PAPER PILE-UP

Friday, November 17, 2006

It’s that time of the year again—at least at my house. It’s time to conquer the paper pile-up. Some of you will have no idea of what I am talking about. You stay on top of every piece of paper coming in. You sort, organize, file and store every piece of paper in your home and office. I do some of that every day or at the end of the year I would be lost someplace in my home office. But regardless of how hard I try—paper still piles up. You see, I have a hard time determining value. I think, “Don’t toss or shred that. You are going to need that information as soon as it’s gone.” At the end of the year I have a pile of this “valuable stuff.”

Every year at this time—sometime in late November or early December, I come to my senses regarding this stuff. Out it goes! It’s not a fast procedure; in fact, it sometimes takes hours—even days to complete. I read, re-read and read again. I think, “Oh, this is good. I forgot all about having it. This is very valuable.” But at this time of the year I come to my senses and out it goes.

It’s hard parting with some of this stuff but by Christmas I will have closure and move on.