen within easy access of your main phone is a great way to cut down on paper clutter. Designating one place in your home to leave paper messages is also a good way to stay on top of your clutter control. Some people put a notice board up in the kitchen which is a good way to keep scraps of paper from getting lost and adding to the household clutter.