Decluttering paperwork: How to sort and organise fast
Paperwork has a sneaky way of taking over your home, so without decluttering paperwork, a stack here, and a pile there can leave you feeling surrounded by mountains of paper – and the stress that comes with it.
From bills and school letters, to manuals and junk mail, paperwork doesn’t just take up physical space, it can weigh on your mind, making your daily life more stressful.
By decluttering papers, you can reduce mental load, save time, and even avoid costly mistakes like missing bills or losing key documents.
Here are some easy ways to declutter paperwork so you can get rid of what you don’t need, organise what’s important, and create systems to keep paper under control for good.
Download your FREE declutter checklist with 100+ items to declutter here
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Why decluttering paperwork matters
Decluttering paper is important because:
- It reduces mental load by reducing your number of unfinished tasks
- It makes your home feel lighter
- It’s easier to find important documents
- It saves time and money because bills and important documents are easily located and dealt with
How to declutter paperwork
Here are some simple steps you can take to start decluttering paperwork.
Gather everything in one place
Before decluttering paper from your home, it’s a great idea to see what you’re actually dealing with, which means going around your home and collecting paperwork from:
- Surfaces
- Kitchen countertops
- Bags
- Drawers
- Random baskets
- Office areas
- Anywhere paper resides
Once done, place all of the paperwork in one pile. This may feel overwhelming, but it’s the best way to start decluttering unwanted papers from your home for good.
RELATED READ: How to do a kitchen declutter without feeling overwhelmed
Recycle and remove
The first step to declutter paperwork is to go through the pile you just made and throw out anything you don’t need; this will decrease your pile significantly.
Some examples of paperwork that you may decide to recycle or throw out includes:
- Duplicate letters
- Expired manuals
- Junk mail
- Old magazines
- Old newspapers
- Old takeaway menus
- Outdated school newsletters
Create sorting categories
After you’ve recycled or thrown out what you don’t need, you need to deal with what’s left.
The best way to do this is to create sorting categories that you can add paperwork to, which makes decisions on what to keep, or what to declutter easy.
Here are the sorting categories you can to use and some examples of the types of paperwork you can add to them:
- To action – (forms to sign, bills to pay, things to respond to)
- To file – (important documents you need to keep)
- To recycle or shred – (paperwork you no longer need)
Make an action station
Create an action station for the paperwork in the to action pile.
This involves placing it in a paperwork tray or expanding folder somewhere in your home that you can see every day.
At the end of each night, or week, go through your action station and deal with the paperwork, until it’s empty.
File only what you need
Go through each item in the to file pile, and ask yourself the following questions:
- Can I access this digitally if I need to?
- Is this legally or financially important?
- Does it have a clear purpose?
If the answer to any of these are no, then recycle or shred it.
Shred what you don’t need
For anything in the recycle or shred pile, shred anything with personal details on it by using a paper shredder.
If you don’t have a shredder, then make sure you cut any personal details into small pieces making them unreadable, and thrown them out, or consider using a shredding service.
Types of paperwork to declutter
Here’s a decluttering checklist with paperwork that you can declutter or keep that you may have in your home.
School paperwork
Declutter:
- Artwork you’ve already photographed
- Expired permission slips
- Old newsletters
Keep:
- Current term information
- Important reports
- Key school contacts
Financial documents
Declutter:
- Bills you’ve paid
- Old bank statements (check how long you’re required to keep them)
Keep:
- Current contracts
- Insurance paperwork
- Tax related documents
Medical paperwork
Declutter:
- Expired medical leaflets
- Old prescriptions
- Outdated appointment letters
Keep:
- Current care plans
- Important medical history
- Relevant test results
Household paperwork
Declutter:
- Expired warranties
- Manuals for items you no longer own
Keep:
- Active warranties
- Current appliance manuals (or download digital versions)
Junk mail
Declutter:
- Catalogues
- Credit card offers
- Promotional leaflets
Personal documents
Keep:
- Birth certificates
- Marriage certificates
- National insurance details
- Passports
How to keep paperwork under control
Here are some ways you can keep paperwork from cluttering your home.
Deal with paperwork immediately
As soon as paperwork enters your home:
- Open it immediately
- Decide straight away whether to action, file, recycle or shred
The less time paper spends in its envelope, or piled on surfaces, the less chance it has to pile up.
Create a paper drop zone
This is my number one tip for keeping paperwork under control, which is having a dedicated area in your home where new paperwork goes as soon as it enters your home.
I place any paperwork that I can’t immediately recycle in this mail organiser that sits on my kitchen countertop.
At the end of the week I go through it and deal with each item according to the sorting categories above.
Limit the amount paperwork you get
Limiting paperwork you receive is another great way to stop paper clutter from building up.
Consider getting digital bank statements instead of paper statements, opt out of junk mail, and sign up for digital school communications.
The less paperwork you have entering your home, the less work you’ll have to do decluttering papers later on.
RELATED READ: Digital declutter tips for busy mums
Decluttering paperwork – a recap
Breaking your paperwork decluttering project into simple, manageable steps will help you take control of paper clutter that’s been building up in your home.
The best steps to take when decluttering paperwork are:
- Place all the paperwork you have in one pile
- Recycle what you don’t need
- Sort remaining paperwork into action, file, recycle or shred categories, and
- Create a dedicated drop zone for future paperwork so you get in the habit of dealing with it little and often
Starting small, staying consistent, and reminding yourself that every piece of paper you deal with is one less thing taking up space in your home, is the best way to deal with paperwork once and for all.
In case you missed it, here’s your free printable declutter checklist to help you make decluttering your entire home easier.
Which three papers in your home can you sort, file, or shred right now?
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