Message #456

[laundryhater]

I had the same problem when I started here four years ago. The secretary I took over for was a pack rat. She had saved some stuff from the 1960s!



I came up with a solution for forms and documents/form letters I knew I would use occasionally (not daily or weekly necessarily but occasionally). I created a computer version of the form using Word and saved them as templates. I didn't have to save a stack of paper copies any more. Whenever I needed that form or form letter, I could fill it out on computer and print a copy.



Also, you could scan or retype that packet your boss loses onto computer instead of keeping a hard copy in your files. When he loses it again, you can just print out a copy from the computer file you created and give that to him.



Think of your computer as a file cabinet. Even if you think you have too much stuff that it will take up a lot of room on your hard drive, you could still save files to disks for easy retrieval too. If you use disks keep similar files on the same disk and label the disk with that category name. If you put them on computer, create different file folders for those categories.



It may take longer but it makes purging files/documents quicker and easier later (point, click, delete). Especially if you make a note in the file properties details of the date you should purge this file.