Brian Mayer on WNYC and during this membership drive, one of the things we're doing is a series at the end of the show that we're calling spring cleaning.

It's about organizing your stuff and your life

in six different ways over six different days. Today we're going to talk about paperwork,

the physical documents stuffed in filing cabinets, desk drawers, and kitchen piles. Do you still

need those con-ed bills from 30 years ago? and the digital files scattered across our laptops,

desktops, phones, and the cloud.

And we're joined again by Caitlin Wells, a senior reporter at the New York Times Product Review

website, Wirecutter, who has some practical tips for getting your documents,

physical and digital under control.

Hey, Caitlin, thanks for coming on with us again.

Hi, Brian. Thanks for having me back.

Starting on the physical papers, what's the best way to get started without panicking

when you open that old file cabinet and you see what's phasing you?

Well, Brian, I have to admit this is something I've always struggled with, but in the process

of improving my own system, I have developed these tips.

And when it comes to getting started with organizing your paper documents, first you just need

to like pull out that pile of stuff, get a couple of pens and sticky notes, maybe a label maker, and go to town.

You really only need about 15 minutes to get started, but don't be surprised if you really get

into it and you find yourself spending like an hour or two on the weekend to make sure your

organization system is top-notch. On the flip side, what are the documents that people should actually, should absolutely

keep as opposed to the ones, you know, that you can definitely put in the shredder or the

recycling bin?

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