So how in the world does someone with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) or Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD) conquer the never-ending paper piles that are taking over the home? When you have ADD or ADHD there is often a certain sense of organization to the many piles of paper around the home. Yet, the other night I realized how sad my organization system truly was when I was able to find mt 7 year old Hunter ceiling fan owner's manual for the master bedroom easier then my daughter’s birth certificate.

This ADD mom recently bought a 4 drawer filed cabinet. The intention was to clean out the old 2 drawer cabinet and shred any unnecessary or out dated bills, notes, school papers, or other items. Each drawer has been assigned to an individual family member, starting with the top drawer for dad, the second one for mom, the third for the oldest child and the last one for the next child. If you have more people than drawers you can buddy up children or spouses. One person uses the front half and another person uses the back half.

Since I am a visual person and I love COLOR I use four different colored file folders (one for each family member) inside the file drawer assigned to him or her. I also use these same colors when I write an appointment or reminder for that person in my on-line and paper calendars. When I see purple I know it applies to me. I use blue for my husband, red for my son and pink for my daughter.

Now before you decide to clean out your paper piles do some basic research and check with an accountant before shredding any tax returns or a lawyer before disposing of any legal documents. There are different lengths of time you are required by law to retain certain tax or legal papers. Since I currently pay most bills through my bank on-line, I have no need for more than one previous bill with the current account number and personal information.

By paying your bills on-line you lessen the chances of someone taking your personal information and having a current check with your account information available. Never place bills you are paying in your mailbox and raise the red flag to alert the mailman. That red flag alerts people who drive through subdivisions looking for the chance to find personal information, bank account info and a check written by you with your personal signature.

Thieves can soak the check in alcohol and lift off the ink, which now gives them a blank check to now copy or use in the future. If possible it is best to stop all paper bills and change over to the paperless version that is E-mailed to you monthly. Then as each bill is paid add it to your on-line calendar on the day the bill amount will be debited from your account.

Many banks have a free on-line bill pay service set up for customers to use as desired. By cancelling or changing monthly bills to the paperless version you prevent someone from taking personal information from your mailbox. It is a felony to tamper with the United States Mail and you should report to your local post master anyone who looks into or takes something out of a mail box.

By assigning one file cabinet drawer to each family member you will always be able to find personal, school, work, and legal documents quickly. I use to save every manual that came with an appliance, or small electronic purchase, however that is one amazing feature of the Internet, is the ability to find any instruction manual as long as you have a product number. By disposing of the instruction manual alone you will free up quite a lot of space.

The most important part of conquering paper piles is to deal with papers as you receive them from the mail, a child's school, or your employer. Decide if it is vital to keep and needs to be filed, or if it is junk and can be tossed, or if it is not needed but do to personal information included on the item needs to be shredded. Any personal information including address, phone number, or social security number, account numbers, banking information must be shredded before you dispose of the paper.