Survey #204 results
| Name (click to view full survey response and comments) | How would you rank paper clutter among the categories of stuff that you have difficulty managing? | For which of the following types of paper clutter would you like to get help or advice? | Please complete one or more statements about your issues with paper clutter. | Tell us about your most treasured paper item. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marsh | Paper is my #1 clutter issue. |
| I struggle with paper clutter for I fear letting go of anything that's based on proving I did something, I paid something and so on. Recently, I have discovered I am causing ongoing, secondary trauma to myself as I keep this accumulation of papers in my home swhich makes me feel even worse so I just shove the stacks aside. | The one and only Picture of my Beloved Husband and I during our wedding as we closed in for our first kiss as newly married Husband and Wife. {Initially we had 27 pictures of the whole event}. Our home suffered awful roof leaking and ruined all other pictures etc in our maistorage room. Very happy and blessed to rescue, dry and salvage this one picture! |
| Tammy | Paper is my #1 clutter issue. |
| Mine is attached to complex trauma I’m on my 16 trauma therapist use Papers pike up I go into a freeze trauma shut down My executive functioning goes offline I feel hurt and wounded and confused | Idk |
| Sara H | Paper is my #1 clutter issue. |
| I feel like I would have an easier time managing paper if only... I had the right container (s)! | It might be a card I don't think is around anymore that one of my grandmothers sent me when I was little. I can still picture the front of the card and remember the gist of what was on the inside. |
| A.G. | Paper is a problem, but it doesn’t make my top three categories. |
| I struggle with paper clutter because of poor time management, indecision, and being scared to get rid of something important or that I will regret getting rid of later. Also some stuff I just don't know what to do with... miscellaneous stuff can be a surprising amount of stuff. | Paw prints from the first pet I had as an adult. |
| Judy | Paper is #2. |
| I struggle with paper clutter because I can't let go. I would have an easier time managing paper if only i had a better system for understanding and recording just what I actually need in a place I would actually look for it. The accumulation of paper in my home makes me feel out of control & hopeless. | Urg, can't pick just one--can I have 5?. A copy of our marriage ceremony & vows, which I had encased in a clear archival plastic, but never got around to having professionally framed; my Master's Thesis (bound and on the bookshelf, yay!), a copy of my first keynote speech (lost somewhere in the boxes and boxes of "important papers"), my great-grandmother's and grandmother's poetry with their notes to each other on them. |
| Amanda | Paper is my #1 clutter issue. |
| I struggle with paper clutter because I have time to open the mail but I don't always have time right then to handle the tasks it brings into my day. Or I open it after business hours and never get back to it. | Do photos count? |
| Lisa Beth | Paper is my #1 clutter issue. |
| I struggle... each piece of paper is information. I've let it pile up and need to adopt different habits. ...easier...noone else would move anything on my desk/table accumulation...overwhelmed | My 3 children's birth certificates |
| Anonymous user | Paper is a problem, but it doesn’t make my top three categories. |
| I struggle with certain paper clutter - even though I know some financial/medical papers will never be needed, I still have trouble throwing them out. ex. tax info from over 10 years ago, some non-sentimental papers related to my mother who passed away over 10 years ago, old insurance forms). I get that feeling that as soon as i throw them out, I'll need them, even though I know that's not going to happen. I'd have an easier time managing paper if I trusted that if I ever needed something and didn't have it, it must require some extra work, but I'd find a way to deal with it. Also if I remembered that most recent medical information is available on-line through a patient portal. I'd have an easier time if I had a system for handling receipts for jewelry supplies and finished jewelry purchases (ex. get in the habit of entering into a spreadsheet) or just giving up on the idea of tracking it all. I don't have a business now but toy with the idea of selling things. But would the pile of receipts I have, many of them faded with age and without detail really be of any use? One idea is to go through the receipts and save only the ones for significant items and/or meaningful information. And maybe set up a system for registering expenses moving forward - something simple, maybe a spreadsheet with a linked photo. | Nothing comes to mind at the moment |
| Sharon | Paper is my #1 clutter issue. |
