How do you reduce clutter, save time, and help the environment all in one simple step?

Receive and pay your bills online of course!

Not only does doing so reduce the amount of paper mail you receive, thus saving your counter top and desk from being buried in extra paper clutter and saving that paper for other uses, but it also reduces the amount of paper you need to store. You can usually download your bill paying activities to your favourite money management software, which lets you store the information digitally. Even if you feel the need to print out some of your bills for permanent storage, you have the ability to control how they print out. You can often halve (or more!) the amount of paper used for a single bill by eliminating the “information” pages that most institutions include with their bills (think the insert with your cable bill telling you that company also offers telephone service).

I pay all of my bills online. I always know which ones have been paid and which ones are still due, and I can look up that information almost instantly, instead of digging through the pile of papers to see if there’s any left unpaid and risking being late for a payment if I can’t find the paper bill.

Paying your bills is just as safe and secure as paying your bill by waiting in line at the bank or mailing of a cheque. Plus it’s faster, which saves you time.

Time you could spend reducing your other clutter!

You may also enjoy these posts:

• 5 Easy Ways to Declutter in the New Year
• 3 Ways to get Rid of Junk Mail
• 9 Ways Clutter Costs You
• Buying the Privilege of Clutter