Organizing Papers

My husband is not one of those naturally organized people. I have helped him organize things and helped him create systems for his papers. We start businesses and sell them. That means we are buying properties, fixing them up, hiring, and running one business while we are, selling and finishing up another business. Long story short HE had piles and piles of papers. I say he because a few years ago I started working on my own career instead of being a partner with him. His papers had become soo overwhelming he wasn’t able to touch them. I offered for months to do them together but he wouldn’t do it. Finally because we needed to get things to the accountant, I began.
As I was putting like items together, and labeling file folders, I started handing him little stacks of papers that only he knew about. I worked on the rest for 12 hours straight. The problem was he had active papers and inactive papers together. This actually made him think all the stacks were things he needed to do, when in reality some of the items were old and just needed to be stored away. I put all the items that he rarely needs in a filing cabinet, (travel, keepsakes, cycling, laptop phone, properties, church, titles). And boxed all the items dated before 2006 and put them in the basement. We whittled the stacks down to one plastic container with files in it. I cannot tell you the difference in his demeanor from morning till the evening. The quantity of papers he was shuffling through was really weighing him down. I feel guilty that I didn’t help him sooner. I felt like if he wanted to do it with me I would, BUT if he wanted me to sit there and do 12 hours of paperwork while he went on a bike ride NO way! Looking back I can see it was just too big of a job for a person that hates paperwork and organization. What a difference in his stress level!!!!
What is great about men and women is that they compliment each other. What I am good at he isn't and what I'm not good at he is.
He did leave me a little note this morning it said, “Thanks for all the paperwork you did today! You did great! LOVE YOU!”