Paper Control: Setting up a Household Information Center


by Paula Constable - Date: 2007-02-10 - Word Count: 412 Share This!

Does junk mail, school papers, bills and other paper clutter pile up quickly and take over your counter tops and table top? Do you find yourself stacking and then stashing the piles out of sight when company comes over? Are you scrambling in the mornings to get the kids out of the house with everything that they need? Do you miss appointments because you forgot or pay bills late because you can't find them?

If you said yes to more than one of the above, a household information center may be the answer. A well-organized information center can help you to deal with activities, information, and papers that come into your home.

Your information center should be set up in a central location, most often it is the kitchen-the hub of the home. Your command center can be a portable file box or it could be stationed in a desk drawer. Supplies, such as envelopes, tape, stapler, pens and pencils, and the telephone, should be near by.

Through your information center you will manage your mail, bill paying, calendar, events and projects. A very important component of your information center will be a Tickler File system, which consists of a dated accordion file (1-31 and January-December) and action files. Another important and very necessary component is a calendar or planner.

As paper and information come into your home, you must make decisions on each item. Use the F.A.T. principle: File it for future reference, Act on it now (or another time), or Toss it. Action items will go into your action folders. Typical files may include: to do, to pay, to call, school, computer entry, etc. If you can do a task in two minutes or less, do it! If you have a paper that you need to act on a specific date, put that paper in your dated accordion behind the appropriate date. Don't forget to also enter it in your planner.

Another useful tool is a household binder. This 3-ring binder can be used to keep regularly accessed information. Common things you would store in your household binder might be school calendars and directories, lunch menus, practice schedules, and frequently used telephone numbers.

Use your system on a regular basis. Get into the habit of consulting your Ticker File and calendar at the same time every day, preferably in the morning. You should be continually adding and taking out items. Setting up a household information center will help you eliminate the piles and reduce the stress.


Related Tags: home, children, organization, paper, control, filing, calendar

About the author: Paula Constable, professional organizer and speaker, works with families who want to make their daily lives easier through organization. She is the owner of Stuff 2b Organized, LLC and she brings understanding, support and solutions to help calm the busy lives of the families she works with.

To sign up for her free newsletter, visit http://www.stuff2borganized.com Copyright © 2007 Paula Constable and Stuff 2b Organized, LLC. All rights reserved.

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