Here's the answer: Hire a mobile shredding truck to come to your house and get it all done in about 30 minutes or less. Here's my little tour of the process, and I'll give you some tips at the end on how to make sure you choose the right company. All of these photos can be clicked to view in a larger size.

First, let me just say that when I witness the destruction of these papers I do it with the relish of a little boy seeing a big red fire truck. I think this is terribly interesting and cool! The truck arrives and the shredder technicians start loading the paper into these bins. We had about 20 file boxes of paper, which weighed in at 783 pounds when we were all done. Each full bin is about 300 pounds, and we had 2.5 of them.

As they are filled, they roll the bins to the truck and send them up the chute to be dumped into the shredder. It all happens inside the truck, and there are cameras inside so you can watch what is happening.

The truck's console has a monitor where you witness the destruction. Here are pictures of the console and views of the blades and the papers getting chewed up. If you are old enough to remember Dudley Do-Right, the evil villain Snidely Whiplash used to use dastardly blades like these-- I always think of that when I see them spinning menacingly in there. :)

You can even see a view of the back of the truck from another camera and see your actual pile-o'-shreds back there.

When investigating options for shredding companies, here are some questions to consider:

• Does the company seem legitimate with sound business practices?
• Ask for specifics on what they will be able to take (3-ring binders, hanging folders, binder clips, CDs, floppies).
• Will they take it off-site, or shred on-site? (Mobile shredding trucks are most secure because you can witness the destruction)
• What are their payment terms (invoicing, check or credit card)?
• How do they charge– by weight?  By box? For mobile shredding trucks, cost is usually a minimum per trip charge plus an amount per pound. (This project was about $230.)
• Do they provide a Certificate of Destruction immediately?
• Are their employees carefully screened?  Do they do background checks and drug tests?

When you've decided on a strategy, here are some tips for coordinating the project:

• Make general notes about what is being shredded as you gather the materials. Type up, print, and file afterward with the Certificate of Destruction.
• Centralize all of the items to be destroyed. Make sure it's very obvious what is supposed to be shredded and what is not.
• Witness that the documents are secured or destroyed, and make sure you get the Certificate of Destruction.

If this project is too big for your needs, look for other options for shredding smaller quantities--you may be able to take a few boxes yourself to the shredding company offices, and you may find that there is a community "shred day" where you can take your papers (usually for one free box).

Whatever you do, PLEASE SHRED. Identity theft is a huge problem and getting worse. Do you have any fun stories of losing that many Clutter-Pounds(SM) in one day? Share in the comments! Many thanks to my trusty vendor, Marshall Shredding, serving Austin & San Antonio. You guys are always terrific to work with!

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I live in Austin, TX, and it is just flippin' hot right now.

That said, it's a GREAT time to organize your freezer. Ahhhh! Our paid members were working on their freezers as one of our "Side Dish" projects on our weekly plan last week, and if you follow me on Twitter, you may know that I did some freezer tips on our daily #ClutterTweetTips recently too. (We just celebrated one full year of our daily Twitter tips on Wednesday! Yay!)

My kids tend to leave the door open on my "deep freeze" causing more ice to form, so I have to defrost it once a year or so. It is very satisfying to do that-- the shelves have so much more capacity when they are not supporting a glacier. I just did this big defrosting project, so I'd love to share with you my best freezer tips for getting the most out of this wonderful appliance.

• Get out the big heavy-duty garbage bags. You're going to need them. We advise using bags no less than 1.1 "mil" in thickness.
• If you need to defrost the freezer, take all of the food out and put it somewhere to stay cold, like another freezer or a cooler. Turn the freezer off and open the door. You can either let it naturally melt, or you can put pots of boiling water in there and shut the door to encourage the thawing. You'll want to put some big beach towels down to catch the water, and you can use drip trays and the drain if your freezer has them-- I put baking pans at the bottom to catch the ice and water and empty them into a bucket. Don't be tempted to take an ice pick to the shelves--you might stab some of the tubing (or yourself) and do some damage. Just be patient or use the boiling water. I am not a big defrosting expert so I am quite sure some of my readers will post great tips to help in the comments here.
• Let's get to the organizing part. You're taking out all of the food...while you're handling it, it's time to make some decisions. Here's what to think about:
  • How old is the food? Is it safe to eat?  Here's a food storage chart from the FDA that has guidelines--basically most things should not be kept more than a few months to a year at the most. Check for "use by" dates as many packages have them. When in doubt, throw it out. You don't want to make your family sick.  
  • Is there just a smidgen of food left, like the tiny handful of french fries that nobody ever would bother to cook, or the one lonely old popsicle? These are easy decisions. Toss. Next!
• Sort what you have left into categories that make sense. Here are some ideas: Veggies, Fruits, Meats, Frozen Meals, Breads/Breakfast Food, Pizza, Desserts/Ice Cream, Nuts, Ice Packs...
• Once the freezer is cleaned up and ready, put the food back in by category on the shelves. Sometimes it works to label the shelves with binder clips--see my previous post called "Ode to Binder Clips" to see how.
• Make a list of what you have and post it on the freezer door. You can use a write on/wipe off board or just a piece of paper. This gives you VISIBILITY to what you have, which as we always say, is one of the big goals of any organizing project.
• Think about using your freezer to make things more efficient moving forward. When you're cooking or baking, make double-batches of things like waffles or pancakes and freeze them, and freeze leftover portions of dinner for quick lunches later.
• Get into the habit of marking the date on everything that goes into your freezer-- use a permanent marker and keep it close to the freezer to conveniently mark things as you put them in. Next time you clean out the freezer, there won't be any guessing as to the age of the food!

