10 Reasons We Keep So Much Paper

It seems that everyone struggles with paper clutter. At the beginning of each year, we encourage clients to go through filing cabinets, recycling or shredding unneeded documents. For some folks though, the paper clutter is deeper than a few old insurance explanation of benefits or old quarterly financial statements.
The following are ten reasons we hang on to so much paper!
- Information is powerful. We keep a lot of paper as reference material, so we can find it later when we need it.
- For many people, printed copy is easier to read than online. Some folks print reams of documents with the intention to read through every page.
- Catalogues are promises of a better future self or home. We often hang on to them for inspiration or potential future purchases.
- Magazines can be full of knowledge we’d like to retain. We keep them to read them again, or to hang on to the “knowledge” we’ve gained.
- Beautiful photography in magazines may inspire our travel. We may get ideas for home remodeling projects from magazines. Although much of this information is also available online, we may keep the magazine as a physical reminder.
- Sometimes, the paper is your work product. You may have copies of projects