Confessions Of A Paper Hoarder

I'm a recovering paper hoarder. I admit it.

As long as I can think, I've been a paper aficionado. Or is it aficionada?

(Heck, I had three years of Spanish in high school - only about 25 years ago - and I seem to have lost most of it!)

The most prominent proof is probably my Filofax. Or rather my collection of Filofaxes.

Being a postcrosser could also count. I still have every postcard I got since I started in 2013.


Or writing Christmas cards.

Or the stacks of magazines in our living room. (Though Schatz is worse when it comes to this.)


Or the fact that I've chosen the profession of a lawyer. We love our files. And our books. And our magazines.

Or my collection of scrapbook paper, though I'm not a scrapbooker. Not really.

Or my genealogy papers. Quite a few binders... and several extra piles of paper, more or less neatly held together by binder clips.You can never have too many binder clips, can you?

Or my love for post-it notes in various designs.

Or the sagging bookshelves in various rooms of our house. 

Or the fact that I still own my personal calendar of the year 2000. (Which was a good year, by the way!)

Put together on one huge pile in our living room on the first floor, this paper monster would probably crash through the wooden ceiling of this lovely more-than-a-hundred-years old house. And I really don't want to be the one responsible for destroying a home that's been in the family for about a whole century. So Marie Kondo's advice on dealing with all of this in one huge session wouldn't work, even if I left out the books. Additionally, I'd simply feel so overwhelmed that I'd probably leave the paper pile for a month and then finally set it on fire out of pure frustration. 

So what are the consequences?

It's simple: I'll get rid of a few kilograms - of paper, that is. But not in a single session. Pile by pile, shelf by shelf, binder clip by binder clip, file by file. I'll keep what I like and need, and as I have a wonderfully working scanner, I'll scan a lot and toss the originals. Welcome to the 21st century. It's possible to store papers without storing paper.

Actually, I've already started. But there's still enough left to work on. 

Keep me accountable!