WEBVTT - Stop drowning in paper

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.

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<v Speaker 1>Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's tip is to limit the quantity of paper that

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<v Speaker 1>comes into your life so it's easier to stay organized,

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<v Speaker 1>and so you can treat the paper you do keep

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<v Speaker 1>as more special. Today's episode is inspired by a book

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<v Speaker 1>I recently read by Lisa Woodruff called The Paper Solution.

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<v Speaker 1>In it, this professional organizer teaches people how to manage

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<v Speaker 1>the paper that comes into their lives without dropping balls.

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<v Speaker 1>In a later episode, I'll talk about her Sunday basket technique,

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<v Speaker 1>but today I want to talk about limiting the quantity

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<v Speaker 1>of paper you need to deal with, as paper tends

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<v Speaker 1>to take space and time. So there was a theory

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<v Speaker 1>at one point that we were on the verge of

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<v Speaker 1>a paperless world. All communication would be electronic and no

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<v Speaker 1>one would need paper for anything anymore. That didn't really

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<v Speaker 1>pan out, partly because people are people. I'm old enough

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<v Speaker 1>that I once worked for someone who wanted all emails

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<v Speaker 1>printed out so they could be treated with a dignity

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<v Speaker 1>of postal correspondence and then filed appropriately. Thankfully, most people

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<v Speaker 1>have moved past that, partly because most email is so

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<v Speaker 1>not worth printing and saving. But we still have a

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<v Speaker 1>lot of stuff. We get mail in the mailbox, We

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<v Speaker 1>get forms from doctors and dentists and schools. We print notes,

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<v Speaker 1>We have books, we have magazines. I've gotten better about

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<v Speaker 1>checking stuff over the past few years, but there were

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<v Speaker 1>definitely times in the past when I saved all my

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<v Speaker 1>magazines because I love the pretty pictures and I thought

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<v Speaker 1>I might look through them to get ideas in the future. Indeed,

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<v Speaker 1>I had this whole big paper ideal file I was

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<v Speaker 1>keeping for a while. It sat like a time capsule

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<v Speaker 1>for something like eight years in my closet. Eventually I

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<v Speaker 1>opened it. There was indeed a whole lot of nice

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<v Speaker 1>two thousand five photography in there, but I got no

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<v Speaker 1>ideas whatsoever. Kids artwork and school work is also complicated.

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<v Speaker 1>Some is good and some is less memorable. My teenager

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<v Speaker 1>printed up vast quantities of math worksheets this spring, which

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<v Speaker 1>would then sit on the counter. It took a long

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<v Speaker 1>time to get them into the recycling bin. As I've

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<v Speaker 1>been pondering this in my life, I've realized that one

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<v Speaker 1>of the best techniques is to avoid letting stuff stack

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<v Speaker 1>up when I bring in the mail. Anything I'm not

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<v Speaker 1>interested in goes straight to the trash or the recycling bin.

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<v Speaker 1>Otherwise it can sit in the pile for months. Magazines

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<v Speaker 1>now getting max of two months before they go out

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<v Speaker 1>the door. The daily newspaper is a little treat for me.

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<v Speaker 1>We subscribe to the Wall Street Journal, but it needs

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<v Speaker 1>to be gone in two days. It was hard for

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<v Speaker 1>me to admit that I will not read a daily

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<v Speaker 1>newspaper from a week ago, but I think I've finally

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<v Speaker 1>gotten over that. As for my kids artwork, my current

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<v Speaker 1>policy is that anything that really makes me smile or

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<v Speaker 1>that shows my kid's personality can stay. So a cartoon

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<v Speaker 1>my daughter drew about how she wanted to be an

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<v Speaker 1>artist so she could be famous. Is a keeper a

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<v Speaker 1>math work sheet demonstrating the ability to reduce for actions, Well,

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<v Speaker 1>not so much. I also tried to reuse the paper.

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<v Speaker 1>I have. I print out outlines for my Best of

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<v Speaker 1>Both Worlds podcast, but I try to use the back

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<v Speaker 1>of those sheets for grocery lists or notes. And finally,

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<v Speaker 1>I am a big fan of programs like doc You

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<v Speaker 1>sign as an author and podcaster and small business owner,

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<v Speaker 1>not to mention as someone who sometimes rents vacation houses

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<v Speaker 1>because my family is too big for a hotel. I

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<v Speaker 1>deal with an incredible number of contracts. Anyone that I

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<v Speaker 1>don't need to print out is a huge win. In

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<v Speaker 1>any case, you might try taking a look today at

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<v Speaker 1>what sorts of paper tend to stack up in your life.

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<v Speaker 1>How could you reduce these stacks? Can you keep stuff

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<v Speaker 1>from coming in? Buying e books instead of paper books

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<v Speaker 1>was a big breakthrough for me. Getting any recurring bills

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<v Speaker 1>or statements electronically is also helpful and often easier to

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<v Speaker 1>track down. Always ask if there's an electronic ticket option.

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<v Speaker 1>Don't take receipts you don't need. We're nowhere near the

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<v Speaker 1>paperless office, as anyone who's been working from home these

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<v Speaker 1>past few months and is now responsible for her own

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<v Speaker 1>printing has learned. But we could get somewhat closer. Everything

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<v Speaker 1>will be less cluttered if we do, and then we

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<v Speaker 1>can treat the paper we do have with some more respect.

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<v Speaker 1>I love little bound notebooks and stationary with some tooth

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<v Speaker 1>to it. These are much more exciting than a receipt

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<v Speaker 1>and never going to use anyway. In the meantime, this

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<v Speaker 1>is Laura, Thanks for listening. Here's to making the most

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<v Speaker 1>of our time. Hey everybody, I'd love to hear from you.

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<v Speaker 1>You can send me your tips, your questions, or anything else.

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<v Speaker 1>Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at

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<v Speaker 1>Before Breakfast pod. That's B the number four, then Breakfast

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<v Speaker 1>p o D. You can also shoot me an email

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<v Speaker 1>at Before Breakfast podcast. At i heeart media dot com

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<v Speaker 1>that Before Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters.

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<v Speaker 1>Thanks so much, I look forward to staying in touch.

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<v Speaker 1>Before Breakfast is a production of I heart Radio. For

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