Ooooooo, how nice! I love the look of a "secretary" desk. It will make life easier for you, but I do have one caution for you. Please, please, do not
"....I think the next task is to cram the papers lying about the living room into the various drawers, so I can have a path around this new acquisition....."This is one of those rare opportunities to "start from scratch." Yes, do gather up all the papers and put them in a box. Take the box to the kitchen table or some other flat surface and try to do a basic sort. When I do a basic sort, I have 2, no more than 3 piles of papers or anything. Once you are finished with that task, you may realize that it would be logical to take one pile and break it down further.
In another post I suggested to someone that they make pile of papers and put them in gallon-size Ziplock bags. It won't take long for you to figure out which kinds of papers will "work" best at this desk. (Hmmmm, were you the one to whom I made the suggestion?)
Then find the best location within the desk for each small pile that you've set aside to "live" in that desk. After you start using the desk, you will make some switcheroos once or twice until the plan works for you.
What kinds of papers are we talking about? Bills? Receipts? Right now I actually have all of my papers stored in only 2 locations in the kitchen, which is where I work on them. It's also the place where the mail and papers first take up residence.
My 2 locations......
1. Bills are stored in their original envelopes in a napkin holder on a cabinet shelf behind doors. When a bill arrives I open it immediately and write the due date and amount due on the envelope. Then I file it by due date in the napkin holder and pay weekly on Desk Day.
2. All other papers received throughout the month are in 1 folder in a kitchen drawer. Right now that folder is titled "March". In that folder are the receipts after paying the bills, invoices from purchases, bank statements, property tax and school tax statements (after they've been paid), receipts from the Doctor and Dentist, etc. At the end of March I will trade folders - putting March in a drawer in the file cabinet and retrieving the "April" folder from there.
When March 2011 rolls around and I retrieve the "March" folder, I will shred all of the receipts. And by that time, the few papers that I put in there because I didn't know what to do with before are usually shredded as well - because they no longer seem so important.
I guess I should have said that I have papers in 3 places, but I was referring to the papers that come into our lives every day of the year and have to be placed somewhere.
The folders in my file cabinet live there permanently. The titles of some of those permanent folders are:
- AARP - Medical Ins. (contains booklet of information)
- AARP - Rx Ins. (contains booklet of information)
- Answering Machine (contains owner's manuals)
- Auto - Camry (contains repair invoices)
- Auto - Jeep (contains repair invoices)
- Cat (contains papers from her annual check-up & shots)
- Medicare (contains booklets of information)
- Telephones (contains owner's manuals)
- Televisions (contains owner's manuals)
When I worked, I had a folder for Pay Stubs. Those folders live there permanently and see little, if any activity. The papers in the monthly folders are mostly temporary.
I am l.a.z.y when it comes to filing papers, so the fewer categories, the better and the less physical activity the better. If I get papers or booklets during the month that should be in permanent files, I still put those in the monthly folder in the kitchen. BUT I put a paper clip at the top so I know that item gets filed in a permanent file when I go to the file cabinet to put the current folder away and get the next month's folder.
I'm sorry that this turned lengthy. But I wanted you to see limited places I store papers. Like everyone else, piles of papers were my biggest headache and getting BIGGER by the day. I tried one method after another until I read about this at another site. When I tried it, I immediately knew it was my solution. Also, once I had that paper tiger tamed, I found it much easier to take control of other areas of my life because I was no longer drowning in papers.
So please do not cram papers into your desk. Maybe put the bills in the little cubby and a monthly folder, pen, pencil, calculator, stamps, address labels, small calendar, and envelopes elsewhere in the desk.
Enjoy your new found freedom!