| “I struggle with paper clutter because because it makes me very anxious, especially any financial related paper.” “I would have an easier time managing paper if only there were less of it.” “I would have an easier time managing paper if only I had an easy process for handling it.” “The accumulation of paper in my home makes me feel overwhelmed, anxious, apprehensive.” | Letters and greeting cards from loved ones who have passed. |
| Melanie | Paper is #3. |
| The accumulation of paper in my home makes me feel overwhelmed. | |
| Janice | Paper is #2. |
| I struggle with paper clutter because I do not know how long to keep it, Medical bills and taxes and financial especially. The accumulation of paper in my home makes me feel sad, overwhelmed, and reinforces my indecisiveness. | Artwork and reports from my child in grade school! So fun! I put themi n a nice folder and my husband and I occasionally look at the book and we laugh a lot. |
| Anonymous user | Paper is my #1 clutter issue. |
| I'm not sure what to keep and for how long. How long should utility and insurance stuff be in file. I need usable and efficient filing system | Pictures of my pets. |
| Cee | Paper is my #1 clutter issue. |
| Makes me feel overwhelmed. Struggle due to handling several people's finances. Easier if knew what wasn't necessary and had one designated space to organize what was needed. | Birth certificate, social security cards, deeds , personal Id needed as proof if disaster ,tax docs. My problem I think everything is irreplaceable . |
| Darlene | Paper is #2. |
| I would have an easier time managing paper if I could get my health insurance company to stop sending so much. Also if I knew clearly whether certain types of financial records (like taxes, for instance) NEEDED to be kept in their paper form, or if electronic copies are ok. And how long I should keep any of them | I no longer treasure paper records. I much prefer keeping just about everything electronically. That said, if I treasure anything, it would be my passport. |
| Juliette J J | Paper is my #1 clutter issue. |
| I don't know what to do with it all! It's so confusing. And I like to draw and paint too, so there are even more paper!!! | I guess art projects. Drawings and manuscripts for hope-to-be children's books. But what am I'm going to do with it all?! How to organize, what to keep, what to throw away???? |
| Anonymous user | Paper is my #1 clutter issue. |
| I save stuff and think I'm going to refer to it later I had more room and a better filing system Terrible | Family pictures |
| CHRISTINE | Paper is my #1 clutter issue. |
| I feel overwhelmed | cards my children made me by hand, when they were young |
| Kelly-Ann | Paper is a problem, but it doesn’t make my top three categories. |
| I don't know hoe and where to corral it all. | Greeting cards from passed on love ones, my children and husband. |
| Lee | Paper is my #1 clutter issue. |
| I struggle with paper clutter because I let too much accumulate over the years and it is now overwhelming. Many types (old lists, notes, insurance papers, medical papers, etc., etc.) jumbled together in many locations. A few file drawers are very functional, but others need a lot of work. And most of the paper clutter is not in files but in piles with other random items set on top. I am rather good these days handling the mail almost daily and have quit most subscriptions. But at the moment I am trying to declutter things throughout the house that will be donatable to the upcoming church rummage sale. And am more drawn to working on visible spaces (although you would never guess that if you saw "my" dining table!). The papers in my closed "office" are easier to avoid. | Parents' wedding photo. |
| Grandma B. | Paper is #3. |
| Letters my loving grandmother wrote to me my freshman year of college .maybe a dozen,tied up in a ribbon. | |
| Suzanne | Paper is my #1 clutter issue. |
| I struggle with paper because the paper is here, there, and everywhere. This would be so much easier if all paper was sorted in like with like. If all medical insurance papers were together in 1 place, if all income tax slips and documents relating to specific years were all in one place (I’m now 4 years behind in filing), if kid’s school stuff was in some kind of sorting and all together, if I could know which file or drawer or in which room to find a paper at a moment’s notice. I feel irresponsible and like an idiot with my disorganization. I also feel like I have to be in a minority. | Easy. Maybe the composition scribbler my father wrote in when he returned for his school equivalency at age 50. Or the papers my mother wrote future plans on when she was exploring goals and life, around the age of 40. My folks are gone but I can feel their hopes and dreams, and their working to make the world a better place. |
| Kathianne | Paper is my #1 clutter issue. |
| I struggle with paper clutter because I want to keep a lot of reminders of the past. | Notes from dear friends who have passed away. |
| Maureen | Paper is #2. |
