TYPES OF PAPERS AND WHAT TO DO WITH THEM!

Papers that need filled out or followed up on:

Sit down right then and complete the paper work, put it in an envelope and put it in your POWER JOURNAL! To drop off or mail. If it is something that you need to follow up on, put it in your POWER JOURNAL! So that when you open up your POWER JOURNAL! The next day, you remember and can do it RIGHT THEN!!! Start today the habit of following through and not procrastinating!

School papers:

Go through your children’s backpack as soon as they walk in the door. See their work, talk to them about it and then keep only very select papers. Maybe talk to your child and have them select their favorite one that they would like you to keep. Don’t keep something from everyday or you will be run out of the house with all the papers! Teach them young that we can’t keep everything–but NEVER hurt their feelings! You won’t want to keep everything, just good representation of their work in each grade. Here is where a 3 ring binder comes in–Have ONE binder for each child and use a 3-ring punch to punch holes, then stick it in the binder. This will store their papers neatly and make it handy to pull out and look through the papers in the future. You can put a divider between each year. Always write their name, age and date on papers/pictures. Only keep a few throughout each year and save the book for their entire school years. If there are pictures that you need to write a check for, do it then and be done with it!

Stories/Poems/Handouts

Throw them away as soon as you get home. If there is a quote that you really like, have a file on your computer that you keep favorite quotes in. You can keep a few stories or poems, but most things can be found online and stored electronically.

Newspaper

READ IT AND THROW IT AWAY IMMEDIATELY! If you still have yesterday’s newspaper when today’s comes, you have kept it too long. If you didn’t have time to read it when you only had one, you won’t have time to read two!

Magazines

Throw them away as soon as you are done. If there was an interesting article or a good idea decide right then if it is really something you will ever use again. If it is, tear it out and file it immediately. Just remember to go back every 3-6 months to go through your files and clear them out. Chances are you will throw most of the things you have saved away.

Junk Mail

Throw it away immediately!

Religious Certificates, Immunization Records, Other Important Records

I like to have these in plastic containers that I buy online. Each person has their own, things don’t get crumpled and they are easy to grab when necessary. I know that everything of great importance is in the same place. I have tried other kinds, but the ones I have now are the most durable.

Many people use their file cabinet as a storage cabinet. They store the files in it and they never look inside! Learn to use your filing system and make it effective. Make a habit of filing and then retrieving the papers as you need them. Keep your files up to date by discarding outdated items!