Filing on the mind

[dame_grise]

A recent post got me thinking about my filing. I write, and I'm descended from pack rats.

I have an easier time getting rid of stuff than my boyfriend, but I do have a harder time with information or other things that might be filed. Currently I have nearly one entire drawer of my 2 drawer cabinet filled with articles from classwork and a few hobby interests when I was in graduate school in the early 90's. It hurts my heart just to throw them away ("What if they're useful?!?" my conscience cries at me.). But there isn't much other room to file anything new.

I don't even know how to put this in perspective anymore.
 

Comments

[automaticdoor]

What about scanning them to PDFs?

[dame_grise]

I've thought about that. I'd probably have to find a way to do a few at a time.

[peaceful_sands]

I think it can sometimes help if you look at as kalloway has in her earlier post - not as an overwhelming whole but as just a few papers at a time. A few papers scanned or relegated to a no longer needed status is less traumatic than contemplating the whole lot. It also becomes manageable in terms of time and energy. You won't see a change overnight, but give yourself a few weeks of doing a little at a time and things will begin to be noticeable. Speaking personally, I've also tended to look at it as 'if I actually needed this would I even be able to find it or remember I had it?' which has helped me get rid of a bunch of stuff.