| I struggle with paper clutter because I always think I may need that whatever it is in the future. | Lists my mom made we found after my she passed away of all the birthdays and anniversaries in our family. I asked my husband this question, too, and he said the Neptune Society Certificate his Army dad received from crossing the equator in WWII. |
| Deirdra | Paper clutter is not a problem for me. | My late husband and I had our picture taken on our first date. We were walking by a display at a state fair and someone asked my then date " Do you and your wife want your picture taken?: My date said sure! So now we have that picture in a nice folder they gave us. | ||
| Evelin | Paper clutter is not a problem for me. |
| The accumulation of paper in my home makes me feel only a little nervous. I once took the time to go through everything and sort the papers that I kept in categories, filed them in binders. Now I go through new incoming paper at least once every week and it seems to be not that much of a problem | After my Mom passed from cancer I found a little note between all of the papers she had kept. It was a note I had written when I was a very young child and it said: I will always stay by your side, I promise. |
| Michele ( just one l)😁 | Paper is #2. |
| Struggle...a lot is job related, as teacher of several grades l feel need to keep if when move grades etc. Manage better...if l had time to organise, usually do during Summer hols. Accumulation makes me feel unorganises | Birthday card/potcards from my nana .She died 40 yrs ago and l love seeing her writing still. |
| Anonymous user | Paper is #3. |
| My most treasured paper item is a lithograph with signatures of actors from my favorite t.v. program . I have had it since 1979. I keep it covered so it won’t fade. | |
| Lenette | Paper clutter is not a problem for me. |
| I struggle between going "digital" and "paper". I'm old school and like paper, but have embraced having things like long insurance policies, in digital format. I think I need to just accept that it's okay to have both. | I never had children but do have lots of nieces and nephews. When they were little, and they would give me artwork or send me cards with notes, I kept them. Now as they are adults and have children of their own, I love sharing these items with their children. The little ones think it is funny and the now grown parents usually say they don't even remember it but think it's pretty cool. |
| C | Paper is #2. |
| “I struggle with paper clutter because although I started a system where most things have a proper place, I delay ( way too long) putting papers there, and they get into a big muddle as I straighten things up. Basically delayed decisions. (Also some papers belong in two categories) The accumulation of paper (also from DH) in my home makes me feel powerless and incompetent. | A beautiful aquarell/drawing a dear friend made for me, shortly before she died. |
| Allan | Paper is my #1 clutter issue. |
| ADHD Depressed | ? Can’t think of one right now. |
| Dawn | Paper is my #1 clutter issue. |
| I struggle with paper clutter because it comes in at a faster rate than I choose to take care of it. It is created daily and is worse than a couple of mating bunnies. 🙂 I would have an easier time managing paper if only I had my filing system in place and active in terms of filing papers where they need to be filed on a timely basis (24 hours vs. almost never). The accumulation of paper in my home makes me feel a low degree of overwhelm. I know I'm working on it and I'll get there. It feels like it's a flood I need to work hard at to overcome. | There are so many! What first comes to mind is books and photos. As I sit here at my desk I also see that I've affixed a calendar page from a painter I really like... |
| Linda | Paper is #2. |
| Struggle because I don't want not have the information when I need it. Manage better if my brain would only use the information that I already know instead of doubting whether or not it's ok to throw. Accumulation makes my brain feel bogged down. | |
| Dianna | Paper clutter is not a problem for me. | I struggle with photos due to the sheer volume.I would have an easier time managing photos if only it wasn't so overwhelming. The accumulation in my home makes me feel disorganized. | ||
| Anonymous user | Paper is my #1 clutter issue. |
| I struggle with paper clutter because I am terrified of losing information I have researched or created, information that has been copied to my untrustworthy computer, and confusing papers sent by agencies. I also reuse all kinds of paper that comes into my house (and plenty comes in, in spite of my not taking any magazines or catalogues) for craft projects. I would have an easier time managing paper if only I could make decisions | I have carbon copies of the letters I wrote to friends on a manual typewriter some 50 years ago along with little drawings of things I want to build or sew, even quite a few house plans I designed. They are sweet memories and dreams; snippets of life in a world so different from today's. I think they help me remember who I really am. |
