Menu Planning 101: Paper Clutter

[Ask The Dietitian]

I have a theory. If your desk or dining room table is piled with paperwork, you are not going to be completing a food journal anytime soon. You are also not going to be planning your menu. Am I right? So let’s conquer this paper monster so we can get down to the business of getting healthy.

What you’ll need:

1 black fine tip sharpie
1 box or more of file folders – Any color
A large trash can
A shredder
A legal note pad to use as a Master List (a list you will use daily to write down any unfinished business)
A pen

Schedule appointments with yourself for one hour blocks of time.

Go through every paper in every pile in every corner.

Make a decision on every piece of paper.

Write any unfinished business on the master list.

Throw away what you don’t need.

Shred papers that reveal your identity.

Place the paper you are keeping in a file labeled with a black sharpie.

Never let papers pile up again. As soon as you get a piece of paper, make a decision – throw it away or list it on the master list and file it away.

Your master list will be the last thing you review in the evening and the first thing you review in the morning while you are having coffee or your healthy smoothie. You will add new items throughout the day and cross off items you have completed.

No need to rewrite your list everyday, unless you are a perpetual list maker.

How many pages of the Master List did you end up with?

Inspiration for this post:

Book by Mayer

[Lisa Newton]

Great idea. I have too many papers on my desk right now. I'll start putting my hour aside to get it cleaned up tomorrow......................:)

[David]

This is one of my weakest areas. Your advice is sound and helpful. I think it can also be extended into other parts of our lives that are "cluttered." Great post.

[Cynthia]

Good post. Dealing with paper clutter... or rather NOT dealing with it is one of my worst habits. I'm better than I used to be though.

[Metroknow]

You know it's funny - I hadn't really consciously mapped this to obstructing my health goals, but you are definitely right! In fact it would be truly fascinating to study whether there is a common human correlation between exercise habits and organizational habits.

Great. Thanks ATD. Another book that I now "have to" read. :)

[Lisa Newton]

From a time stand point, I think organization is one of the greatest time savers, thus, when the excuse of "I don't have time to exercise" comes up, lack of organization could play a part in that time frame.

Think about how much time is wasted looking for something..................:)

[Christine Braun]

I spent days filing our mess of papers...stressing the whole time...worried that I would accidentally throw out some vital item. I now do have a filing cabinet that is orderly and can find what I need when I need it. I learned my lesson and file as soon as I get something that needs to be kept. I laughed at the picture of the kitchen table. Somebody at my house keeps thinking that my table is a storage

facility and a closet to hang their jackets. I would love to say that the Mothers Day parcels...the jacket and books belonged to hubby! LOL

[Christine Braun]

Sorry about the huge picture. I reduced it to 100 pixels. I would hate to see what it looked like at 300!

[Metroknow]

Wow I see some copies of Myst there...that game was partially responsible for getting me out of cabinetmaking and into the software industry! :)

[Christine Braun]

My son was selling them at his garage sale. I want to re-read them. I never got to even see the game. I probably would have liked it. I loved the books.

[Cynthia]

My hubby constantly likes to store stuff on the table, GRRR! I do it too, but not as badly.

Still, I have to say, my paper piles actually don't interfere with me keeping a food journal or planning meals. And the kitchen is always relatively uncluttered, clean and ready to go. I'm good there. It's the REST of the house that languishes, LOL!