Break the ice and get your freezer organized--it will pay off in cheaper food bills, more dinners at home, and lots of saved time and energy. Share your polar ponderings in the comments! 

See also my related post on "Eating Down the Fridge." (Flickr photo here from akadruid)

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The book says that we should shift from thinking of time in a scarce, Newtonian way and start thinking in abundant "Einstein Time." Did you ever notice how time "flies" when you are having fun but slows down when doing something you don't like? It's all relative. The author says that to help shift our thinking, we should put ourselves on a diet (sound familiar?) of complete abstinence from complaining about time. We are acting as if time is the persecutor and we are its victims. There are numerous references we make throughout our days that bring us into a severe scarcity mindset about time. From the book, here's a list of some:

• "I wish I had time to stop and chat, but I'm in a hurry."
• "Where did the time go?"
• "There simply aren't enough hours in the day."
• "If only I'd gotten another hour of sleep."
• "Love to talk but I've gotta run..."
• "I have to get to the bank..."
• "I don't have time to do that right now."

Hendricks says that the last one is particularly good to eliminate. When you say you don't have time to do something, you're really saying, "I don't want to do that right now." He says, "By placing the blame on time, you avoid confronting the blunt truth of the matter."

There is a lot more to his chapter on time, but this one lesson is a home run... we are always CHOOSING how we spend our time, and yet we act like we have no choice. We do. It's all about priorities. When we answer people we can take the blame off "time" and put it more truthfully where it belongs-- on our choices and priorities. You can say that you don't want to do something, or that you'd like to finish something else first. He says he is not advocating being rude, only that you consciously stop using it as an excuse.

What if it were true that you are the SOURCE of time, and not that you are ruled by it? It's a radical idea. What do you think? Share in the comments! And if you have read this book, you'll know there is SO MUCH MORE to talk about. This one is a life-changer, you guys. I have been thinking about it nonstop and probably will write some more about it. Thank you to my friend Renee Trudeau for introducing me to it.

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Not perfect, but...
Effective- doing what works best
Always improving
True to your style
Efficient- not wasting time and energy
Ready for anything- being prepared for life

(NEATER acronym © 2006-2009, Clutter Diet, Inc.)

Yesterday I was so happy that I was "Ready for anything" and prepared. Wouldn't you know, the garage door was temporarily broken, so I was locked out, and I was so glad I had hidden a key for emergencies! They make these metal key boxes that you can stick onto something (photo from Amazon) and also these fake rock things are available (photo also from Amazon). These can be a lifesaver! When I was locked out, the dog and I had mud all over ourselves from our walk and I had a meeting in about an hour. Not sure what I would have done. (Of course, judge for yourself the security risks of hiding your key and don't put it in a super-obvious place like under your doormat.)

I also wrote here a while back about having an "Emergency Twenty." This is the practice of always keeping a twenty-dollar bill in a special place in your car. (read that previous post here) I also keep a change purse with a bunch of quarters for downtown parking meters. My Emergency Twenty has gotten me out of many a jam involving lunch money and parking garages.

And of course, we are getting into hurricane season, so those of you on the coastlines need to be prepared in a much bigger way. My family of in-laws is in Puerto Rico, so they are very aware of being prepared with a generator and lots of water. (I went through Hurricane Hortense in 1996 & Hurricane Marilyn in 1995 when we lived there! It was like our whole house was going through a super-scary car wash.) Here's a great site for hurricane preparedness for your convenience.

What else could YOU do today to be more prepared for what life throws at you? Are there things that recur in your life that you could solve and prevent? Our members just got finished updating their First Aid Kits for the summer bug bites and sunburns... Share your own ideas in the comments! (Happy 4th, USA readers!)

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For our Kindle readers and others who may not be able to watch the video, here is an easy-to-remember link to it for viewing on YouTube later: http://budurl.com/cookiemonstersong, and here are the transcribed lyrics to this song:

One of these things is not like the others,
One of these things just doesn't belong,
Can you tell which thing is not like the others
By the time I finish my song?