| Sally | Paper is #2. |
| I don’t know what l should or shouldn’t do with all of the financial statements, so l have kept everything ( 40 years worth!) | A letter written to my grandmother about an antique table that grandma ended up purchasing, and which l now own. |
| Pat - Michigan | Paper is a problem, but it doesn’t make my top three categories. |
| Usually the little bits of paper... I have a small box of business cards that I will probably never use, and a few attached to specific home improvements. | What a great question! Really makes me stop and think. A detailed pencil drawing from a magazine clipping that my daughter did in high school (she is now almost 50). It is framed and hanging where I see it every day. |
| Anonymous user | Paper is a problem, but it doesn’t make my top three categories. |
| The accumulation of paper in my home makes me feel guilty for all the dead trees. | A letter from my father. |
| Hila | Paper is my #1 clutter issue. |
| 1.it make me feel nervous . 2. I know it will finish quickly. 3. Shame about procrastination. | |
| Celina | Paper is #3. |
| I'm a teacher, student and crafty person... enough said I guess 🙂 But in case it's not: I have my own notes, I'm an ADHD mind when it comes to focus and memory, so off my sight off my mind... so I literally have to have paper (small notes etc.) all next to one another and not under... if it's under... it's forgotten. I have my student's papers. I have other obligations (company-related, as im an micro entrepreneur) and the crafts... and collected supplies/wips, "cute" dust collectors... I don't have much medical or personal record papers - I'm young and my marital/homeowning status has never changed since birth... Thus it's work/school (3x)/crafts | can I have several? A WASP ticket when they still had nice-looking tickets and not QR home-made printed PDFs, But also some crafts for my late grandma and some letters/cards from the one who is still alive 🙂 |
| Sue | Paper clutter is not a problem for me. |
| I accumulate books to write up my weekly lists...they are my OCD purchases- they need to be a certain paper thickness and have a graph lining..when I found them - I bought 5!! Enough for 7 years...I couldn't help myself | My 5 graph lined 100gsm paper 120 pages bound books 🤣😔 |
| PJ in Oxfordshire | Paper is a problem, but it doesn’t make my top three categories. |
| I would have an easier time managing paper if only - I could put the filing cabinet together: it's currently flat-packed in a box in the attic but it's too heavy for me to bring down. It's got hanging folders & it's only two drawers but it's perfectly sized for me, and I would use it as the other bedside table so it already has a space waiting for it in the house. This question makes me question why I haven't found someone strong to bring it down for me yet.... | Would have to be plural - handwritten cards and letters from dearly loved family & friends who aren't with us anymore. Just seeing their personal handwriting is enough to bring back their faces in my mind's eye and remind me of all the love. |
| Debra | Paper is my #1 clutter issue. |
| I struggle with paper because each one represents a decision and is in German officialdom-speak. Paper is absolute king here. Also, for the first time in my life (for the past few years) I haven’t yearly purged my filing system. It seems as though I always have a stack somewhere. Another problem is that my brain works with the traditional filing cabinet (drawer system with individual files) but those don’t exist here. I spotted one on an office supply catalogue once for ca. €600. Everything is filed in binders with page protectors. (Offices have tall cylindrical carousels as filing systems, so the narrow side of the binder, the part that opens, points inwards, and the label side is visible. ) It’s easy to pull out a drawer and drop something in a file folder, less so with the system I have. Also—it’s the easiest thing to procrastinate on. My current stack of paper is at least 3 inches high. In short:: filing is a pain, I developed good systems years ago and haven’t kept them up to my own standards recently, and I procrastinate on decisions. | My passport |
| Jade | Paper is #2. |
| Because each bit contains a “to do” action: something to read, look up, or other sort of action- so in order to toss it out, I also need to factor in time to actually do the action, not only sorting time. If I could develop more habits going digital Before I resort to yhe default the paper step, I would be better at this. I have begun doing this for some thjbgs, but honestly really do feel like I “think through paper” sometimes, so in those instances, I do the process thinking on paper, then throw out the paper after I have gotten to a conclusion or a result. I also have little envelopes thst I pre-categorize the paper bits through, after which it is easier to sort. It creates sn additional step, but unfortunately, I have found it to be necessary in my process. An annoying thing, though, is that it