What do you think?
Rate this book
The Paper Solution: What to Shred, What to Save, and How to Stop It From Taking Over Your Life
From the Marie Kondo of paper comes a simple and accessible guide to paper management.
Americans are drowning in paper. We keep stacks of it on the kitchen counter, stash it in drawers, and store file cabinets full of documents that we never even look at. Studies show that fully 85 percent of the paper in our lives can be tossed--but which 85 percent? And how do we organize and manage the 15 percent that remains?
With The Paper Solution, founder of Organize365 Lisa Woodruff delivers a proven, step-by-step guide for what to shred, what to save, and how to sort what's left behind. With her method, you'll learn:
- What documents you must absolutely hold on to
- Which papers you can dispose of today
- How to ditch your bulky filing cabinets and make your vital documents accessible and portable
And at the heart of it all is the Sunday Basket: a box that sits on your counter and corrals those stray bills, forms, coupons, and scraps into an easy-to-use paper-management system. The Sunday Basket will become your new weekly habit--one that leads to less paper, less stress, and more time to spend on the things (and people) that matter most.
Americans are drowning in paper. We keep stacks of it on the kitchen counter, stash it in drawers, and store file cabinets full of documents that we never even look at. Studies show that fully 85 percent of the paper in our lives can be tossed--but which 85 percent? And how do we organize and manage the 15 percent that remains?
With The Paper Solution, founder of Organize365 Lisa Woodruff delivers a proven, step-by-step guide for what to shred, what to save, and how to sort what's left behind. With her method, you'll learn:
- What documents you must absolutely hold on to
- Which papers you can dispose of today
- How to ditch your bulky filing cabinets and make your vital documents accessible and portable
And at the heart of it all is the Sunday Basket: a box that sits on your counter and corrals those stray bills, forms, coupons, and scraps into an easy-to-use paper-management system. The Sunday Basket will become your new weekly habit--one that leads to less paper, less stress, and more time to spend on the things (and people) that matter most.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published August 4, 2020
309 people are currently reading
1328 people want to read
About the author
Lisa Woodruff
14 books343 followersLisa Woodruff is a productivity specialist, home organization expert, and founder and CEO of Organize 365. Lisa provides physical and motivational resources teaching busy women to take back control of their lives with functional systems that work.
She’s the host of the top-rated Organize 365 Podcast, which was featured as the Woman’s Day podcast of the month. She shares strategies for reducing overwhelming thoughts, clearing mental clutter, and living a productive and organized life.
Lisa has authored several Amazon bestselling books and is a sought-after trainer and speaker, often quoted as saying “Done is better than perfect” and “Progress over perfection.” Her sensible and doable organizing tasks appeal to multiple generations, and her candor and relatable style make you feel as though she is right there beside you, helping you get organized as you laugh and cry together.
As a recognized thought-leader, Lisa’s work has been featured in many national publications such as The New York Times, Fast Company, US News and World Report, Women’s World, Ladies Home Journal, Getting Organized and Woman’s Day magazines. She’s been interviewed on over fifty podcasts, featured in more than fifty local TV segments, participated in countless online summits and is a regular HuffPost and ADDitude magazine contributor.
Lisa is also a generational expert and specializes in unpacking common everyday scenarios with grace, reshaping your understanding of the role we play in the home today. Believing that organization is not a skill you’re born with, but rather one that is developed over time and which changes with each season of life, she made it her mission to redefine what it means to be a woman in the home.
Lisa lives in Cincinnati with her husband, Greg, and their children, Joey and Abby.
She’s the host of the top-rated Organize 365 Podcast, which was featured as the Woman’s Day podcast of the month. She shares strategies for reducing overwhelming thoughts, clearing mental clutter, and living a productive and organized life.
Lisa has authored several Amazon bestselling books and is a sought-after trainer and speaker, often quoted as saying “Done is better than perfect” and “Progress over perfection.” Her sensible and doable organizing tasks appeal to multiple generations, and her candor and relatable style make you feel as though she is right there beside you, helping you get organized as you laugh and cry together.