(Thanks to "Tiny Dancer" who has a Sesame Street lyrics archive here.)

Learning to make sets of things and differentiate how things are alike and different-- that is some basic organizing mojo right there. When you are sorting through your things and then deciding how to store them, you generally want to PUT LIKE THINGS TOGETHER. It really helps.

In bathrooms, we often organize extra supplies by parts of the body, like teeth care, hair care, nail care, skin care, and so on. In kitchens we sort by type and function, like food preparation, lunch making supplies, or baking equipment.

Here are some great ways to think about sorting that you can choose for your projects:

• Color
• Function
• Size
• Type
• Name/Alphabetical
• Chronological
• Priority

You know this. Put it into practice. As Cookie Monster says, "You so smart."

(Thanks to my good friend KJ McCorry for reminding me of this Sesame Street concept and telling me her amazing stories about using it to teach people in Africa.)

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The "Get Your Ducks in a Row" contest will have one grand prize winner and one second place winner. And everyone who enters gets a copy of our free tips report, "Managing Your Personal Finances!" Here are the specifics:

The Grand Prize is valued at over $500, which is:

• 1 hour on the phone with me, Lorie (can split into two 30-minute sessions if you like)
• $100 to spend in our online store for our books, notepads, Simple Division® Garment Organizers and other good stuff
• An autographed copy of my book
• An Internet Password Organizer® book
• An ANNUAL membership to the Clutter Diet® online coaching program (valued at $120)

A second prize winner will receive a 20-piece set of Rubbermaid's new Easy Find Lids system of food storage containers, along with the "Mate," the new paperback version of the critically acclaimed Internet Password Organizer® password management system.

You can enter this contest by answering my "Tell Me What You Really Think" survey. It's only 11 brief questions about where you need the most help with your disorganization issues. I really want to help you the best I can by offering what you truly need. So tell me all about it!

The survey will close on July 7th at midnight, and we'll draw the winners by random drawing and announce them here and in our July 9th newsletter. (If you don't already get our Thursday "Just a Bite" newsletter, you can subscribe here.) Due to the fact that there are many physical prizes to be shipped, we cannot accommodate international shipping, and the contest is open only to those who can receive packages at a United States address. One entry per person, and it's void where prohibited and all that jazz.

Muchas gracias to our friends at Innovention Lab and Rubbermaid for donating some of the prizes!

So go ahead, click here to enter... and even if you don't win you get our free tips report on Managing Your Personal Finances, with great tips on paying bills the most efficient way and a list of the best supplies for tackling your statements and receipts. Thanks, everybody!

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But beyond memorabilia, how about the way our STUFF marks our phases and reflects who we are and who we've been?

My friend was telling me that when she left the corporate world to start her coaching business, it was SO EASY to pitch the books on "shop floor management" and other corporate topics. It was no longer who she wanted to be. It was a reminder of something she had wanted to grow away from. Clearing it out made her space reflect her new business and her new life.

On a personal note, and hopefully not too personal, I recently threw out all of my old pajamas and started replacing them with ones that feel more like me. I had a bunch of cottony, cartoony pajamas for a long time, and I just realized one day that they did not feel like who I am anymore. I am a mature, serious woman and I wanted some mature, serious pajamas! And I feel SO great in them! The old ones were worn out anyway, but the real point was that I wanted to have stuff around me that reflects how I see myself now. They are SO TOTALLY ME!  :)

What does your stuff say about who YOU are right now? Is it mostly reflective of your past, or your glorious present? (I just wrote more about this recently in my observations on the Pixar movie "UP!") If you are pleased with who you are being and becoming, getting rid of the old stuff should make for relatively easy decisions. If you are keeping things that don't express who you are or who you'd like to be, could it be that stuff (and the thoughts they represent) are actually holding you back? Share your thoughts in the comments...

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BlackBerry prayer

So, have you gotten Blackberry religion yet? I bet you know lots of people who have. According to WordSpy, Microsoft researcher Linda Stone coined the phrase "CONTINUOUS PARTIAL ATTENTION" (CPA) in 1998. Wow, she was ahead of her time... there are many people paying partial attention to loved ones, speeches, meetings, and other activities while they attend to games, text messages, Twittering, e-mail, Facebook, and any number of other applications.

This is truly the new challenge in etiquette-- how do we handle this "CPA" in everyday situations? Is it always rude? The New York Times ran a fantastic article about this on Monday (thanks, Julie M. for pointing this out!). I also noticed that movie theaters are now specifying not only that you should stop talking on cell phones and silence your ringtones, but are also saying "NO TEXTING" during the movie.