really takes a lot of brain power to move through this category for me, and I under estimate a book thickness stack of papers- I don’t realize that actually that pile is as thick as a book, and you can read an entire book in 15 minutes- and could take longer to sort because it is all unrelated bits. Another thing is that I reach a saturation point, after which I still tell myself to keep going. I then leave out the papers for a few more days, thinking my previous success sorting through them and eliminating most will motivate me for thag tiny amount that remains- I can’t I’m too overwhelmed, but then I realize I have sorted through another half pile- so I can combine these to save space. Then, although the papers have been reduced and the space looks much better, it’s even more unrelated papers coming together to be sorted for later. A step forward and half a step back- but still, I have madd tremendous progress through this category over the years- and rejoice af the fact that I no longer have an all-consuming job, and can actually have time to look up those books and sort through those notes. It is also helping that I am conscious of no longer adding to this category. I will have electronic clutter, but still, it’s a big step forward. I have a habit if sorting the newly generated paper (including diaries), frequently, and each time I do that, I dig through a pile of old stuff. Phew! Oh, also I would cconsider artwork paper clutter. The fact that I had so much clutter from high school, college, and some jobs makes me feel disorganized, confused, overwhelmed and ashamed. It gives mr tremendous anxiety. I think it also has caused brain fatigue from looking at so much. I am grateful, however, that I am not attached to most of it, and have been able to process. I have developed ways of releasing the bits I was attached to. There is still a way to go, but I am also grateful that I have shifted my life to one where I am living the things that I want to do- I don’t need to write them on bits of paper to do later. 🙏 | Maybe some artwork, but thankfully , I don’t think I have treasured paper items anymore. Phew! What a relief. |
| Anonymous user | Paper is #3. |
| I pick it up and put it back down, I file it and never find it again, I make piles that I don’t act on and that get mixed up again | Marriage certificate, passport, birth certificate, and then family photos |
| Intignia | Paper clutter is not a problem for me. |
| Papers used to be the bane of my life, but since my husband finally got a decent job that paid a living wage instead of minimum wage (I'm disabled and unable to work) we were able to get off of government assistance, so I was able to clear out 90% of the papers. | My most treasured paper item was a reproduction Christmas card from the 1930's. It had a little paper doll who fit into the airplane. She was flying in with a bunch of Xmas wishes. She had a little blue dress and hat that she could wear Christmas day instead of her pilot's costume. I finally passed it on this last Xmas to someone I thought would appreciate it : ) |
| Anonymous user | ||||
| Anonymous user | Paper is my #1 clutter issue. |
| 1. I am afraid I will throw away something needed. 2. I was not a low level hoarder. 3. Ashamed I have several boxes to go through. | kids school stuff, cards/letters from dead loved ones and a lost star registry for a dead loved one |
| Anonymous user | Paper is my #1 clutter issue. |
| 3. Overwhelmed 1. it scares me | Artwork from one of my children, passport, citizenship certificate |
| Anonymous user | Paper is my #1 clutter issue. |
| I struggle with paper clutter because my papers are not in a certain location. The accumulation of paper in my home make me feel that I am totally disorganized and scatter brained. | Huh? I can't really think of anything. I do keep some greeting cards. |
| Susan | Paper is my #1 clutter issue. |
| Because there is just TOO MUCH to keep track of. | More than one... My footprints on my birth certificate, a poem my mother wrote about my birth, and a "back seat" drivers license that belonged to my mother. That is good for a laugh! |
| Anonymous user | Paper is my #1 clutter issue. |
| I'm not very organized, but it grew much worse when I had to manage my mother's papers. She passed last year at 98, but I'm still stuck with boxes of paper that I really don't want to sort. It makes me feel overwhelmed and depressed. | All of my research papers from earning my Ph.D. |
