How to Reduce the Paper Clutter in Your Home

Paper clutter can be a great source of stress in the home. It takes up space, is difficult to organize and when paper piles get too tall they become overwhelming to tackle. Furthermore, studies show that we never use or look at 80% of the papers and information we keep. Shocking, right? We keep all that paper and we never even look at it. If your home has been taken over by paper, be sure to read below to learn How to Reduce the Paper Clutter in Your Home.

1. Throw Away Junk Mail… Before You Get Inside the House

My first tip on how to reduce paper clutter in your home is to throw away all your junk mail. Don’t even look at it. Those ads you get from Bed Bath and Beyond or Old Navy or the local grocery store? Take them straight to the garbage can. Bringing junk mail into your home usually means leaving it on the counter or desk in a pile and forgetting about it. Remove that organization obstacle by not even allowing it in your home.

2. Scan All Important Documents Into Your Computer

Another excellent tip for removing paper clutter is to go paperless. Tell you bank and utility companies not to send you bills directly in the mail, but to your email instead. Then be sure and scan all other important documents into your computer. Save them to a couple places so you have a backup and wa-la! No more paper clutter. Or at least… less paper clutter.

3. Unsubscribe from All Magazines

Speaking of calling the utility companies, a third way to reduce paper clutter would be to unsubscribe to magazines. If you are anything like me it takes you weeks to actually read the magazines that come in the mail. Most of the time I just flip through them and toss them in recycling in less than ten minutes. What a waste! Save yourself the space by unsubscribing from unnecessary mail.

4. Be Brutal With What You Keep

If you are serious about reducing the paper clutter in your home, then you need to be brutal in what you choose to keep. All those sweet colored pictures your kids bring home from school are sweet, but do you need to save every single one? Think long and hard about it. What about programs from church or maps from theme parks? Be brutal in choosing what to keep and what to toss.

5. Find a System that Works for You

Part of your paper clutter problem might be that you don’t have a real filing system. Do you need an accordion folder? A file cabinet? Or maybe an electronic system? Find a system that works well for you and your family and stick to it. Being intentional about clearing the paper clutter is half the battle.

6. Don’t Procrastinate Filing

The worst thing you can do when trying to reduce paper clutter is to procrastinate. Leaving your paper piles for later will only lead to more paper and more anxiety and more time lost when you are finally forced to organize them. Not to mention the longer you wait to sort paperwork the more chance you have of missing an important invitation or bill. Save yourself the stress and get it done!

Thank you for reading the How to Reduce the Paper Clutter in Your Home. For more home organization tips and tricks, check out this additional content:

5 Questions to Ask When Decluttering Your Home
How to Add Hygge to Your Cleaning Routin e
Hygge Home Ti ps: 7 Reasons to Clear the Clutter from Your Closets
10 Organization Tips that Will Make Your Life Easier and Save Time

As always, if you have any questions feel free to send me an email or message me on Instagram. Follow @bestillandhygge on Pinterest for more travel tips and tricks and subscribe below for new content every week.

Love Always,