Quick: Do you know where your birth certificate is?  What about the warranty for your digital camera? Chances are they’re buried in one of the many piles that plague you—along with everything else, from newsletters, to pay-stubs, to grocery receipts, all cast amidst paper mountains. You’re not alone.  In fact, most people are beset by paper; it’s hard to know what to save, how to categorize and file.

 

Unless your filing system is 75% effective, I recommend starting from scratch.  This project can take a full day (or weekend), but the payoff is huge: be able to find anything and feel like an organizing master! Follow these three steps.

 

Step 1: Determine What’s Essential

Before you launch an archeological expedition through your papers, ask yourself what information is truly essential. What pieces of paper are you often looking for, worried about, or constantly referring to? If it’s medical records, take-out menus, tech support numbers, and school forms - that’s the stuff your system should be built around. Determining what’s critical first (instead of trying to figure out what to get rid of), changes your entire approach to filing. Suddenly, filing isn’t about storage - it’s about retrieval. It’s not about putting things away, it’s about finding what you need when you need it.

 

Now, of course there will be questionable items.  Consider this: 80% of what’s filed is never looked at again. Trash anything you can easily replace (e.g. product solicitations) and all outdated information (e.g. old invitations, newspapers). As a general rule, keep the source - toss the paper! 

 

1. Ask these questions to help decide about the maybes.
2. Are there tax/legal reasons to keep it?
3. Will it help me complete a project I’m working on right now?
4. Do I have time to do anything with this piece of paper?
5. If I ever needed it again, could I easily get it from someone else?
6. Do I trust that the information is up to date?
7. Would my work/life change if I didn’t have it?

 

Step 2: Sort & Identify

 

Lug all your papers to one central location (any space with a large work-surface will do), and sort papers, one-by-one, into plain manila folders. Ask yourself, under what circumstances would I look for his piece of paper? Write the first thing that comes to mind as the file’s title.

 

When you’re done sorting, analyze and consolidate the folders into 3-5 broad categories to make retrieval easier.  For example:

 

            Category                   Includes Files About   

Financial                  (receipts, investments, bank accounts)

            Family Records       (vital documents, medical, education, career)

            Lifestyle                  (travel, hobbies, articles of interest)

                       

Straight A-Z systems can be confusing because related files often end up scattered (“Accountant” under “A”; “Taxes” under “T”). Filing by category enables you to group similar files – and having fewer files, with more information in each, makes it easier to find things. Make your system even more user-friendly by employing titles that inspire. Scratch passive headers like “Vacation Info” and “Bills Due,” for hard-to-ignore names like “New Horizons” and “Maintain Good Credit.”

 

Step 3: Snazzify

One of the big reasons people fail to file is because it’s boring. There’s an easy remedy- add some zip to your system!

 

• Color-code: Assign a color to each broad category of files. Maybe Financial is green, Family is purple and Lifestyle is yellow. Color-coding reduces misfiling and stimulates your thinking - whenever you see a “green” folder, you immediately think money!

 

• Straight-line filing: We’re all taught to file using alternate tab positions - “left, center, right” – but that means every time you add or delete a file, the consistency of your system is threatened.  In straight-line filing, the tabs line up one behind the other. It’s much easier on the eye, and you can add or delete files anytime, without ruining your pattern.

 

Make the investment in quality folders (2-pli top in rich colors) and a label maker for clear labeling (the Brother P-touch is great). Depending on where your household files are located, make sure there’s space to work, ample storage (you’ll need at least two file drawers or boxes) and a comfy chair.

 

Organized household files means less anxiety, more control and a cleaner space. Find your birth certificate, return those shoes, and get your digital camera fixed in one afternoon? No problem. Bid the paper mountains adieu!