How you determine what binders you can get rid of
Datum: 2012-03-28 12:00

It’s one thing to decide to rid yourself of binders and papers that you no longer need, but a whole different matter entirely to determine what is good riddance and what is not.
What if we happen to throw away something we one day might need?
Sure, you could go through the entire bookshelf thoroughly binder by binder, tab by tab and sheet by sheet, but when do we actually have time to do such a comprehensive clean-up other than in time we could otherwise have been free and out of the office?
Today, you will learn a simple technique to effortlessly get an overview of what material you are using and what you can throw away without thinking twice about it.
What is the problem?
Why even bother cleaning your shelves out?
Well, the less good-to-have-material you have, the easier it will be to find what you are looking for. If you have too much unnecessary and unusable good-to-have-material, it will be quite a challenge to find what you truly need.
Do this
- Alright, the first thing you do is to flip all your binders upside down so that the upper edge of the binder is now touching the shelf. They are still in the same position in the bookshelf, only upside down.
Another way to go about the first step, in case you prefer something less drastic, more discrete and practical, is to tie a rubber band around each binder. - The next time you take a binder out and use it, put it back right-side-up (or remove the rubber band if you chose to do follow that procedure instead).
- A year from now, simply get rid of the binders which are still up-side-down (or still have rubber bands around them). Either file them away or throw them away.
Remember, you haven’t even touched them for a whole year.
Look less
If you do this, it will be evident what you use and what you do not use without having to set aside extra time to find this out. After clearing the unused binders out, it will be easier to find what you need and you will have more space to store new material in without having to purchase another bookshelf.
This way you will have more open space in your office which you can either leave free and empty or fill with things that inspire you.
What’s your way?
How do you make sure that you do not keep to much good-to-have-material which might be both old and outdated? Please feel free to leave a comment to let me and others know.