Look at just about anyone’s workspace and you’re bound to see the same thing: piles and piles of paper … on the desk, the filing cabinet and even on the floor. Paper has overrun many offices, causing stress, confusion and lapses in productivity.

How can paper cause so much turmoil? The answer lies in how we deal with it. When it comes to paper clutter many people make the “putting away” process too complicated. Rather than doing something with the paper, they set it aside. And there is no home for active paperwork representing work that needs to be done. Those papers get spread all over the desk and moved from one side to the other.

Fortunately, you can control the clutter and reclaim your desktop (and even your floor). Use the following six tips to de-clutter once and for all.

1. Create a home for active paperwork

Many people rely on an inbox for active paperwork, and that’s one of the biggest mistakes when it comes to de-cluttering. An inbox inherently lends itself to inaction. Do you often have paper sitting in your inbox for a long time? Do papers slip between the cracks because they got buried in your inbox? Is your inbox regularly overflowing? Most people answer “yes” to at least one of those questions.

A better solution is to have a work processing system in your desk file drawer. This tickler file system consists of 31 hanging files, one for each day of the month. Behind those are 12 additional hanging files, one for each month. As each piece of active paper comes into your office, you make a decision as to what date you are committed to taking action on that paper and file it in the appropriate date’s file. If it’s something you need to schedule further in the year, put it in the appropriate month’s file. Each evening you simply pull out the dated file for the following date and prioritize all the tasks the papers represent.

2. Prepare your file drawers

Before you start filing the rest of your papers, you need an efficient filing system in place. To begin, make sure you have access to four file drawers. You should be able to reach each of them while sitting behind your desk. One file drawer will be the tickler file system you just created. The remaining three are what’s necessary to properly fit all the documents the average person needs to keep for work.

Keep the system simple. Create five broad categories that encompass all the kinds of papers you need to keep for your job. Research shows the human mind can keep straight up to five distinctions without having to stop and think. Any more than five distinctions is too much effort, and that’s when people set the paper aside rather than file it. An example of five broad categories may be Administrative, Sales & Marketing, Financials, Production and Research & Development. Choose the categories that make the most sense with your roles and responsibilities.

Do not subdivide your categories, that complicates the system. You want to be able to find any document by merely remembering “One of Five-Alphabetized,” meaning the paper you need is in one of five categories and in alphabetical order. Keeping your filing system this simple also allows others in your office to find documents they need when you are away.

3. Create individual files

Now that you have file drawer space ready and five categories, it’s time to create the individual files. You may prefer to delay the actual file-naming process until you’ve gone through the sorting process. If so, for now simply get your drawers ready to receive all those papers.

Within each of your five broad categories you will have individual file folders. For example, if Sales & Marketing is one of your broad categories, your files within that category may consist of “advertising,” “publicity,” etc.

When choosing the headings for files, always choose a noun and choose a broad heading. It’s better to have fewer files with broader headings, each with 50 pages, rather than many specific files, each with five pages. However, if a file becomes too large and cumbersome, you can subdivide it. Just remember that the greater number of files, the more difficult it becomes to locate and retrieve papers when you need them.

If there are numerous possibilities where a paper could have been filed, you’ll learn not to trust your filing system. As a result, you’ll start to pile instead of file.

Give each individual file folder its own hanging file, and give both the exact same label. Then, when you need a file, pull out the folder only. Leave the hanging file in the drawer to save its place. When you are finished with the file, read the label on the file folder and find the same label in the drawer on a hanging file. Again, keep everything alphabetized.

4. Insist on proper file placement

When labeling files, many people make the mistake of labeling one file on the left side, one in the center, and one on the right side throughout the drawer. This looks nice when you set it up, but as soon as you add a new file, you mess up the system. Soon you’re not sure where to expect the next label, so you have to slow down and study your file labels every time you need to file a paper away. As a result, you’ll have the tendency to set the paper aside rather than file it.

A better approach is to use straight row filing, where each tab is directly behind the tab in front of it. Keep the tabs in alphabetical order. That way you know where each tab is and in what order they come.

5. Speed sort through the de-cluttering process

With your tickler file prepared, filing system created and individual file folders ready, it’s time to tackle the mounds of paper in your office. Check with your accountant, attorney or manager about what types of documents you legally have to save. Then, as you handle each piece of paper, ask yourself the following questions:

• Can I discard this? (Under what circumstances will you use this piece of paper again? If you need it again, is there another source to get it from?)

• Can I delegate this?

• Can I handle this in 60 seconds or less? (If it’s something you can do right now in 60 seconds or less and get it out of your life, then do so.)

• What date am I committed to take action on this? (Put it in that day’s tickler file.)

• What heading do I want this filed under in my files?

This is a filter system where you get rid of as much as you can. By the time you’re done with these questions you should only be left with the documents you truly need to keep.

6. Insist on maintaining a proper fit inside your file drawers

You have a proper fit if you can open a drawer, open the file, insert the paper and close the drawer using one hand. When there is an improper fit, the filing process becomes a bother and you tend to procrastinate filing papers. Therefore, when your filing cabinets get too stuffed, go through the speed sorting questions again. Eliminate what you can. Move the rest to long-term storage.

Less Paper = Less Stress

When you know how to file effectively and keep a clutter-free desk, you’ll experience less stress and greater concentration, which ultimately leads to increased productivity. So no matter how bad the paper clutter is in your office, get started on these tips today. A little de-cluttering today will yield greater productivity and profits for years to come.