TL;DR
A pile of paper means one of three things: you are avoiding it, procrastinating, or do not know what to do with it, and it never serves you well. One client lost 45 minutes and arrived an hour late to sell her car because the title was refolded into its envelope and buried in a pile. Never put opened mail back in its envelope, and keep bills out of the shuffle so late fees and credit dings stop.
For those of you who have a few stacks of papers piled around inside your home (or anywhere else in your life) – here’s one of three reasons why.
What does a pile of paper actually mean?
A pile of anything represents one of three things: you are either avoiding it, procrastinating or simply don’t have any idea what to do with it!
No matter what the reason is that you have piles laying around, they will never ever serve you well.
For instance, a pile of mail sitting on your kitchen counter (yes – I see it!) can cause a great deal of inconvenience and, more often than not, a boatload of time and money.
How did one pile cost a client an hour and a car sale?
Just today, my client explained that recently she became completely stressed out because she could not find the title to her car that had arrived in the mail a few weeks back.
She had an appointment to transfer the title to the person who purchased her car and she could not find the title anywhere.
After searching for 45 minutes she finally found her title. Sadly this made her arrive one hour late for her meeting to transfer the title.
So where did she eventually find it?
It turns out that she had opened it when she received it in the mail and then put it back into its original envelope AND added it to the pile of important papers on her dresser.
Why should you never put mail back in its envelope?
As a side note, if you open a piece of mail, take it out, open it up, please do not refold and place it back into its original envelope.
Opening, unfolding, refolding and re-stuffing is both a waste of time and energy and will definitely not help you know what is inside the next time you need to do something with it.
Eliminating this habit will save you time ~ guaranteed!
Another self-sabotaging aspect of paper piles is that your bills tend to get lost in the shuffle which sometimes triggers late fees and a ding in your credit score.
The fix is a system for papers as they arrive, so nothing lands on the counter or the dresser: see 5 Tips to Help Organize Your Mail for the daily habits and Why Clutter Costs You Cash for what the piles are costing. In the meantime – if you have any piles lying around – take action and give them the boot! If the piles are in your business, Tired of Being Buried Under Paperwork? is the place to start.
Keep reading
- 5 Tips to Help Organize Your MailKathi’s answer to a client whose mail had taken over the house.
- Why Clutter Costs You CashDuplicates, late fees and lost gift cards: where the money leaks.
- Tired of Being Buried Under Paperwork?Kathi’s system for the papers that pile up in a business.
Frequently asked questions
What does a pile of papers say about me?
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A pile of anything represents one of three things: you are avoiding it, procrastinating, or simply don’t have any idea what to do with it. Whatever the reason, piles never serve you well. A pile of mail on the kitchen counter causes inconvenience and, more often than not, costs time and money.
How can a paper pile cost money?
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Bills tend to get lost in the shuffle, which sometimes triggers late fees and a ding in your credit score. One client could not find her car title, searched for 45 minutes and arrived an hour late to the meeting where she was transferring it to the buyer, all because it was buried in a pile of important papers.
Should I put opened mail back in its envelope?
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No. If you open a piece of mail, take it out and open it up, but do not refold it and place it back into its original envelope. Opening, unfolding, refolding and re-stuffing wastes time and energy, and it will not help you know what is inside the next time you need it.
Where should important papers go instead of a pile?
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Each category of paper needs a landing zone the moment it enters your life, so nothing sits on a counter or dresser. A vertical action file for bills to pay, pending items and papers to file keeps everything visible, and the daily mail habits in Kathi’s mail articles keep the piles from forming.
What is the quickest win with paper piles?
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Eliminate the refolding habit and give the piles the boot. Sort mail as it arrives, keep bills in one designated spot so they are paid on time, and take action on anything quick right away. Those small habits save real time and money, guaranteed.
Originally published on Organized and Energized on October 27, 2019. Moved to addSpace and updated 2026-11-07.
