Paper clutter almost always starts the same way: the mail comes in, we glance at it, and we set it down. Then we set more on top of that. Then the pile is too tall to ignore and too overwhelming to tackle.
The good news: a simple daily habit prevents the pile from ever forming.
Try this:
Use the iRAFT Incoming step every single day. When the mail arrives (or whenever paper enters your home), it goes directly into one vertical Incoming container — not the counter, not the table, not a chair. The container.
Then once a week — even just 5 minutes — sort everything in the container into four piles:
- READ: something worth reading? Into your reading spot.
- ACTION: needs a response or follow-up? Into your action folder.
- FILE: keeper for reference? Into your “to file” pile.
- TOSS: junk, expired, irrelevant? Recycle or shred it.
That’s it. Daily plop, weekly sort. Most of what comes in is TOSS — which means the pile that used to take an hour takes minutes.
The container is the key. Give the paper one place to land, and it stops spreading everywhere else.
Here’s to paper peace,