As a recognized thought-leader, Lisa’s work has been featured in many national publications such as The New York Times, Fast Company, US News and World Report, Women’s World, Ladies Home Journal, Getting Organized and Woman’s Day magazines. She’s been interviewed on over fifty podcasts, featured in more than fifty local TV segments, participated in countless online summits and is a regular HuffPost and ADDitude magazine contributor.
Lisa is also a generational expert and specializes in unpacking common everyday scenarios with grace, reshaping your understanding of the role we play in the home today. Believing that organization is not a skill you’re born with, but rather one that is developed over time and which changes with each season of life, she made it her mission to redefine what it means to be a woman in the home.
Lisa lives in Cincinnati with her husband, Greg, and their children, Joey and Abby.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 103 reviews
July 29, 2020
Reviewed for
Wit and Sin
I’m an organization junkie and – try as I might to go paperless – I still seem to end up with more stacks of paper than I would like, so I was eager to dive into The Paper Solution . While I feel there’s value in the advice author Lisa Woodruff gives and there is definitely no bad advice in this book, my feelings when I finished this were a bit mixed.
The biggest issue I had with The Paper Solution is that – to me – a lot of the statistics and information seem dated already (pulling stats from eight years ago doesn’t prove a point to me when technology has changed significantly since then). Yes, paper has an insidious way of piling up…except for that one sneaky form you happen to need at the time that goes missing. But there are a lot of items (bills, for example) which have digital download and reminder options. There’s a big emphasis on a “Sunday basket” and using various color-coded slash pockets to ensure you don’t lose things and remember to go through them. There’s also an emphasis on binders (household warranties and manuals, medical binders, etc.) That’s helpful advice, but again, feels dated when so much of this can be done digitally.
The Paper Solution feels like more of a useful guide to people who either want or are forced to keep a lot of paper rather than digitize and eliminate. Or perhaps it is for people whose lives are more chaotic than mine. I think people who find themselves overwhelmed and/or have larger households than I do might find this book more helpful. The organization tips seem useful to managing overwhelming situations, such as settling an estate. The tips and tricks are solid, so even though some things felt dated to me and I didn’t personally find the book useful, I recommend it for people whose paper piles are impacting their lives.
FTC Disclosure: I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
I’m an organization junkie and – try as I might to go paperless – I still seem to end up with more stacks of paper than I would like, so I was eager to dive into The Paper Solution . While I feel there’s value in the advice author Lisa Woodruff gives and there is definitely no bad advice in this book, my feelings when I finished this were a bit mixed.
The biggest issue I had with The Paper Solution is that – to me – a lot of the statistics and information seem dated already (pulling stats from eight years ago doesn’t prove a point to me when technology has changed significantly since then). Yes, paper has an insidious way of piling up…except for that one sneaky form you happen to need at the time that goes missing. But there are a lot of items (bills, for example) which have digital download and reminder options. There’s a big emphasis on a “Sunday basket” and using various color-coded slash pockets to ensure you don’t lose things and remember to go through them. There’s also an emphasis on binders (household warranties and manuals, medical binders, etc.) That’s helpful advice, but again, feels dated when so much of this can be done digitally.
The Paper Solution feels like more of a useful guide to people who either want or are forced to keep a lot of paper rather than digitize and eliminate. Or perhaps it is for people whose lives are more chaotic than mine. I think people who find themselves overwhelmed and/or have larger households than I do might find this book more helpful. The organization tips seem useful to managing overwhelming situations, such as settling an estate. The tips and tricks are solid, so even though some things felt dated to me and I didn’t personally find the book useful, I recommend it for people whose paper piles are impacting their lives.
FTC Disclosure: I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
August 6, 2020
Marie Kondo for clearing paper clutter. Good advice, but could be conveyed in a few blog posts or podcast episodes. Shouldn’t be a book, because, as a book, it uses TOO MUCH PAPER. ;)
December 28, 2020
Book is mostly filler. You can skip all of the first 50 pages, for example.
