05 Jun 2013

An Easy Project to Downsize Your Files

If you lead a busy life (and who doesn’t?), managing your files can feel like an impossible task: but it isn’t. Below are some tried and tested methods for getting your files clean and organized.

User manuals for everything from your refrigerator to your TV are a bulky, but necessary part of your filing system. Or if you don’t have a functional filing system, your user manuals may be stashed in a closet, drawer or who knows where?! They’re the type of thing you may or may not ever need but most people choose to keep them for reference.

So how can you corral your user manual clutter and ensure you can find them if and when you need them? Here are a few ideas, including an easy project from Unclutterer.com, to help you tame the user manual beast.

• Start by collecting all your manuals in one place. You may think it’s better to store them with or near the item, but this doesn’t work for everything and may leave you searching, so better to have one place to go.
• Get rid of manuals for items you no longer own! This simple, but often over-looked task can go a long way to de-bulking your collection. And don’t keep manuals for super simple items that you wouldn’t ever need to reference.
• Decide the best way to store your manuals. Two options for storing hard copies are in your filing system – create one or multiple folders and divide them by general category (i.e. appliances, kids stuff, etc.) – or if you’re a binder person, you can create a binder just for manuals and slide each manual into a sheet protector. Make sure to review your collection annually and purge anything you don’t own.
• Go digital! If you really want to downsize your collection, check out this post from Unclutter – Digitize user manuals for less clutter, easy retrieval. Whether you choose to simply find or scan digital copies of your manuals and store them in your [backed up] digital files or take it step further and store them in a searchable cloud solution, like Evernote, this post will walk you through the process so you can ditch your hard copy manuals for good!