Ask an Angel: July 26, 2018

Our Ask An Angel correspondent is Re Kielar, Life Care Navigation Specialist in the area of senior home care.

Q. My husband and I are in the process of trying to consolidate some of our belongings and organize our important documents. It’s overwhelming. What do people do to get organized?

A. The paper we accumulate can be overwhelming. If you are truly ready to embrace a paperless life, minimizing the in-flow of paper in your life is the first step. It can be achieved! Technology is one tool to use to help in this area. While technology is not everyone’s friend, especially if you are like me and feel attached to the “old-fashioned” way of doing things. But there is hope! The key is making the decision to go as paperless as possible and then stick with it. Start with learning about banking online. This can help you with paying bills, using checks, and setting up automatic payments. This will help reduce paper and will be an automatic way of organizing your bank documents. Take an inventory on the paperwork you have accumulated. Sort through documents and put them into three categories. Recycle, scan or save. Recycle old magazines and newspapers. If you have not gotten to them within a week or so, perhaps it is time to say goodbye. Will you really read those old issues? Scan items such as tax returns or medical records and make a file for those on your computer. Shred important documents you no longer need, and make sure your personal information also goes in the shredder. Check with your professional advisors on the number of years your tax returns need to be kept on file. If you don’t own a computer or are not savvy about creating a computer file for your paperwork, create a paper filing system that will keep your bills and other paperwork in order. The accordion file still can work wonders and keep the trash can nearby! Are you a coupon clipper? Coupons can be a blessing or a curse and there are many systems devised to help you stay organized. Over the years I have tried many ways to keep my coupons neatly organized and I’ve decided to keep the categories simple. My categories are divided into cold products, cleaning, grocery, paper, and personal. I toss out expired coupons every few weeks. They all go into a wallet size accordion file that I purchased at the dollar store. If you keep flyers or invitations, you know they can either crowd your counters or the side of your refrigerator! Use your calendar and transfer important dates and information right on the calendar. Then you can free up your space from this type of clutter. If you are still unable to get a handle on your “stuff” you may wish to enlist the help of a professional. My sister recently enlisted the help of a professional organizer, and said it was money well spent. If you can put just a few changes in place, you may find that you can tackle more paper saving adjustments to help you live a clutter-free life.

Have a question for our angel correspondent? You can send our angel an email to rkielar@visitingangels.com or send your question via mail to Ask An Angel, 65 Woodbury St., South Elgin, IL 60177.

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