LIVING IN A PAPER NIGHTMARE
Since we have now entered tax season (ugh!), I felt it would be useful to help you develop a paper trail. If you're like me, it can get totally out of hand!
Do you have a system? Does it allow you to easily find that particular document you need to fill out your taxes? For years, I was that person who walked into my accountant's office and always walked needing a missing document. (Grrr!) Then, I found a new one who gave me a wonderful checklist so I could actually come prepared. (what a novel idea!!)
I used the checklist I was given to set myself up for the next year because now I know exactly what I need as far as documents go. How exactly did I do it?
I started really basic. Are you ready for this? I started with a folder! I bet you thought I was going to say something so much fancier. I made it fancy by writing the tax year on the front of it! The important thing about the folder for me was keeping it in a central location, wherever the mail comes into your house. This way, you can pull anything out of the mail that is tax related and put it right into the folder without leaving it somewhere else. We all know if something is convenient we are more likely to use it. This will require some thought initially because you are retraining yourself into a new habit. Every time you donate something and get a slip, put it in the folder. Each food item you purchase for the food pantry has a receipt you need to highlight the items and stick in the folder.
Once this system is in place you will save a lot of time because you won't be looking for the "lost" or misplaced papers at tax time. Make this system work for you without letting it become too complicated. Fancy is immaterial as long as you work this consistently. This is one aspect of mental clutter you can get rid of. I know there are a lot of people out there drowning in paper clutter. Let's begin de cluttering with the tax information and then we can move on to the other piles sitting on the desk or kitchen counter.
Until next time let's strive to become clutter free because then we can live the life we were created for.
