Paper Clutter

• A paper shopping bag is perfect for shreddings and other paper recycling.
• Register on the Direct Marketing Association's dmachoice.org and the Consumer Credit Reporting Industry's optoutprescreen.com to remove your name from lists for mailings and credit card offers. Call your card issuers and ask them to stop sending superfluous stuff, like balance transfer checks (you can always request them later). When shopping online, uncheck the prechecked boxes authorizing merchants to mail you catalogs.
• Set up a shredding station. Choose a binned shredder that crosscuts (to protect your privacy) and has a higher sheet capacity than you may need - say 10 sheets at a time.
• Speed up the recycling process. There is no need to pull out staples or remove those little plastic windows from business envelopes - all can go into the recycling bin.
• Stop the printing. Make PDFs of online-purchase confirmation pages and save the files in a folder called Receipts until your shipment arrives. On both PCs and Macs, tell your browser to print, then select the Print to PDF or the Print to File option.
• Switch to online bill pay. Manilla.com imports all your bills to one spot (saving them as long as you want), then sends you reminders when payment comes due.
• Toss out most receipts after checking them online against your bank activity (software like Quicken simplifies this). Or, try a smartphone app like Expensify to scan and save receipts digitally (keep originals for tax, warranty, insurance, or rebate reasons).
• To save kids' art projects without overwhelming your fridge, take pictures and make keepsake books on a photo site.

Declutter your inbox.
Spam isn't just a nuisance - it can let in viruses or identity thieves (major time-wasting hassles). Its less nefarious cousin, cleverly called "bacn" (sounds like "bacon"), is the e-mail you signed up for, yet seldom read. to rein it all in:

• Limit what you receive. Check that spam blockers are on, or set your inbox security to the highest level. This moves suspicious messages directly to the junk or spam folder (or deletes them entirely) and directs only messages form senders in your address book into your inbox. Review the junk folder weekly to rescue e-mail that lands there in error. For bacn that you might read later, create an e-mail filter (consult the Help menu) that diverts messages into a separate folder.
• Get them to stop sending it. Set your e-mail to block messages' images or "content," which can contain hidden tracking software that lets spammers know they've hit an active account. Never click anywhere in a spam e-mail. Instead, mark junk mail as spam so it'll be blocked for you. If you're certain messages are bacn, it's fine to click on the Unsubscribe link to take your name off the list.