Have valuable research and paperwork you’re holding onto, afraid it may be useful or needed in the future? Want permission to declutter old school work? Are old college notes, notebooks, and homework piling up in boxes in your basement?
When considering getting rid of all your old schoolwork, ask yourself the following:
- What is the topic?
- Is it still valid or relevant?
- How likely am I to use or need this?
- What will I do with it?
- Why am I not using it now?
- Does it just go along with a dream persona I’ve long past?
Declutter Old School Work
Think about whether it will be an issue if you don’t save all these papers. You’re still you, with your knowledge and understanding. Even though it might be a setback, if the need arises, you’ll always be able to come up with something if you need to.
Digitize It
You may choose to scan it in. Some printers and copiers will take stacks of papers and scan them in very quickly. Beware of this, though, as you may scan everything in and just have a massive dump of data that you’ll never want to go through. Don’t get in the trap of keeping everything; Digital clutter is still clutter.
Make an effort to work your way through the documents or information and weed out as much as possible. Then categorize and then scan what you decide to keep. Organize this data into folders as you work it; You may be surprised to never refer to it again, but should you need to, then you will be able to find it.
