Somewhere in your home - or maybe in more than one place - there is a pile of paper quietly growing. Letters you meant to open, a form from school, a receipt you might need one day, a leaflet from a restaurant. It never seems to be anyone's fault. It just accumulates.

Paperwork is unusual as far as clutter goes. It does not just take up drawer space, it seems to demand attention every time you see it, which is part of why it drains so much more mental energy than its size would suggest.

Here's a method that works whether you're catching up on a bit of a backlog or just keeping on top of things as they land. Set aside a little time each week, then gather up wherever your paperwork tends to collect, the pile by the front door, the kitchen table, an in-tray if you have one.

Then go through it item by item asking a single question: is this actionable?

• If the answer is no, it goes to recycling, bin or shred, or into a File it or Read it pile if you genuinely need it later.
• If the answer is yes, check how long it will take. Under two minutes, do it now. Longer than that, it goes into an Action it pile with a note reminding you what the next step is.
• The only rule while you are sorting is not to let yourself start filing, reading or actioning yet. Just weed and pile until you reach the bottom.

A little proviso: this process is intended for dealing with smaller accumulations of paperwork. If you have boxes or drawers full, you need to take a more structured approach and treat it as a larger, longer term project.

That one question does most of the heavy lifting. It's what I walk through in more detail in a favourite from my blog, Goodbye Paper, Hello Desk, along with a few simple ways to cut down how much paper arrives in your home in the first place, so you are not back here doing this every few weeks.

You can read it here: Goodbye Paper, Hello Desk​

Warm wishes,

Helen

PS If paperwork is one of the areas that trips you up most, The Home Declutter Kit includes a dedicated set of cards just for this, so you always know exactly which pile something belongs in.