Organizing Resources

Statistics 

     1.      Research has shown that the number one irritant of American homes is clutter.  Ultimately, this excess costs consumers billions of hard-earned dollars.  Ever wonder where your money goes?  Figure the total cost of any purchase.  The first cost is the price tag.  Add to the purchase price the cost to maintain and store the item.  The next cost is medical expenses for headache remedies, chiropractor adjustments for back strains, psychological guilt and embarrassment.  On top of this add the cost of strained relationships, frustration, confusion and discouragement.  The final cost is the price you pay as you increase your workload to earn more, to buy more and to maintain more.  Accumulation is a vicious cycle that has a huge price tag. 

     2.     Experts say that 80% of household congestion – whether in a drawer or closet, on the counter, table or desk, or even the whole room – is the result of disorganization rather than insufficient space.  Cleaning professionals say that getting rid of excess clutter would eliminate 40% of the housework in an average home. 

     3.     In 1995 the world spent nearly 60 billion minutes on the telephone – talking, faxing and sending data.  For comparison, in 1985 it was 15 billion minutes.  It was expected that in the year 2000 it would be 95 billion minutes.  MCI Global Communications Report 1996/97.  Trends, Analysis, Implications. 

     4.     More new information has been produced within the last 30 years than in the last 5,000.  Over 9,000 periodicals are published in the US each year and almost 1,000 books are published daily around the world.  Information Skills for an Information Society: A review of Research, Susan Hubbard. 

     5.     A week day edition of The New York Times contains more information than the average person was likely to come across in a lifetime in the 17^th century England.  Information Anxiety, Richard Saul Wurman. 

     6.     Statistics have shown that 80% of all papers filed are never looked at again and 50% of all filed material going to storage has no retention value and should have been destroyed.  Secretaries have estimated that 20% of their time is spent on filing and retrieving.  That is equivalent to one work day each week. 

     7.     The average American receives 49,060 pieces of mail in their lifetime; one third of it is junk mail. 

     8.     Over the years, our tendency to buy and ultimately throw away has increased. Whether it is from oversized packaging or unwanted junk, we easily toss more stuff in the trash every year.  Though Americans represent a small portion of the world’s population, we produce over half its waste. In one day we generate enough trash to fill the New Orleans Superdome twice. 

     9.     Chronically disorganized people tend to keep most of the books and magazines they purchase. The average American buys enough publications to supply a small town library.

  10.     For every hour spent in the planning phase, three to four hours are saved during the execution stage.  Save yourself time by being proactive.