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Post by creativechaos on Feb 25, 2015 14:36:44 GMT -5
hi ya Cando!  good to "see" you! WTG on recycling papers, catalogs, paying bills, and looking into DH's parking ticket next steps. it's no accident that this thread landed on top of my bookmarked threads! i just found an old unopened bill from the telephone company - the bill was only for $9.81 but because i was late paying it, i got a $6 late fee! (they told me i was lucky - late fee is usually $12! Ok - i have to do better, for starters, about opening and dealing with mail. paying a bill on time is no use if you don't open it, and then it gets buried under things or carelessly thrown aside to who knows where! i also have at least 2 boxes of papers and notebooks that i have beem avoiding. i vow to work for an hour on these sometime before midnight Sunday night. to give myself some credit, i've probably tossed a couple hundred papers in the past 3 weeks. i have also recycled 3 old phone books and several outdated catalogs. recycled a few magazines where i either read them or clipped an article and dumped the rest. still, the backlog always seems to be there! my accountability things between now and sunday, midnight: 1) i don't pick up mail daily, but when i pick it up i will deal with opening it THAT DAY. no matter what. even if just to file in "to be paid" or "needs action, " or some other pile where i will at least see it! i do have "homes" for these things - just need to get in the habit of using them! 2) i will spend at least one hour on sorting, recycling, updating, or filing on the boxes of paper backlog WTG and good luck to everyone who is taking care of their paper accountability! cc |
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Post by lostchild on Feb 25, 2015 17:04:26 GMT -5
My desk is significantly clearer than it has been although there is still paper. I have been clearing it out little by little. If I walk past my desk I shred back dated expired mail. A lot of it is paid bills. I have some more to do but I can see the surface of the desk so there is progress.
I have even been able to shred a lot of drama because I paid my mortgage up to date and with modification will be able to make financial progress. All the bank letters are almost gone. The drawer in my room is over half empty now of papers. This feels good.
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Post by cando on Feb 26, 2015 14:08:20 GMT -5
... it's no accident that this thread landed on top of my bookmarked threads! i just found an old unopened bill from the telephone company - the bill was only for $9.81 but because i was late paying it, i got a $6 late fee! (they told me i was lucky - late fee is usually $12! Ok - i have to do better, for starters, about opening and dealing with mail. paying a bill on time is no use if you don't open it, and then it gets buried under things or carelessly thrown aside to who knows where! i also have at least 2 boxes of papers and notebooks that i have beem avoiding. i vow to work for an hour on these sometime before midnight Sunday night. to give myself some credit, i've probably tossed a couple hundred papers in the past 3 weeks. i have also recycled 3 old phone books and several outdated catalogs. recycled a few magazines where i either read them or clipped an article and dumped the rest. still, the backlog always seems to be there! ... cc Woot! Woot! on tossing a couple hundred papers in the last 3 weeks!!! Also on recycling phone books, catalogs & magazines!!!  Yeah, I hate it when shtupid things like that late bill happen... aarrgghh! I did this, yesterday: Shredded papers for 15 min.
61 papers were shred. From the following years: 1988, 1994, 2010 - 2012, 2014 11 papers put in recycle bag
CD 
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Post by papermoon on Feb 26, 2015 14:21:24 GMT -5
Just checking in to the thread, but not reading. Long posts are too overwhelming for me, but nonetheless I'm cheering y'all on.  I'll be working on papers this afternoon, that's why I'm checking in... to give me courage. I have a big messy pile of miscellaneous papers that keep slipping and slithering onto the floor. It's their silent cry for help. Instead of hating my paper I'm going to focus on compassionate action to help the poor homeless hapless things. They deserve a good life of purpose, either in orderly homes (organized files that serve me well) or onward to new life through recycling. |
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Post by angela on Feb 26, 2015 14:36:25 GMT -5
I have even been able to shred a lot of drama because I paid my mortgage up to date and with modification will be able to make financial progress. All the bank letters are almost gone. The drawer in my room is over half empty now of papers. This feels good. Congratulations lostchild. That must be a huge relief to have that paid up and modified. I know that takes a lot of work so  |
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Post by angela on Feb 26, 2015 14:38:22 GMT -5
 papermoon! I'm sure the papers will appreciate a bit of loving care. I understand about the overwhelm of reading long posts. I am in a phase right now too where it is hard to plow through everything I want to read and think I should read on the blogs and threads.
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Post by angela on Feb 26, 2015 14:39:43 GMT -5
Hmm, I didn't get any mail yesterday so nothing to open.
Today I think I will do a desk day and work on the most current social services stuff. I need to call in and do an interview for benefits. I need to make a doctor's appointment and deal with getting my anti-depressant medication.