If looking for a nuts and bolts program to deal with household paper clutter, here is the (good) system proposed by the author: 1) Purge most of your papers, they're likely unnecessary. 2) Sort the remainder, important stuff into a basket, which will sit on your kitchen counter, and be dealt with weekly. (the crux of the whole book) 3) Put the remaining critical, long-term papers into categorized binders, not filing cabinets.
I wouldn't waste your money on 307 pages of blogging, summarized above in three sentences.
If looking for a nuts and bolts program to deal with household paper clutter, here is the (good) system proposed by the author: 1) Purge most of your papers, they're likely unnecessary. 2) Sort the remainder, important stuff into a basket, which will sit on your kitchen counter, and be dealt with weekly. (the crux of the whole book) 3) Put the remaining critical, long-term papers into categorized binders, not filing cabinets.
I wouldn't waste your money on 307 pages of blogging, summarized above in three sentences.
December 15, 2020
I found this book repetitive and wordy. But that may have been because I didn’t need to be convinced of the need to be organized and I already knew much of what was in the book.
Also it said that there are not books on how to handle paper and that is not true. I’ve read several books over the years on how to handle paper. Even modified a flow chart to help me to be more decisive in tossing paper.
This book would be most helpful for people who are not generally organized or are overwhelmed by many different factors in their lives, especially families with children.
I’ve read many books on how to get organized and have always enjoyed organizing. I do agree that paper is the hardest thing to organize and I picked up this book because of the concept of binders and stead of files. I like the portability of binders.
I’ve been through sorting through a farmhouse that was home to family for three generations, managing my mothers affairs and her estate, and the sudden death of my husband. The advice in this book would help anyone who is overwhelmed by these kinds of tasks.
As a widow I want to make it easy for my family, if they need to care for me when I’m older or handle my estate. Binders with the information they need would be less overwhelming and more convenient than files.
Also it said that there are not books on how to handle paper and that is not true. I’ve read several books over the years on how to handle paper. Even modified a flow chart to help me to be more decisive in tossing paper.
This book would be most helpful for people who are not generally organized or are overwhelmed by many different factors in their lives, especially families with children.
I’ve read many books on how to get organized and have always enjoyed organizing. I do agree that paper is the hardest thing to organize and I picked up this book because of the concept of binders and stead of files. I like the portability of binders.
I’ve been through sorting through a farmhouse that was home to family for three generations, managing my mothers affairs and her estate, and the sudden death of my husband. The advice in this book would help anyone who is overwhelmed by these kinds of tasks.
As a widow I want to make it easy for my family, if they need to care for me when I’m older or handle my estate. Binders with the information they need would be less overwhelming and more convenient than files.
January 21, 2023
I'm always searching for a less complicated way to keep our files in order so someone (ahem...such as my spouse) could easily find whatever needs to be taken care of should I suffer some sort of early demise. I have a fairly good system but wanted to see if Woodruff's system would work for me since our lives aren't nearly as complicated as hers and those of others. Turns out among all of the extra words and repetitive explanations (is it me or do books that evolve from blogs seem to be a little bloated?) I dug out a few nuggets of helpful information. Thanks to the helpful book, New Order: A Decluttering Handbook for Creative FolksNew Order: A Decluttering Handbook for Creative Folks , I already have an open file box for most files but thought Woodruff's plan on having binders might be another good option, so just ordered a couple along with some slash file folders.
The author also includes a website of nifty forms so one doesn't have to reinvent the wheel when it comes to chronicling all of life's details (medical, home improvements, a list of what to keep and what can be discarded, family information sheet).
This is a helpful addition to the roster of fairly recent books on how to organize your life that includes In Case You Get Hit by a Bus: How to Organize Your Life Now for When You're Not Around Later and Simplify Your Financial Life: 104 Easy Tips for Creating the Abundant Future You Desire .
Thanks to the publisher for the advance digital review copy.
