Remember how computers were going to usher in a paperless society? Ha! Now we just have more stuff to print out.
Almost every home I go into has the same problem: too much paper. Important papers, junk mail, reading material; it all keeps flowing in, and we haven’t quite mastered the “flowing out” yet.
Let’s start with something paper-related, space-hogging, and non-sentimental: binders. Everybody has a bunch of empty binders lurking in the basement.
If they are in good condition, and someone in your family will need them within a year (students?) then keep the number you think they will need. Otherwise, one or two is probably enough for any possible binder-requiring emergencies. If they are in pristine condition, put them in the garage sale box, or consider donating them to a school. Every school has families who can’t afford all the necessary supplies.
If those binders are holding your old school notes, bonus marks if you can drop those in the recycling. Yes, we know you sweated blood to produce that essay, and it still gives you a warm glow to see the big “A” on it, but if you have been out of school for more that a couple of years and haven’t read it again, you’re not going to. Remember how relieved you were to be finished with it, and finish it off now for good: recycle. Paper weighs a lot; you might be able to lose 10 or 20 pounds in one day!