| Ginger | Paper clutter is not a problem for me. | This is one area I have under control. I conquered paper in 2016. ▪️It started before then when I gathered & sorted all the loose papers around the house. ▪️And, I created a system for handling incoming papers. We strip the mail daily. Put the keepers in the Active file to deal with on my Wed desk work day. ▪️In 2016 - I dealt with the rest of the papers. I dumped our 2 drawer lateral file cabinet into the LR floor and went thru every paper. Our Paper System: 🔲 ACTIVE FILES (hangs on kitchen wall) 1. Action/To Do - processed on my weekly desk work day 2. Tax Docs - collected throughout the year 3. Receipts - Current Year in zippered pouch 🔲 FILE CABINET 1. Medical Procedures 2. Dental Procedures 3. Health Insurance Information booklets 4. Keepsakes 5. Automobile manuals 6. Old Loan Papers (Personal Risk/comfort thing) 7. Property Appraisals & Improvements (Deeds are n Important Papers) 8. Tax Returns - recent 3 years. Each year in a labeled clasp envelope. All other prior years are stored in a bin on a shelf in my studio. Personal Risk/Comfort = We Keep all. 9. File Basket holding prior year and current statements & papers. It sits in the file drawer with a divider between the two years. At the end of the current year - I go thru the stack and toss them. Move the divider to the top of the stack and start piling on new incoming papers. I hate to file. So I don’t. Chances are we won’t need any of these papers. But, we have peace of mind in case we might. 🔲 Important Papers Binder w/table of contents 1. Vital and Identification Docs (Birth, marriage, divorce, social security cards, copy of drivers license) 2. Insurance (policies for life, health, home, automobile, boat owners) 3. Property (property deeds, vehicle titles and home inventory) 4. Financial Records (Financial Profile listing all accounts, etc.) 5. End of Life Docs (will, medical POA, physician directives, burial instructions, family ancestry charts, people to contact) 6. Access Information (user names and passwords) 🔲 Home Management Binder w/table of contents This explains how we manage our home. Includes a general narrative, information about how we handle finances, care for our home, pay our bills, home maintenance, replacement part #s, vehicle maintenance, emergency procedures, emergency cut-offs, fire extinguishers, service providers, etc. 🔲 Project Organizer - spiral 24 pocket. To collect those papers we seem to accumulate while researching and working on projects for the year. I keep a table of contents in front. I declutter it at the start of a new year. | If I could only name one - it’s my maternal grandfather’s personal diary and photo album during his time as a bugler in the Army during WWI. He documents his travels across the USA from TX to NY. Travel across the ocean to England. And, experiences in Germany and France. ▪️But, I’m the family historian. I have my research organized in 3 ring binders. My binders are stored in a 2 drawer lateral file cabinet. Much of it is in a software program. ▪️I’m looking for an interested family member to pass it along too. | |
| Sheri | Paper is a problem, but it doesn’t make my top three categories. |
| The accumulation of paper in my home makes me feel overwhelmed. I have stacks and stacks of paper waiting to go into the shredder. | I love photography and I make scrapbooks of vacations & my dogs. I do vision boards and I like to flip through magazines & catalogs and tear pages out to use in various books, etc. |
| Kara | Paper is #3. |
| I struggle with paper because I am not clear on what I can let go, and that I don’t have a regular maintenance plan to go back through files to get rid of old stuff. I struggle with some paper because of nostalgia. | A letter that my late husband wrote to me our senior year of high school. We didn’t get together until our 20th high school class reunion after both of our first marriages had dissolved. |
| Lela | Paper clutter is not a problem for me. | I would have an easier time managing paper if only marketing people would stop putting me on junk mail lists. Sometimes it takes a lot of work to get off those mailing lists. | The bible I received as a teenager. It’s old & a little tattered around the edges, but it holds vital info & precious memories. | |
| Saskatchewan Jane | Paper clutter is not a problem for me. | Bible from Grandma and my Baptismal certificate. | ||
| rowan | Paper clutter is not a problem for me. | color photocopy of a letter from Zen Master Taizan Maezumi Roshi - he wrote in brush and ink four kanji and the translation "The Way is All-pervading and Complete - Master Dogen". I gave the original to his first successor - Zen Master Bernie Tetsugen Glassman Roshi. Second most treasured item - Letter from the Private Secretary to the Prince of Wales (Charles) thanking me for alerting him that a studio portrait of the Prince and Princess of Wales was being used in an ad campaign for US Price Chopper supermarkets. Letter said they were forwarding the matter to the Foreign and Commenwealth Office for "immediate action". (my own little international incident). | ||
| Anonymous user | Paper is my #1 clutter issue. |
| I would have an easier time managing paper if only it would stop arriving! | Handwritten note from deceased loved one |
| Mary | Paper is my #1 clutter issue. |
| Anxious | Creative Writing of novels in progress |
| Anonymous user | Paper is my #1 clutter issue. |
| There is so much I had more time Overwhelmed | Letters from family. This has been culled previously and is fine. |