The author also includes a website of nifty forms so one doesn't have to reinvent the wheel when it comes to chronicling all of life's details (medical, home improvements, a list of what to keep and what can be discarded, family information sheet).
This is a helpful addition to the roster of fairly recent books on how to organize your life that includes In Case You Get Hit by a Bus: How to Organize Your Life Now for When You're Not Around Later and Simplify Your Financial Life: 104 Easy Tips for Creating the Abundant Future You Desire .
Thanks to the publisher for the advance digital review copy.
March 28, 2022
There a some good suggestions on taming the paper piles in this book, however, the author droned on for more than 70 pages before getting to an action item. This book could have been condensed and still shared the same message and advice. Not sure I'm a fan of the binder system, but I do like the portability of them should one need to evacuate quickly with critical papers in hand. For this purpose I have a 'G0 Bag' which contains the essential papers and other supplies. I'm also not a fan of paying for cloud services to store my photos. A thumb drive works perfectly well AND maintains my privacy.
February 22, 2021
Some interesting ideas ("sunday basket", portable binders) but most of it just seemed too extreme for an average person like me. Kinda sales pitch-y
September 19, 2020
I have followed our author’s podcasts and online forums for years. This book summarized in an easy to follow format on how to organize so much in the home- but especially and most importantly, paper. She enables the reader to create their own custom system that works best for one’s family.
June 17, 2024
Between 2 and 3 stars. There's some good stuff here on which paper to keep/dump/shred and setting up a binder-based reference system rather than file drawers, and I appreciated the acknowledgement of the emotional weight behind getting rid of paper. (We hoard it for a reason!) It definitely could've been more succinct. I also had to read past all the hustle/productivity culture stuff about maximizing your time. She says something early on about "I'm the person you love to hate because I'm so organized and get so much done" or somesuch and I almost dropped the book at that point, honestly. That moment and the egregious use of junk stats to start each chapter are why I rounded down to 2 stars. Wish I still had my library book so I could cite the most flagrant party fouls among the junk stats! Some were truly wild.
---
6/16/24 Update: Okay, apparently I was feeling petty 8-10 weeks ago and put a library hold on this one so I could check it out again and export my Kindle notes to kvetch about statistical malpractice like a real nerd. These are my top 3 offenders. Enjoy!
"The average American wastes fifty-five minutes per day looking for lost or misplaced items." (p. 22)
Does this pass anyone's sniff test? Do you lose an hour a day looking for stuff? Because I sure as shit don't. If you've ever spent an hour looking for someone's glasses (love you, Mom!), you probably know that an hour feels like an eternity. People would make some lifestyle changes if this were a daily occurrence. Since this "statistic" had a footnote, I followed it. It's attributed to Maureen Campaiola and her personal website, where Maureen's only attempt at citation is, "Experts tell us that..." Come on now.
"FACT: 95 percent of all information is still processed in paper form, with employees printing an average of forty-five sheets of paper per day. (Frank Booty, Facilities Management Handbook, Burlington, MA: Elsevier/Butterworth-Heinemann, 2006)" (p. 111)
Yeah, this one is also not passing the sniff test. If it was even true in 2006, it's certainly nowhere near true in 2020 when the book was published. What on earth! What point is she trying to make with this? Credit for it at least coming from an actual source, kinda; textbooks are not original research and I am not quite petty enough to chase down this outdated textbook to find what the real source was. But I wouldn't be surprised if that was a stat gathered in the '90s or early 2000s. Textbooks don't update quickly.
"FACT: A total of 3,680 hours or 153 days is spent searching for stuff, over our lifetimes. (“Lost Something Already Today? Misplaced Items Cost Us Ten Minutes a Day,” Daily Mail, https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...)" (p. 240)
So we're back to this again, huh? I clicked through the link and literally the first sentence of the article is, "We spend ten minutes every day rummaging for lost items, from books and phones to car keys and even the cars themselves, a survey has found." It directly contradicts the 55 mins number from before! The survey was conducted by a home insurance provider--so, a corporate research department with an incentive to create the impression that people are losing stuff all the time and should insure it. Even knowing the likely direction of their bias, this 10 minute stat is 82% lower than the first number she cited.
