We’ve all been guilty of it – hanging onto business cards that somehow end up on dresser tops, stashed in drawers, or floating around on counters. We sort of know we probably don’t need them but there’s a nagging sense of importance about them that makes them seem valuable. So, we neaten the pile or shove them back in the drawer and forget about them for a while.

Why are you keeping them?

Managing clutter is all about making conscious choices.  The first step to getting a handle on those stacks is to take a clear look at your motivations for hanging onto them:

• You may want to use that person’s services
• Something you want to do someday
• Somebody you want to network with
• Neighborhood services
• Cards of services you use regularly
• Nostalgia – cards of family members, cards of your past careers
• Cards whose designs you like

Figuring out why you’re keeping them helps you get clarity on how relevant the info actually is. That informs whether you really want to continue to keep them and how you store them. Part of what makes business cards a less precious resource than we think is there are so many ways other ways to find services and people – Facebook, Yelp, list serves, LinkedIn, Google… put in bits of information into a search tool and have that person show up.

After you do a serious purge of the stacks its time to decide how to store the keepers.

Store for easy retrieval

Ways to store them

• Electronically – scan or enter into your favorite digital address book tool
• In a mini-file box
• Rubber-banded in a drawer or on a shelf
• In a rolodex
• Binder sleeves designed for business cards
• File in a resource section of your filing system (can attach card to larger piece of paper)

Make them useful

If you are keeping cards, it can also be helpful to jot a few notes of relevant info to help you remember why you have the card.  Write on back (have a sharpie close by):

• Next actions/promises you made to them
  • Where you met them
  • Your follow-up plan
• Interesting fact about the person (their dog’s name, for example)
• What you have in common with them
• Who you both know
• Key words (name and date of event, category of contact)

It’s perfectly fine to hang onto cards you may not actually need or use — so long as the stacks of cards don’t stress you out and don’t impact your usable space. If they impact your peace of mind or are getting in the way – take action to clear the clutter.

When you browse through your business card hoard, what is the wackiest card you find?