Getting Organized: Pile Control

By Michele Blandino

A contractor working in my home once told me that his wife had her pilot’s license. When I asked if she flew for a living or simply for enjoyment, he hesitated before explaining that she was a pilot of a different sort. “She has piles everywhere, and everything goes into a pile,” he explained. “She piles it here and she piles it there.”

Indeed, many of us could say that we have our “pile-it’s” license as well. Bills that need to be paid go into a pile; catalogues that we would like to peruse at our leisure go into another pile; bank statements and other important documents may go into another pile until they are filed away; the list can go on and on. Unfortunately, many people apply the “out of site, out of mind” mentality to their piles and eventually, they grow out of control.

Impose Limits

The key to preventing piles from growing out of control is to limit what goes into them. As a first step, try to implement the “touch it once” rule to your mail by making an immediate determination as to whether or not each piece of mail you receive in a given day should be kept or tossed.

If your personality – or lifestyle – just won’t permit you to address things right away, you may need to adopt a different strategy. For instance, you can put everything that needs your attention into a small basket or plastic container. Commit to going through this container at least twice a week and addressing as many of the items within it as possible. The key here is to make sure that the contents of the container never exceed the available space.

Conquering Existing Piles

But what if the piles in your home have already grown out of control? Certainly, this will call for more drastic measures. To begin, you need to commit to spending some time each day going through your piles and addressing the items within them. Again, the “touch it once” rule should apply, that is, if there’s a bill, pay it; if there is a catalogue you have been saving because there is something you want to order, order it; file the bank statements that have been collecting dust and put those pictures from your last vacation into albums. Do this each day for at least 30 minutes and you should begin to see results – of course, the time it takes to see these results will depend on the size and number of piles you have to tackle.