The Problem with Paper
Paper accumulates. Silently, continuously. At some point you have stacks you don't want to touch because the effort seems too great.
I had this problem for years. Until I stopped looking for a perfect system and instead set up one that's good enough.
Step 1: Define an inbox
All paper that enters your home lands in one single place first. Not on the desk, not on the kitchen table — at this one spot.
For me: an A4 document tray on the desk. Nowhere else.
Step 2: Digitise once a week (5 minutes)
With your phone. The apps Adobe Scan (free) or Microsoft Lens produce usable PDFs from documents. Not perfect, but good enough for 95% of all documents.
Folder structure on the computer:
Documents/ Finance/ Insurance/ Government/ Miscellaneous/
Scan document → move to correct folder → discard original or file in an "originals" folder for documents that must be kept (contracts, birth certificates, etc.).
Step 3: Dissolve old paper stacks
Do not tackle the old stack all at once — that ends in a frustration bail-out. Instead: 10 documents per day until the stack is gone.
For a stack of 200 documents: 3 weeks of 10 documents per day. No weekend marathon, no overwhelm.
What I Don't Digitise
Originals that are legally relevant: tenancy agreements, ID documents, certificates, notarised documents. Those go in a labelled binder.
Everything else: gone after scanning.
The Result
No paper stack for two years. Every document found in 10 seconds. Tax return: no stress anymore.