| Denise | Paper clutter is not a problem for me. | I USED to struggle with ALL of the papers! I saw an episode of Cas Aarssen's Hot Mess House on HGTV. She said, "Horizontal (piles) are hidden. Vertical is visual." She showed a wall hanging magazine kind of thing and it was a light bulb moment. Now we have just 5 categories of papers. 3 in the wall hanging sorter. This Year'sTaxes. Short term (like a car recall notice). Bills to be paid. And Long term storage in a box up in the closet with mortgage papers and old tax returns. And a file folder with birth certificates, passports, SS cards, car pink slips. And that's it. We shred the paid bills. We don't have stacks of random papers laying around any more. So life changing!!! PS... my father in law prints the internet. He paid for TWO mini storage units for YEARS filled with bankers boxes filled with papers printed from Web MD and the Mayo Clinic, etc, etc, 🙁 It was all mixed in with calendars from 1978, and bank statements from the 70's, 80's and 90's. And a car pink slip to a car he no longer owned. And a birthday card from 1995. It was really sad to see so many thousands and thousands of dollars spent to store literal garbage. | Hand drawn cards from my son when he was in grade school. We have "memory boxes" with that kind of memorabilia. | |
| Lee | Paper is #2. |
| Overwhelmed will never catch up; I establish a system but then due to health problems get behind AGAIN! I get sooooo much junk mail asking for contributions because I’m on about every list there is because I’m genuinely generous with those that truly help others! Discouraging! | A refund check for 20 cents?!! When I closed out an account. My cards letters fr my late husband that died two yrs ago cancer & a stroke. |
| Margaret | Paper is my #1 clutter issue. |
| I struggle with paper clutter because I am obsessive about having complete medical records, financial records (going back decades). I would have an easier time managing paper if every month I eliminated some paper records from that same month a year ago and once a year eliminated some paper records from 7 or 10 years ago. Also, only keep as much paper records as will fit in my rather large safe deposit box. The accumulation of paper in my home makes me feel overwhelmed, tired and out of control. | Hand water-colored notebook from a college course on Plant Physiology (50 years old) (got an A+) |
| Anonymous user | Paper is a problem, but it doesn’t make my top three categories. |
| I’m sentimental and I don’t want to lose any important and meaningful memorabilia from raising children | Children’s writing, artwork, meaningful music, especially ones that relate to their adult life and careers; also anything to do with sentimental and irreplaceable travel experiences as a family |
| Olivia | Paper clutter is not a problem for me. | Papers are under control in my home. | Photos, which are also sentimental. My least treasured papers are definitely tax records. | |
| Pam | Paper is #2. |
| The accumulation of paper in my home makes me feel overwhelmed. | Medical records and tax returns. |
| SM | Paper is my #1 clutter issue. |
| I would have an easier time managing paper if only I didn't have have to keep records for taxes for two businesses as well as personal papers for DH and I. | I have my parents' marriage papers. ( I wouldn't dare get into photographs. They're probably counted elsewhere.) |
| Gabriella | Paper is my #1 clutter issue. |
| ..... I jot down things and take random notes on anything that interests me. ..... I noted things more methodically ...... stressed I have good systems for dealing with some categories of paper though. | A sparse number of notes from my mother who passed away, some funny drawings my boyfriend made for me. |
| Noreen | Paper is a problem, but it doesn’t make my top three categories. |
| A Mothers Day card I made in school for my Mom. She passed away 4 years ago and I was recently clearing out a tote of items from her house and found it. | |
| Nicole | Paper is my #1 clutter issue. |
| I don't have a system to save my own handwritten notes with things I need to check, read, watch or remember. I've tried to write this kind of things in a notebook, but then I forget to look in the notebook. | |
| Lost in space jk. Teressa | Paper is my #1 clutter issue. |
| I can’t seem to start the process and this is where I am stuck in the finishing of the garage declutter. It’s a mountain of boxes and I can’t seem to start the process. Most are estate paperwork from three deceased family members, my grandmothers papers, my mothers cards and papers and my fathers paperwork from 75 and my college education notebooks and papers. | None other than some art prints |
| Name (click to view full survey response and comments) | How would you rank paper clutter among the categories of stuff that you have difficulty managing? | For which of the following types of paper clutter would you like to get help or advice? | Please complete one or more statements about your issues with paper clutter. | Tell us about your most treasured paper item. |
