There are some sure signs that spring is upon us – warmer temperatures, extended daylight and, of course, the latest and greatest in space savers and cleaning gadgets advertised to the masses. That’s right; it’s spring cleaning time and to help with this time of year, retailers everywhere are advertising every imaginable gadget and trinket to cut the clutter in your kitchen, closet, garage or home office.

It’s a good thing that the spring season is three months long, giving folks plenty of time to clean out the waste and cut the clutter. I’ve learned that if there is one sure-fire way to clean out the clutter in my home or office, it’s to get rid of the piles of paper that always seem to accumulate. Whether it is bills, tax documents, insurance contracts, or even car maintenance forms, I set aside one weekend in the spring to get rid of all of it – to simply cut the clutter that I’ve let build up all winter and digitize.

Paper isn’t the only culprit, but it’s a large contributor. So, I thought I’d share some quick tips I follow when getting down to cleaning and cutting my [paper] clutter:

1. Ask yourself, “Do I really need to keep this?”
2. Determine what you absolutely need in paper format and digitize the rest
3. Try the ScanSnap for easy conversion of your paper documents into digital format – it’s important that your scanner helps you, not hinders you
4. Get organized – create custom files for your financials making it easy for tax filing (note: IRS does accept electronic files); organize all of your business cards, etc.
5. Enlist help from experts on how best to capture, store, organize and share paper-based information
6. Once you’ve digitized everything, back it up on an external hard drive
7. Shred and recycle your paper documents
8. Liberate yourself – toss out your clunky filing cabinet.  You don’t need it, you’ve got searchable PDF files

Yes, spring cleaning can take some time, but with the right tools [take a look at Unclutterer for some additional ideas] you can minimize the pain. Peter Walsh’s book, All Too Much, might give you some ideas on how to minimize the clutter, beyond paper, in your life.

Happy Cleaning!

Pamela Doyle, Director, Imaging Products Group
Fujitsu Computer Products of America