Also, I need to get some things written on my calendar for next week. It will be a busy week and right now it's all just floating around in my head.
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Post by papermoon on Feb 26, 2015 17:06:13 GMT -5
OK, I'm ready to begin. The paper pile has all kinds of other stuff mixed in... it's a big ol' messy mish-mash from the past few weeks. I'm going to work only on the paper parts in 12-minute spurts, then I'll alternate with PEEPing 12 non-paper items. And so on back and forth until it's all gone. I hope it'll only take an hour, but that might be wishful thinking.
Here goes.....
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Post by papermoon on Feb 26, 2015 18:05:02 GMT -5
All done, in under an hour! That pile is history.
I saved out a short stack of short articles to read, which can then be recycled. I'll read for an hour now.....
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Post by papermoon on Feb 26, 2015 19:23:00 GMT -5
I haven't yet finished reading that stack of articles, but I did get about a third of the way through. Some went to the recycle bin, the rest will be dropped off on the lobby table for other readers. I'll finish reading this evening after going out for a Grace walk now... and hopefully a visit with my little feathered friend.  I hope everybody else is making some good headway on papers today, no matter how small. Small is beautiful. |
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Post by Irisheyes on Feb 26, 2015 22:10:14 GMT -5
This morning, I tried to copy/paste from my first entry here, to update my little checklist, but it got all wonky and I had to get back to work instead of playing with it. Basically, I've worked all day again on paper stuff. I got all the current things in one place. That was a crazy mess. I've opened some of the junk mail and disposed of it. A few things I set to the side to review with dso when he comes home for the weekend. The rest is ready for us to process into a joint budget and write checks or pay online. I haven't finished reading the GnuCash info, but I think it's a bit too ambitious at this point. My focus isn't good enough. That really bothers me. Perhaps he will have some ideas that will be thorough, yet simple. I don't want to make a career out of managing a household budget! I just want both of us on the same page, and things being paid for and addressed in a timely manner. I've taken several breaks throughout the day to fix breakfast and lunch, eat, wash dishes, do a load of laundry, chauffeur kids, and even watched a movie. I've thrown away maybe 30 or more envelopes full of junk mail, several more flyers, some catalogs, a couple handwritten notes, old scribble paper, and a few random folded paper towels mixed in the stacks - odd. I found boxes of papers dating back decades. I knew I had some of this stuff. I haven't run across other really old papers I thought I still had. I suppose that is a good thing, but I actually do like perusing those blasts from the past. Sigh. I know I cannot maintain a mini archive here, but, but, but - dang it, why not?! Hey....microfiche! I mean, scan it all! Ahem. Not helpful, huh? I mean, this stuff has to go!! Sigh. Oh, bother. I'll get with the program. Be patient with me. My sentimentality tends to rule my thought processes, when avoidance and resistance and perfectionism and whatever else aren't in charge. I have to claim amnesty tonight on individually cheering on people. I need to do a bit more consolidating to get the sorting efforts off the top of my deep freeze and out of our walkways, then go clean the kitchen and put away some folded laundry that took up residence on my bed instead of finding their way to the dresser, closet and storage baskets (that's a' whole 'nother issue). This is for everybody...    |
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Post by cando on Feb 27, 2015 5:57:24 GMT -5
Everyone is getting stuff done here! Yay! I went thru today's mail, Went thru today’s mail - 3 to be shred, 1 bill into Office in a Bag17 papers into recycle bag
CD  |
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Post by creativechaos on Feb 27, 2015 16:48:09 GMT -5
papermoon - fabulous idea and system - 12 min on papers and 12 on PEEPing! and you got it done in less time than you thought! wtg irisheyes on getting more current with your paper stuff! cd - Good job on going through current mail and 17 papers in recycle bag recommitting to self in front of y'all. i committed to at least 1 hr on papers this week. Must start! each  = 15 minutes of work on this, so i'll need 4 to complete this week's commitment. going to try papermoon's PEEPing in between and get caught up on defending my gains. thanks, papermoon! feeling very sick but did manage all errands, paying bills, banking, some dishes, and grocery shopping. re papers: |
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Post by CaringFriend on Feb 27, 2015 21:59:59 GMT -5
Hi All! I haven't been reading this thread on a daily basis, but I do read it on occasion because paper was once my biggest, most frustrating problem. (My sister-in-law was visiting one time and was perplexed when I got my turkey roasting pan out of the cupboard and the pan had piles of papers in it!  !) I've posted my final solution somewhere on this website, but have been unable to find it. I do know that it has been mentioned/shared in this thread, and I do appreciate that. Props to those who located it because I couldn't! Anyhow, the reason I am posting today, Feb. 27, is that a new month will soon be starting. If you are still struggling with paper, you may want to at least try this for a month. Take one file folder and label it March. Then throughout the month, put every piece of paper that comes into your house in that folder. So, instead of those papers ending up on the counter, the table, desk, etc. at least they are in one pile inside your March folder. My monthly folders each contain the part of my utility bills I keep after I pay them, the papers I sign when I have had the furnace/AC/appliance/etc repaired or maintained by a worker, print-outs from medical and dental visits, quarterly investment reports, monthly Medicare and insurance print-outs, and so on. At the end of the month, if this hasn't worked for you, that's fine. But don't give up! Keep trying until you find something that works for you. If this has worked for you, great! Then make a folder for the other 11 months and continue this process. When March comes around next year, take out that folder, shred every paper from the previous year, then start over again. Another paper problem for some folks is keeping their bills-due-to-be-paid in one place. Fortunately, that was never a problem for me. I have a simple system. I keep a pretty napkin holder on my kitchen desk. When a bill arrives, I open it, then write the due date + amount due on the front of the envelope. Then I file it by due-date with the other bills in the napkin holder. That takes 5 minutes or less and my bills are all in one place - their home! The next step is to have a regular date on which to sit down and pay your bills. Even if your previous bills are lost in in the clutter, pay the bills that are in the "home" you have designated for them. Later, when you come across the old bills in the clutter, feel free to shred them because you know you are now caught up. Getting back to a regular bill-paying day.........think about what would work for you. There was a time when I paid them every 2 weeks on Friday night because those were my paydays. At one point in my life, I devoted time every Wednesday to Desk Day just to stay on top of things. I'm retired now and sometimes I choose to sit down and pay a bill as soon as it arrives in the mail. Choose a day that works for you, then when life requires a change, be flexible and try a different day. After trying many ideas to conquer bills, paper clutter, laundry, dishes, cleaning, I have discovered the fewer steps involved, the greater the likelihood of me completing the task at hand. Good luck, everyone! ~ CaringFriend ~ |
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Post by Irisheyes on Feb 28, 2015 1:00:15 GMT -5
I'm a little late posting this, but it's been a busy day. I did give myself amnesty on the papers today (which will be yesterday by the time I finish typing), as I wrote yesterday I would do because I needed to work on some other household tasks. I did almost empty a box of odd things, and I rambled about it on my blog. I didn't discover and share any earth-shattering epiphanies, but you're welcome to go read all about it if you've run out of other reading material.  papermoon - I second you giving yourself amnesty on reading long posts, such as mine often are. I am trying to use this board to process what I'm thinking, as well as what I am doing or plan to do, but I am often overwhelmed by long posts, too. One wouldn't suspect such a thing, given my rambling, but there you have it! I enjoy reading what others write, and often find little gems that remind me of things I used to think or do, or new "takes" on things that help me redirect my thoughts in a more productive way. However, when my mind is muddled and spinning, or I know I should be DOing instead of READing, it is daunting to focus on following others' trains of thought. I read all of your blog not long after I found SooS. It was very inspiring and thought-provoking, and seemed to bring me back to myself a bit (as others' posts have done since then), but I had to read it in a couple-few sittings. Anyway, I just wanted to let you know, I understand your aversion to ingesting too many words of others when you need to keep your mind on your own struggles. I also apologize for addressing a bunch of words to you here. I feel sort of passive-aggressive and pushy-tacky in doing so, but I really wanted to explain why I understand, and tell you thank you for putting all your own words out here for us to read. Hugs to you, and congrats on corralling those slippery papers!!  CaringFriend - Thanks for the repost! It seems very familiar to me, so I am positive I read it early on, soon after joining SooS. I devised a temporary "system" for new/incoming paperwork that is somewhat similar, and will continue to use it until I conquer the backlog and get the files and budget established. Mine is even more rudimentary than yours, and then it gets a bit more complicated. I simply alphabetize everything current into a small plastic tub. We are going to go through everything from this month, plus many leftovers from last month that didn't get addressed. Next, I am going to record the expenses, expenditures and income to get the budget going as of 01-01-2015. After that, some of the documents will be filed in their own folders. Each folder will be noted with an appropriate retention period for the documents contained therein. The only exception will be documents that are no longer needed after action is taken on them. I had planned to keep those in a 2-folder system of "this month" and "last month." The only reason I planned to keep them for a month is for reconciliation purposes, or if a question arises regarding a previous bill or other document. However, I am giving serious thought to trying your method. I'm trying to work my head around the need to keep some of this stuff for a year instead of a month beyond the month during which it was received and/or actioned. Silly me. I've kept some of this stuff for over a decade, or two, or - yes - even three. I have no idea why keeping them for only a year in future would need me to wrap my head around it.   creativechaos and cando - my dear paper buddies!!  |
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