This topic really begs discussion. It's Electronic-Time-and-Attention-Clutter (what I refer to as "Allowed" clutter in my book). Here's what I think:

• I think people should openly communicate at the beginning of a meeting or speech about the expectations for that gathering. Ask for what you want, don't make assumptions.
• If you are expecting an important call, text, or e-mail, tell someone that as you sit down together so you can ask their permission and forgiveness for excusing yourself when it happens.
• If you must take a call or text message when with someone, keep it brief and return your attention to the "IRL" person you're with as soon as possible. (IRL means "In Real Life")
• I personally have enjoyed Tweeting a speech from my Blackberry while in the audience as a way of taking notes and sharing the experience with others who can't be there. I think that it does not always mean someone isn't paying attention to you-- quite the opposite in this case. Using smartphones can become a very important secondary conversation... from the NY Times article: "'You’ll have half the participants BlackBerrying each other as a submeeting, with a running commentary on the primary meeting,' Mr. Reines said. 'BlackBerrys have become like cartoon thought bubbles.'" As a speaker, I am okay with that, but not okay with someone playing a video game or doing other work.

What do you think? Do you have some outrageous stories of terrible breaches of electronic etiquette? Do you have any ideas on how to get clarity on this very pertinent time management issue? Share in the comments...

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Avoid checking baggage. Most airlines are charging you for checking bags, something that has always been free. You want to pack intelligently so that you take one carry-on suitcase plus one other bag like a tote, briefcase, or purse. Save money by not paying the baggage fees, and save time by not waiting in the sometimes intolerable lines at the airport check-in. Here are my favorite tips for packing well:

• Use a packing list. Here are a couple of great resources: Don'tForgetYourToothbrush.com and Pack This! Packing Checklist Pad.
• Have a great suitcase that meets airline requirements for carry-on bags. Be familiar with the rules so that you won't slow everyone else down. 
• Use Pack-It folders and cubes from Eagle Creek. I do not pack without them because they "modularize" your stuff to take it in and out quickly.
• Read about packing smart at www.onebag.com and www.travelite.org.

Outsmart the airlines by avoiding other charges. They are starting to charge for just about anything they can. Remember those airline meals we used to complain about? Pretty much gone. Pack your own food and entertainment.

• If you plan ahead, you can pack an absolutely stunning meal that you will LOVE vs. paying through the nose for some potato chips or a cold sandwich on a hard roll. Make the other passengers jealous! The only thing you can't pack from home is your beverages--you'll need to buy that on the other side of security or just get a drink from your flight attendant.
• Make sure you also pack plenty of extra snacks for unforeseeable delays. Larabars, nuts, fruit, and trail mix are easy healthful choices and cost so much less than buying them in the airport.
• If you pack your own headphones you can avoid the fee for a headset to listen to the movie or the onboard music selection. Even better, skip their entertainment and pack your own book, magazines, Kindle, iPod, or small DVD player (great for kids!). Remember chargers and extra batteries as needed.

Get through security more quickly by organizing yourself in the line. If you have not flown in a while, here's what you'll need to pull out and have ready when you get to the conveyor belt:

• All of your liquids and gels need to be less than 3 ounces (seriously, they do check the amount and size) and placed into one quart-size zippered plastic bag per person. (Here's a photo of mine, click to enlarge.) You need to have this quart bag packed where it's SUPER-EASY to take in and out.
• Laptops need to be removed from their cases and put into a bin. There are some cases now that they allow you to keep intact and run through, like these great sleeves that I use from Built NY.
• Wear shoes that are easy to remove, and minimize big metal jewelry or anything else that will set off the metal detector. You will have to take off your jackets and shoes and put them in a bin. Especially think about this if you are traveling with children-- Velcro shoes are a beautiful thing!
• BE READY to throw everything on the conveyor belt quickly and efficiently so you don't annoy others in line behind you.
• Check for full details and any new rules before you leave at the TSA.gov site here.

Getting organized really pays in time and money savings. What are your favorite time and money saving travel tips? Share in the comments!

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A. Brushing your teeth twice a day, or...
B. Brushing your teeth every Saturday 14 times?

A. Mowing your lawn each week, or...
B. Doing one colossal annual lawn-mowing?

If you said "A" for both questions, you've got the right idea. REGULAR MAINTENANCE is the better way to manage things that require constant attention.

Take some time today to think about the regular maintenance that could be applied to systems in your home:  Dishes, laundry, landscaping, home repairs... what could you improve upon? How could you remind yourself to do the right things at the right times?

I like using my good ol' calendar in Outlook to set up recurring events that remind me to do certain things like make medical appointments and change filters. Clutter Diet members can use our program's reminder system to set recurring e-mail reminders for a desired interval like every week, every 3 months, every other month, etc.

As Bernard Meltzer said, "Hard work is often the easy work you did not do at the proper time."

What are your favorite maintenance methods? How do you remind yourself to do recurring tasks? Share in the comments!

Related previous post: How Baking Cookies Relates to Procrastination

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