Do you find your counters and tables being slowly taken over by piles of paper? Raise your hand if you just move the piles from location to location. Well, we’re here to help you get your paper situation under control.

Image Credit: www.thenesteffect.com

Step 1. Eliminate and Automate

How many magazines to you subscribe to? And how many do you actually read? Cancel the subscriptions you don’t need and, if it’s an option, convert your print subscriptions to tablet subscriptions. To further eliminate the clutter, set up e-billing and automatic payments for as many bills as you can.

Step 2. File and Fling

We don’t blame you if you don’t file your paperwork. It’s a pain. The thing is: it really helps cut down on the clutter. Take stock of the documents you need and shred those you don’t. After all, do you really need to save all your utility bills?

Step 3. Create a Mail Station

One of the easiest ways to cut the clutter is to create a mail station where you can store all your stamps, envelopes, and, naturally, mail. It makes so much sense we wonder why it took us so long to create one.

Step 4. Memory Management

Birthday cards, your kid’s artwork, a letter from a friend (yes, people still get those), pictures: while life is becoming increasingly digital, we still have a few analog memories to hold on to. The problem is these memories can start piling up. Want to save them for posterity? Get a separate storage bin to keep them in. How’s that for easy?