Create one household paper inbox with a clear exit

A paper inbox is useful only when papers leave it with a decision, rather than becoming a permanent mixed pile.

1. Choose one small tray near where mail and school papers arrive. Put incoming papers there instead of starting separate piles in several rooms.
2. At a regular review, read each item and decide: action, reference or no longer needed. Give action papers a specific next step and date in your task list.
3. File reference papers where you would look for them again. Handle papers containing personal information appropriately, and ask the owner before discarding somebody else's documents.

Return only genuinely undecided items to the tray with a note explaining what is missing. If the tray repeatedly overflows, shorten the review interval instead of buying a bigger container.