Each month, founder of Cardinal Rule Press, Maria Dismondy, will be reviewing business books she is currently reading. Along with a brief review, she is sharing some of her favorite quotes from the book.

The Paper Solution: What to Shred, What to Save, and How to Stop It From Taking Over Your Life

You may find it interesting that I read and reviewed an organizing book as a business book! You will lose out on hours of your life–personal and in your business if you are unorganized. Especially when it comes to papers.

A colleague recently told me to set a calendar reminder every 30 days to clean up my computer desktop and to take time emptying the downloads and trash of the computer. This new routine has SAVED me time and money (because time is money in business!)

Summary:

The Paper Solution, founder of Organize365 Lisa Woodruff delivers a proven, step-by-step guide for what to shred, what to save, and how to sort what’s left behind. With her method, you’ll learn:

• What documents you must absolutely hold on to
• Which papers you can dispose of today
• How to ditch your bulky filing cabinets and make your vital documents accessible and portable

And at the heart of it all is the Sunday Basket: a box that sits on your counter and corrals those stray bills, forms, coupons, and scraps into an easy-to-use paper-management system. The Sunday Basket will become your new weekly habit–one that leads to less paper, less stress, and more time to spend on the things (and people) that matter most.

Maria’s Review:

The Paper Solution walks you step-by-step to conquering the paper dilemma in your home. If your home isn’t organized, you are subject to losing time and productivity in your personal and business life (and we ALL want MORE time!). Lisa shares personal stories in this book that help readers connect to someone who has gone through this process of saving time with organization. Her tips are practical and doable, leaving readers feeling empowered!

Here are my top quotes from Lisa Woodruff’s new book, The Paper Solution:

1. “The reality is that managing paper is like brushing our teeth, doing laundry, washing dishes, and buying groceries. It is a constant part of our lives.”
2. “Much like the physical clutter in our homes, a great deal of the paper we use is “aspiration clutter”, representing the lives we dream of having, not the ones we’re currently living.”
3. “While 85 percent of what has been saved most likely can be shredded, the other 15 percent is very important.”
4. “Organization can be learned.”
5. “The reality is that organization is a life skill. There are steps anyone can take to become more organized.”
6. “43 percent of Americans categorize themselves as disorganized.”
7. “Here are five categories (coded by color) to get you started as you begin to organize your papers into those pockets. Note: not all of your paper will fall in these five categories. Projects, ideas, and long-range goals will be addressed in the next chapter.”
8. “And the truth is paper is not going anywhere. So we have to figure out how to deal with it effectively.”

Don’t forget to sign up for Cardinal Rule Press freebies and tips coming right to your inbox with our bi-weekly Newsletter. Sign up today!