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Got piles of mail by the kitchen island? A closet full of tax documents, product manuals and old love letters? Not sure where your Social Security card is? It’s probably time to organize your paperwork and documents.

If that fills you with dread, don’t worry — Kacy Paide has advice. She’s been working as a professional organizer for over two decades, and specializes in helping clients deal with paper clutter.

The key to making the process less overwhelming? Don’t feel like you have to rush or organize in a certain way. “You’re in control of your paper, and it’s up to you how fast you want to get through it,” she says.

Start with the nearest pile of paperwork 

When getting started on paper clutter, don’t worry just yet about what’s stashed away in the garage or your office closet. Focus on sorting what’s piled up around your desk or dining table. “The documents and action items that are on fire tend to be closest to us,” Paide says.

Separate all those documents into two piles: active and inactive. Active requires follow up, like making a call or paying a bill. Inactive does not. That includes receipts, birth certificates and sentimental stuff, like a Valentine’s Day card from your mom. Go ahead and file your inactive documents away or put them to the side for when you have a little more time to give them a deeper look.

Make the due date clear on your active paperwork. Paide likes to write it boldly with a permanent marker on a sticky note, then attach it to the document. This tactic can quickly help you identify what needs to be done and when. Be as specific with the deadline as possible — as in, “due by Nov. 15” or “start no later than 12/1” — otherwise “urgent” or “due now” will start to lose its meaning, Paide suggests.

Create a filing system that makes sense for you

There are many kinds of documents that require saving. Birth certificates and passports; product manuals for the oven and fridge; tax documents; medical records.

Storing these items away can be as simple or as complex as you want it to be. Alphabetize, color-code, label-make — or don’t. The best filing system is the one you’ll actually use. That said, Paide has some preferences.

Put your most important documents, like your passports and marriage certificate, in a brightly colored folder. That way they’re easy to spot. As for where to put it, Paide prefers them to be a “bookend to your filing system.” Put the folder at the front or the back of a file box, for instance, so you don’t have to rifle through piles of paper to get to it.