Bottom line, I would love to have this author in my Data Analytics class and would recommend even a cursory read of Damned Lies and Statistics to approach her next set of statistical claims with a much keener eye.
---
6/16/24 Update: Okay, apparently I was feeling petty 8-10 weeks ago and put a library hold on this one so I could check it out again and export my Kindle notes to kvetch about statistical malpractice like a real nerd. These are my top 3 offenders. Enjoy!
"The average American wastes fifty-five minutes per day looking for lost or misplaced items." (p. 22)
Does this pass anyone's sniff test? Do you lose an hour a day looking for stuff? Because I sure as shit don't. If you've ever spent an hour looking for someone's glasses (love you, Mom!), you probably know that an hour feels like an eternity. People would make some lifestyle changes if this were a daily occurrence. Since this "statistic" had a footnote, I followed it. It's attributed to Maureen Campaiola and her personal website, where Maureen's only attempt at citation is, "Experts tell us that..." Come on now.
"FACT: 95 percent of all information is still processed in paper form, with employees printing an average of forty-five sheets of paper per day. (Frank Booty, Facilities Management Handbook, Burlington, MA: Elsevier/Butterworth-Heinemann, 2006)" (p. 111)
Yeah, this one is also not passing the sniff test. If it was even true in 2006, it's certainly nowhere near true in 2020 when the book was published. What on earth! What point is she trying to make with this? Credit for it at least coming from an actual source, kinda; textbooks are not original research and I am not quite petty enough to chase down this outdated textbook to find what the real source was. But I wouldn't be surprised if that was a stat gathered in the '90s or early 2000s. Textbooks don't update quickly.
"FACT: A total of 3,680 hours or 153 days is spent searching for stuff, over our lifetimes. (“Lost Something Already Today? Misplaced Items Cost Us Ten Minutes a Day,” Daily Mail, https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...)" (p. 240)
So we're back to this again, huh? I clicked through the link and literally the first sentence of the article is, "We spend ten minutes every day rummaging for lost items, from books and phones to car keys and even the cars themselves, a survey has found." It directly contradicts the 55 mins number from before! The survey was conducted by a home insurance provider--so, a corporate research department with an incentive to create the impression that people are losing stuff all the time and should insure it. Even knowing the likely direction of their bias, this 10 minute stat is 82% lower than the first number she cited.
Bottom line, I would love to have this author in my Data Analytics class and would recommend even a cursory read of Damned Lies and Statistics to approach her next set of statistical claims with a much keener eye.
May 27, 2022
Knowing I will have a silent generation house to clear out, and also knowing I can get rid of old papers that we moved from place to place, I found this book to be a tightly focused plan for tackling the many papers that are around the house. Luckily I don't have any file cabinets to deal with, but I have enough that I don't want to deal with in a rush later in life. Before I even finished the book I tackled 2 pesky piles that have been annoying me and did the shred, save and recycle steps. Onto the next items!
October 12, 2020
This is the best book I have ever found on tackling piles of paper...actually this is the only book I've ever found on tackling piles of papers. If this is an issue for you at all...this is a must listen!
August 23, 2023
Took one star off for robot voice
One star off because there was too much filler
One star off because ‘free printables” mentioned several times were removed from author’s website and store sells binders stating at $199 😳
One star off because there was too much filler
One star off because ‘free printables” mentioned several times were removed from author’s website and store sells binders stating at $199 😳
March 6, 2021
For me, a lot of the information wasn’t new. But I did learn about a few new ideas and tips that I’ll try out.
July 7, 2025
Beginners to decluttering may find some inspiration in this overly full and repetitive book but everyone else will probably see this as a 250 page blog post sales pitch to buy the author's organizational system which is .... binders!
