I recently took out a weekend subscription to the Age newspaper.

I grew up reading the Age on weekends. There are many fond memories of sitting around the kitchen table with my parents, and maybe one or more sibling, with our mandatory reading fare of cups of tea and plates of toast. 

Of someone piping up from time to time with, "Listen to this…" and reading out an interesting snippet they wanted to share.

So I took out the subscription because I realised I'd gotten out of the habit of buying the paper since moving in with Mr K.

That, and they called me with a too-good-to-refuse offer of 3 months of weekend papers for $9. Who could pass that up?

But my reliance on the Internet for my news and entertainment reading had obviously become more entrenched than I realised, because the first month's deliveries just piled up – unread – in my corner of the loungeroom.

Atrocious, isn't it? Newspapers, magazines, boxes of nailpolish, magazines, power cords…

The printer is Mr K's fault. I fought hard against having it in the loungeroom. We compromised on it being there til the end of July.

I'm counting the days.

Anyway, this is about my Corner of Shame… so, all the unread newspapers were turning into piles representing my intellectual neglect, and I was determined to change my ways.

So I employed a time-saving trick I learned many years ago, when I did a Wayne Berry sales course (Me? In Sales? Hell no… my employer made everyone go).

I bought an A4 sized plastic envelope (a "doculope") with a button fastener from Coles for 99c.

Then, with a formidable pile of newspapers on the floor in front of me, a strong cup of tea and a pair of scissors… I attacked.

Section after section, page after page, my inky fingers wielded those scissors like a woman possessed. And it still took me about 3 hours to snip out all the articles I wanted to read and fold them to fit into the plastic envelope.

So why the envelope?

Well, it's a very clever time management strategy. These days everyone's so busy, we all struggle to read the sheer amount of paper that comes into our lives. Newspapers, magazines, brochures, catalogues, product cards, correspondence…

So they collect in piles all over the house. Or you may try to contain them, like I did, in my Corner of Shame.

And they stress. you. out.

Gosh how that corner stresses me.

But, by cutting them down to size – literally – and corralling them all in one place, you reduce all of that information into a manageable size.

Instead of stressful piles to get through, which seem too much like hard work, and get pushed aside again and again in favour of TV, the Internet or a good book, you have one folder of manageable, bite-sized pieces.

There's something very satisfying about finishing an article, screwing it into a ball and throwing it away (into the recycling of course). Whittling down your envelope makes a pleasure out of a chore.

The best part is its portability. I keep mine in the car, and take it with me when I'm waiting for appointments (especially handy for my doctor who is invariably running at least 30 minutes behind).

I even chew through it in traffic jams. Or while waiting for other people to arrive. Basically whenever I've got a few minutes to spare.

The only concern I have now is getting through my envelope (which is pretty fat with a month's worth of articles) before next  weekend's papers arrive. This week will mean less Internet and more envelope.

Or maybe I should tidy up the rest of that abominable corner.

So what do you think? Is this is an idea you'd find useful?

Or do you have another way to manage your paper? I'd love to hear other people's ideas

xx Kiki

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