Paper Purge

**AmyBoz** · 09-18-2009, 05:45 PM

This weekend, I'm planning on a paper purge. Dh's desk has quite a bit of paper on it. We also have some mail laying around that needs to be dealt with.

However, the big deal is our files. It's time to purge and shred. We've hung on to a few things for way too long, and it's time for them to go.

Anyone else want to join me in a paper purge? It's not a particularly painful purge to do!

**fixer** · 09-18-2009, 05:52 PM

We did ours last winter. My hobby was shredding paper for a month. We had papers predating our marriage.

**calimomx2** · 09-18-2009, 06:20 PM

I'm almost afraid to look in our files......way in the back of the files! I know there is stuff in there that needs to be shredded!! I tend to hold on to paper type stuff way longer than necessary!!

**mauimagic** · 09-18-2009, 10:41 PM

Amy, I am definitely with you - in fact I don't know when our paper purge and shred will ever end. We have two shredders and at times, keep them both going!! I know just the boxes and the area of our home that I am going to attack on Saturday evening. Mahalo for focusing me on this!!

**Contrary Housewife** · 09-18-2009, 11:45 PM

We had a big purge this spring. Papers predating our marriage, too, and a lot belonging to his folks. They kept everything and we had to sort it.

It wouldn't have been so bad except that they won't take shred in the recycle, and we are limited to 2 bags of trash per week. So we had bags of it sitting around for weeks afterward that we mixed in with regular trash a little at a time until it was all gone.

**monkeywrangler71** · 09-19-2009, 12:36 PM

Hmm, too sunny out.
I'm having purge withdrawal, feeling closed in with stuff and really need a fix. Paper is all in the basement though, and this weather won't last much longer.

I think I will drag the computer upstairs tonight after the kids are in bed, and do the recent papers and the electronic purge. Then maybe tomorrow night start taking boxes of paper upstairs one at a time and going through them.

Oh, and I should clean out the kids' drawer full of drawing paper, most is used up and ready for the recycle box.

**Incognito** · 09-19-2009, 01:24 PM

I'm joining in with the rest of you on this goal.
My little music studio has got to go through a paper overhaul.
I need to sort good sheet music from junk, throw away lots of associated junk mail, 3-hole punch a lot of papers and sort them in 3-ring binders with index dividers. I like to know where everything is instead of having to dig around for it. And I need to do some more dusting too, this time behind the furniture!

And then there are my 4 bookcases of books, magazines, papers and other stuff that should be sorted through. Although almost all of it is going to stay, I hope to toss some of it. Right now, it's all packed tight, and it's very annoying to try to find something that way.

And then there are the stacks of magazines by my bed, and the stacks of magazines and flyers and catalogues in the bathroom, and the stacks of important and unimportant papers beside my computer.

I have been sorting and purging a bit at a time for the last month or so, and I've got all my piles of printer paper sorted and re-stacked, some of the old flyers dumped, my kitchen table is clear except for this week's flyers, my fridge top is clear. I purged the old phone books, and updated my address books and memo books from lots of loose pieces of paper I keep in an old kleenex box or next to my 3 phones. Those loose pieces of notepaper with important notes took me almost a whole day to organize, but at least that's dealt with. And I updated my calendars, coupon binder, account book. I still have to update my freebie/websites/info binder.

Now the thing to keep in mind is that it's not going to get done all at once. In fact, if I were to try to do that, it would be overwhelming. So, I just do a bit at a time when I have a half hour or so to work on it.

**Palooka** · 09-20-2009, 12:46 AM

I'm always up for a paper purge party.

I have a little green basket of papers that I need to go through and it's been on my mind, so I will join. I hate extra paper clutter.

**mauimagic** · 09-20-2009, 01:30 AM

Palooka - it sounds as if you are really on top of the paper clutter - I think I have rooms of it, not just a box or two!!

Incognito - sound like me - but you are more organized. Totally agree that this is something that can be done only a little at a time so as not to be overwhelmed!!

MW - that's how we attacked the boxes of paper at our rental space - DH would bring home 3-5 pineapple boxes at a time and I would attack them as I could.

We actually have two shredders to attack this monster of a job - and another one at school for all the confidential work that needs to also be shredded.

Attacking the paper clutter is about the only decluttering that I been successful at lately - thank goodness at least for that!!

**monkeywrangler71** · 09-20-2009, 01:57 AM

Got stuck in the electronic purge, never even touched the papers I brought up.

OMG I hadn't emptied my email folders since 2005. Every day I had emails back and forth with my husband about what time he was coming home, can you pick up such and such at the store, etc.
My mail is empty and I deleted all my folders so that I can't save anything in there in the future. It took me all night - and a lot of the financial ones were just moved into my filing program, so they still need to be addressed.

I think it will be awhile before I get to paper files.

**mauimagic** · 09-20-2009, 02:18 AM

MW - that is absolutely fantastic!! I envy and admire you!!

**AmyBoz** · 09-20-2009, 07:53 AM

Great job, Monkey Wrangler!!!

**Lora88** · 09-20-2009, 08:20 AM

Amy I so need to do this in addition to our own paper I have all of my late fathers and my living mothers stuff and they saved everything. I did find the hospital bill from when I was born in 1952 it was 56.00 and 1.50 for meds. I am so in thats for the movitation

**tervsforme** · 09-20-2009, 11:54 AM

I've been working on paper clutter for the last couple of days. Right now I have a paper grocery bag full of stuff ready to go to recycling. This is just magazines and ads and catalogues and papers that I can recycle. I also have a plastic grocery bag full of stuff to shred. I'll have to take that to my mom's since I don't have a shredder.