Do you ever wonder if we inherit the propensity for being a paper clutterholic? Or is it an obsession? Did you grow up with a family who had paper collecting issues too? It is a fairly common phenomenon. If you did, don’t feel bad, you’re not alone. For as far back as I can remember, piles of paper were the norm in my growing up years.
I’m a self-declared 3rd generation paper clutterholic.
How do you know if you are a paper clutterholic?
- You grew up in a family who collects papers and piles them.
- You hang on to papers because they might come in handy someday.
- You have no idea what papers are in the box stored in the upper right-hand corner of the closet.
- You have been late paying a bill.
- You have papers from deceased family members that aren’t related to taxes or estate records.
- You are grateful when you come across a paper you thought you had lost.
- You have not had a need to retrieve papers you filed in the back of a filing cabinet drawer.
- You have not been asked to provide the receipt for any of your tax papers from over 7 years ago, or ever.
- You can think of another valid reason to hold on to papers that I haven’t listed above.
- You can relate to more than one of the above.
Oh, crap, I’m really a paper clutterholic. Are we doomed or can we be better than the previous generations of paper clutterholics? We learned the paper clutterholics’ technique from our family. The question is can we break free and create new history?
My grandmother was our family’s matriarch paper clutterholic. Her dining room table frequently stacked high with paper and newspapers was the norm. Whenever it was time for a family meal, like on holidays, it was all available hands on deck to orchestrate the moves. Piles of paper carefully moved to the buffet top. After first moving other papers surrounding the holiday decorations to the living room. After moving papers piled next to the items decorating the coffee table. It was like musical chairs and quite the ordeal to find the dining room tabletop just so we could eat at it, the main purpose of the table!
I don’t recall grandmother ever really doing anything with the papers, they were just always there. If they weren’t piled on the table, counters, or buffet, she’d put them in paper grocery bags and store them. I’m pretty sure that was way before recycling. Apparently, my grandmother was an excellent teacher, my mom inherited those genes or skills, and became a 2nd generation paper clutterholic.
Mom repeated grandmother’s paper handling procedures or lack thereof in our house. Growing up the paper moving party tradition was a daily exercise for us. We didn’t lose much weight though. We even got a bit lazy and learned how to just work around the piles. They became invisible, or maybe it was it invincible? My mom’s style was a bit laxer from my grandmother’s. The paper piles became a stylish and unique part of our 70’s and 80’s décor.
Mom broke grandmother’s bagging trend though and introduced a filing cabinet with meticulously organized files. A ray of hope for organizational ability in our family! The stylish metal cabinet versus paper grocery bags was definitely an advancement for our family. I never really figured out why we still had piles of papers waiting to be filed once the cabinet arrived? A quick pull open of the drawers revealed all file folders were full. Mom must have filed instead of the bagging procedure she learned from grandmother. But neither technique included the step of thinning out of papers. A lost skill? I’ve definitely inherited that from my mom. Thinning out previously organized papers seems like such a waste of time?!?!
Having grown up this way, it’s no wonder why I’ve become a 3rd generation paper clutterholic. I learned papers are important and a house with paper piles and files is normal.
Ugh…see, there is a strong argument paper collecting is hereditary!
When I cleared out my mother’s house after she moved to assisted living, I found bags upon bags of paper clippings and papers she saved, along with her organized file cabinets, she moved on to 3 by then and carried on with the bagging tradition as well. There were papers from our house where I grew up, papers from her first marriage, papers from her second marriage, and yes, papers from her parents (aka, my grandmother’s piles in bags had moved with her). I recycled what seemed like tons of paper. The shock of all of the paper should’ve been the breaking free point.
But the 3rd generation paper clutterholic in me won. I kept some, not all (whew), of the papers…! Paper clippings from 1925 newspapers might be valuable don’t you know?
Oh dear…seriously, I have inherited the propensity of paper collecting! Is there a fix? Is there a way to overcome being a paper clutterholic? There’s a difference, I must find a way to break free from this obsession…how can I reverse hereditary trends?!?
We have the technology! We’ve come a long way baby. We live in the digital imaging age. In this day and age, why in the world we even have an issue with paper piling? We can get our bills online, pay them online, record the transaction in software on the computer…essentially there’s no paper to deal with. Any bit of information we need, google is there for us. Good graycious, I even own a scanner and a paper shredder!
For some reason, paper piles still appear. Why, oh, why? It isn’t our fault, we don’t need to repeat history, we can find it online!
I don’t love paper like I think my mom and grandmother did. If it doesn’t serve a purpose, I’m less inclined to keep it. I throw stuff right away as I open the incoming mail (most of the time).
There has to be somebody else to blame for the piles…who could it be?
It is the recommendations from the tax guys to blame! Yeah, that’s it, it is the tax guys. Paper, in general, is easy to deal with. If you don’t need it, out it goes. But papers in the form of documentation or records we are supposed to keep, dagnabbit have a blasted purpose. A 7-10 year-long purpose. Ugh!
I’m blaming paper piles in my house on the dreaded, record retention category. Yes, they are the demise of attaining my goals for an organized desk. Being able to decide what really needs requires storage versus, “the information contained might come in handy or useful or needed some day in the future,” is the differentiating key to getting rid of what I don’t need or love. (Yes…there are some very special papers that must be saved…but that’s a whole different story!)
Hallelujah, there is hope! There is a lighter side of life ahead for us paper clutterholics. We can be free of unnecessary paper! I can’t wait to get started on creating new history for our family. Hope it is not too late for my kids!?!
Good graycious, today is the perfect day to start! Yes, today is the day (well…it might take a bit more than one day looking around at the piles), to change history and say goodbye to piles of papers. No more being a 3rd generation paper clutterholic for this going lighter gal. Are you up for joining the quest to rid your family of the paper clutterholic history? This really has nothing to do with paper piles, (really…really?) but paper sorting is boring…so if you too love to get sidetracked and you feel like taking a break from sorting, stop now, tell me your story, I’d love to hear it!!