Yep, good old 3 ring binders with the author's planning sheets for $2K is the recommendation here. I guess professional organizers wouldn't get rich by just promoting minimalism so we get what seems like an overly complicated file organization system including a binder we create just for the strangers who will buy our house so they know where we got our mulch when we lived here?? This author definitely overthinks things.
Put papers you need in binders and shred or recycle everything else. Pick a day of the week to reset your family and home planning for the week ahead. That's pretty much it and while there's a chapter on digitizing files, it's half-hearted and still leaves you with paper.
DO NOT drink every time the author says 'Sunday Basket' or 'slash folder' or you will die of alcohol poisoning.
Yep, good old 3 ring binders with the author's planning sheets for $2K is the recommendation here. I guess professional organizers wouldn't get rich by just promoting minimalism so we get what seems like an overly complicated file organization system including a binder we create just for the strangers who will buy our house so they know where we got our mulch when we lived here?? This author definitely overthinks things.
Put papers you need in binders and shred or recycle everything else. Pick a day of the week to reset your family and home planning for the week ahead. That's pretty much it and while there's a chapter on digitizing files, it's half-hearted and still leaves you with paper.
DO NOT drink every time the author says 'Sunday Basket' or 'slash folder' or you will die of alcohol poisoning.
August 21, 2020
As a long time listener to Lisa's podcast, I mostly bought the book to support her. But there were STILL tidbits, tactics and fresh ideas that I hadn't thought of before. Plus it's reinvigorated me to actually create some of the binders I've been thinking about for awhile. Here goes!
September 13, 2022
I’ve tried to start the audiobook version of this 2-3 times. 1.5 hours in this time, and we’re still not to the “solution”. She spends so much time trying to reassure the reader that they don’t need to be perfect and they do need to listen to this book and tearing down other systems (and misrepresenting them too!) that I’m quite out of patience. Again. If I picked up the book, I want to read it. I don’t need to hear how much it’s going to help me ad nauseam. Just get to the point already.
May 6, 2021
This book sets out a system to reduce and manage paper clutter in the home. I must say I was very excited reading the first half of the book about getting my life in order!
The Sunday basket seems like a very intuitive way of keeping all your 'active' paperwork together and by reviewing it weekly, it is likely to be actioned in a timely manner. It starts to get more complicated with different coloured file pockets and more pockets but the same colour and including passion projects. I think the benefits would depend on whether you had enough paper to warrant the additional elements of folders. I did, however, think the weekly calendar review and scheduling would be very helpful, especially with a partner, if appropriate. Furthermore, I liked that this system could be used broader than just paper.
Then the book went into reference folders and archiving. I really enjoy organising but this made my eyes glaze over.
Overall, this book was probably too long but would be particularly useful for people who have piles of paper around. It is formatted in a way that you can read the parts that pertain to you. Woodruff is wise to acknowledge that our lives are both analogue and digital and also that you should customise this to your own situation.
I recommend this book for people who need a way to deal with their life admin with the caveat only read the pertinent parts to you. Alternatively, check out her website or podcast and use the book to gain clarification, as necessary.
The Sunday basket seems like a very intuitive way of keeping all your 'active' paperwork together and by reviewing it weekly, it is likely to be actioned in a timely manner. It starts to get more complicated with different coloured file pockets and more pockets but the same colour and including passion projects. I think the benefits would depend on whether you had enough paper to warrant the additional elements of folders. I did, however, think the weekly calendar review and scheduling would be very helpful, especially with a partner, if appropriate. Furthermore, I liked that this system could be used broader than just paper.
Then the book went into reference folders and archiving. I really enjoy organising but this made my eyes glaze over.
Overall, this book was probably too long but would be particularly useful for people who have piles of paper around. It is formatted in a way that you can read the parts that pertain to you. Woodruff is wise to acknowledge that our lives are both analogue and digital and also that you should customise this to your own situation.
I recommend this book for people who need a way to deal with their life admin with the caveat only read the pertinent parts to you. Alternatively, check out her website or podcast and use the book to gain clarification, as necessary.
