Organizing: Never Say "For the Time Being!"
OK, so how many times have you said "Oh, just put it there for the time being. I'll figure it out later?" And how many times did you forget where you put it?
THE PITFALLS of "For the Time Being:"
The time you put in sorting through drawers or cabinets has been blown away. Undone.
You now have a new pile of papers that don't belong anyplace.
The space you were organizing doesn't look any better than when you started.
YOU leave the project frustrated.
AVOIDING "For the Time Being" situations:
The Set Up:
​​A fairly large clean space for the project at hand. (Even a sheet over your bed will give you lots of room for working).
A box or container to move the papers/files to and from their original place until you are finished with the project. (Here you can say "For the Time Being.")
Fresh file folders, a magic marker for bold labeling, file labels with different colored stripes on them. (Or different colored file folders for different categories)
The Method: Sort, Sort, Sort!
​Working with small batches of paper create a place for each category:
​Memorabilia
House (sub-categorized into maintenance, landscaping, if appropriate, appliances, etc).
Car
Insurance
You will find your categories as you go through your papers.
You will also find papers that you had been looking for.
Most Important: Make a "Miscellaneous" folder for papers that don't actually have a category as you go along sorting.
NEWS FLASH!!! Sorting and filing appropriately can be done on paper or on the computer. Making appropriate folders is the key!
Need help getting started?
CONTACT ME and together we'll get there.