October 12, 2023
I have mixed feelings about this book. I’ve been following Lisa’s podcast for years and doing my own make-shift version of her Sunday Basket system for a few years now. This book goes more in depth into how to purge, process, store, and organize reference papers. I decided to commit and follow her whole process chapter by chapter. She suggested ditching the filing cabinet in the first few chapters (she uses binders to organize instead). So, I got rid of mine, trusting her process. But then in the last chapter she says that actually having a filing cabinet can be helpful for storing some files 🤦♀️ I was kind of annoyed….
Her Sunday Basket system does work, but I think she fails to address the problem of decision fatigue which happens when you delay every single decision about paper and try to deal with it just one day a week. I also think her suggestion for blocking off 2+ hours each week to process your Sunday Basket to be slightly unrealistic and overwhelming. I often find myself dreading and avoiding the process. I think I much rather enjoy doing a little bit each day and dealing with mail immediately when it comes in the door.
All in all, it is a good book with many helpful tips and a step-by-step guide for dealing with your papers. I think with all organizational systems, you have to iterate and make it work for you.
Her Sunday Basket system does work, but I think she fails to address the problem of decision fatigue which happens when you delay every single decision about paper and try to deal with it just one day a week. I also think her suggestion for blocking off 2+ hours each week to process your Sunday Basket to be slightly unrealistic and overwhelming. I often find myself dreading and avoiding the process. I think I much rather enjoy doing a little bit each day and dealing with mail immediately when it comes in the door.
All in all, it is a good book with many helpful tips and a step-by-step guide for dealing with your papers. I think with all organizational systems, you have to iterate and make it work for you.
Read
February 1, 2021Concrete book on what to do with paper. A conversational and easy book to read and connect to. However, the author really sells her other products via the book. I did purchase her products (binders) because paper is my one organizing, storing, and organizing weakness. I declutter, organize, and rearrange everything like a pro! Everything except paper. So I wanted something that could give me a direct and simple system to organize and store my paper.
I am excited to receive the products. I will update this post after using her products—otherwise, a great book with very concrete examples. I dog-eared several pages throughout the book as a reference - I know I will be going back to it. I already have. I have not yet started my paper purging, but I have started my "Sunday Basket" and already feel more at ease with my paper system.
I did not purchase her actual Sunday Basket, I purchased this from Amazon https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07... actually, and then her book was suggested as a possible purchase. I listened to several of her podcasts to see if I could connect with her systems and materials, and I totally did.
I am excited to receive the products. I will update this post after using her products—otherwise, a great book with very concrete examples. I dog-eared several pages throughout the book as a reference - I know I will be going back to it. I already have. I have not yet started my paper purging, but I have started my "Sunday Basket" and already feel more at ease with my paper system.
I did not purchase her actual Sunday Basket, I purchased this from Amazon https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07... actually, and then her book was suggested as a possible purchase. I listened to several of her podcasts to see if I could connect with her systems and materials, and I totally did.
July 5, 2020
A practical guide to solving the paper issue once and for all. Step by step process is included. I’m intrigued by the recommendations to ditch filing cabinet for four binders to store all the necessary paper a household needs.
September 10, 2020
I saw this book at the library and since I feel like there is too much paper at the house, I thought I'd give it a read. The author is very aggressive in defining what to keep and what to toss which I actually found enlightening. She believes (and rightly so) that we hang onto a lot of stuff that we'll never look at again and if we had to, we could find online (ie, utility bills). She also believes that you need to create organization around your house based on various topics - financial, school, medical, home. The other big idea she has is the Sunday Basket. You drop any paperwork that needs to be processed into a basket. You then have a dedicated time once a week where you go and actually process everything in the basket.
The book can be long winded at times. I suspect she's probably talked about most of this info before. Getting it all together in a book was nice for me.
The book can be long winded at times. I suspect she's probably talked about most of this info before. Getting it all together in a book was nice for me.
May 17, 2021
A solidly written guide to organizing the immense amount of paper in our lives. Overall, the book has many useful tips on what papers to keep, shred, and recycle. Woodruff's system involves using a "Sunday Basket" in which papers to be organized are put throughout the week, and then organized on Sunday, rather than a little each day. She also recommends using special binders for different areas of your life: medical, education, homeowner's, household, kids. The book itself could be more condensed and concise. While sometimes her suggestions get a bit too nit-picky and granular, the book overall is very helpful.
October 19, 2021
Ever notice just how much paper has taken over our lives? (Even in a digital world!) Lisa Woodruff's book made me think about to-do lists, invitations, appointment reminders, post-it notes, bills, coupons, catalogues, recipes, junk mail, magazines, envelopes, household manuals, children's artwork, deposit slips, receipts, insurance policies, paystubs....need I say more? This book was helpful but I don't know if I subscribe to all her tenets. She (strongly) suggests using a "Sunday Basket" which could end up being a neglected receptacle filled with important, action-needed papers. So, as with the paper in your life, take what is useful and file it. Recycle the rest.
October 1, 2024
I am currently obsessed with the Organize365 podcast and my implementation of her idea of the Sunday Basket (with a Sara twist and having created my own, not bought hers) has honestly changed how much I can get done and how much more relaxed I feel. So big fan of the podcast. The book however felt a bit more critical and judgy than she comes across in podcasts and the introduction just went on for way too long. In the end, I just think this information is more suited for a podcast and not a book format. So in general, I’m not sure I’d recommend this read- but for anyone wanting to figure out how to control daily to-dos and make progress on big goals, go listen to the podcast.
September 17, 2023
Author keeps repeating to get prepared for sudden move in an emergency, flood, hurricane, someone dying. She proposes to fit all your important family papers, documents into maybe four or five two-inch binders in place of file drawers so they can be easily taken with you. If you look deeper into her suggestions you will discover that she offers to sell you these binders and “slash pockets” for $750 on her business website. The first forty or fifty pages or so are unnecessary encouragement to get you started.
January 21, 2021
I think I am not the intended audience for this book because I already love organizing things and have a pretty functional system going. But I did get some useful tips I plan to adopt, and I think her system would be really useful for someone struggling to get a good paper organization and management system implemented in their home or someone who has tons of paper or regularly loses/can't find documents they need.
July 29, 2021
- 2.5
- I definitely liked the principles and how achievable Lisa makes paper management
- Perhaps it'd due to reading the kindle version of this - I felt like it was sometimes hard to see the resources fully. This is probably one of those books that are useful in physical form to enable referencing it more easily
- A bit salesy and could have probably been more concise
- Will try some of the techniques at some point and see how it goes
- I definitely liked the principles and how achievable Lisa makes paper management
- Perhaps it'd due to reading the kindle version of this - I felt like it was sometimes hard to see the resources fully. This is probably one of those books that are useful in physical form to enable referencing it more easily
- A bit salesy and could have probably been more concise
- Will try some of the techniques at some point and see how it goes
June 11, 2022
Quality ideas, but the book is almost a two star read because the book suffered so much from lack of editing. Ideas were repeated to an almost comical degree, so while I may incorporate some of Woodruff's organization ideas, I would suggest not reading the book. Instead I'd peruse her blog and/or podcasts or get the book and skim the applicable chapters.
Happy reading and happy paper purging--
Happy reading and happy paper purging--
January 9, 2021
She has some good strategies here but does not really leverage or recognize all the ways things are digital now. Many of her stats and other references are quite old including some in the 00's which I felt like reflected a lack of context in today's world. I took away a few ideas though so worth the library loan but would recommend trying that before purchasing if you are considering that.
January 8, 2022
I don’t struggle with paper organization but love reading organization books. This book was published in 2020 but offered antiquated advice. If you’re 50+, maybe this advice suits you, but if you’re 40 and below, find another book that references “Online Storage Options” like iCloud and Dropbox before the last chapter.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 103 reviews