Happy Friday! I can’t believe how fast this month is going!! Although I haven’t really posted much for this month’s Household Organization Diet, I have been working hard on getting my March to do list completed. Tackling the paperwork is never fun but it sure feels good to get it done!
I think the easiest way to start organizing your paper work is to follow the paper trail as it enters your home. Last week I talked about our Kitchen Command Center or drop zone. This is stop one for all of the papers that enter our house. Any paperwork that needs further action or to be filed away, then travels down to our “home office corner” in the basement. I am also still working on “prettying things up a bit” down there so today we will focus on the filing system.
At the end of my desk, I have a wire rack that holds some file folders {from the Martha Stewart line at Staples} I just hung the rack on a Command hook so I didn’t have to drill into the desk and the file folders nicely cover up the hook. I found this “No Junk Mail” sign at one of my favorite local stores and attached it with some wire. Most of the papers from upstairs end up in either the “To Do” folder or the “To File” folder. The “To Do” folder is where I put bills to pay, letters that I need to respond to or forms that I need to fill out. I have a few spots that papers in the “To File” folder end up….
The main place is in the filing drawer of our desk. I have a rough color coding system that I use:
- red – financial info {banking, credit cards, mortgage, investments, etc.}
- blue – automotive info {one folder for each car and the trailer and one for BCAA info}
- orange – medical and insurance info
- green- personal info {care cards, passports, birth certificates, resumes, etc.}
- yellow – warranties, manuals, and receipts {This is only for receipts that I need to keep longer than one month and for manuals that are not available online}
I keep all of my tax information in a separate portable filing box as it makes things so much easier come tax time! I only keep the previous year’s tax forms in here and have all of the older tax returns {we have to keep them for 7 years in Canada} filed away in a separate file folder.
Here are a few tips when setting up your paper filing system:
- Get rid of junk mail as soon as it enters the house. Better yet, cancel all of those catalogs that you never look at and take yourself off mailing lists.
- Try paying your bills and doing your banking online as much as possible to reduce your paper trail. Create a separate folder in your email account to put your online monthly statements until they are paid so your bills don`t get lost in your emails.
- Make sure you are filing only those papers that are essential. I keep one statement for my bills just so my account number is easily accessible. Otherwise, everything is shredded once the bill is paid. Banking and credit card information is generally easily available online so a paper copy is often not needed. Manuals are another thing that can take up a lot of space and are rarely used. Most of them can also be found online freeing up a ton of room in your filing system!
- Create a designated spot for your paperwork and do not let it travel to other areas of the house.
- Have a designated day each week for filing and paying bills. 10-15 minutes per week usually does it for me and sticking to this avoids those paper mounds piling up!
- Don’t be too specific with your file folders. You only have so much space! Spend some time sorting your papers and divide them into categories that make sense to you.
- Periodically review your filing system and adapt your categories as needed. Have a file that rarely gets used? Combine that info into another file folder. Is a file bulging at the seams? Check to see if everything in there is needed and if it is, create subcategories either by date or topic.
So what do you do to tame your papers? I’d love to hear your ideas!
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This post is part of The Household Organization Diet. If you need some organization inspiration, check out THIS POST to learn more about the plan and THIS POST for all of the 2015 updates. You CAN get that house cleaned and organized once and for all! To see all of the previous posts click the Get Organized tab at the top of the blog and go to The Household Organization Diet. I also have all of the posts pinned to my Household Organization Diet pinterest board. Start at any time and make sure you are following along so you don’t miss out…
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I love your pretty blue and white folders! And the “no junk mail” sign – smart. Sigh – I probably need to figure out how to organize all of our papers too…well I actually need to do it! 🙂
Brie @ Breezy Pink Daisies
I love the way you take organization to a whole higher level! I am so spending next week organizing our personal papers for each member of the family! It’s smart to always know where everything is! Thanks for the tips!
Selene @ restorationbeauty.com
Love the pretty files! Would make filing so much more enjoyable : )
Girl, this couldn’t have been posted at a better time! My papers are currently scattered on my office floor and I find myself overwhelmed! I can’t wait to put your organizing skills to use in my home! Thank you for the post! Jennifer
Thanks for sharing this! I need to get in gear with organization around my house, and this looks like a great way to do it. 🙂
~Natalee eat_nap_play@yahoo.com
Спасибо за статью. Я сейчас как раз пытаюсь разобраться со всеми нашими документами (они пока просто свалены в папку общую и лежат в пакете, что очень неудобно).
What a great idea to color code! I have a home based business in rubber stamping and scrapbooking and love this idea to help me be better organized!
Great organizational tips! I am in the need of a little inspiration every now and then. Thanks! ;o)
Yea…no matter how hard I try, I won’t get it as organized as you. I think you should do it for me 😉
Thank you so much for partying with me, hope to see you soon!
Great ideas! Thanks for sharing. I have been looking for file folders that are vertical like the blue and white ones you have in the wire file holder. Where did you find them? Thanks!
I got them at Staples {they are the Martha Stewart line} I have also seen some nice ones at Target {I think they were Nate Berkus}. Hope that helps!
Thanks! I will take a look!
And I’m sorry I wasted your time with that question. I just reread your post and saw the source. 🙂
No worries! 🙂
Great information, where can you find the wire rack?
Thanks!
I can’t remember where I got it but it was likely either HomeSense {Home Goods if you are in the States} or Decor Steals.
Love, love, love your posts! For years I’ve attempted to get organized. Finally since we bought our house last fall, I took it all in full force and started implementing your tips and it’s been AMAZING! I’ve actually gone a bit overboard and become OCD about clearing clutter (I realized how much unnecessary stuff we had when we moved!). I’ve even corrupted my husband to follow my “systems” and he actually loves it too! Our lives are so much less stressful knowing material things are all in order. Paper clutter and storage is my last big overhaul and so thankful this post popped up in my newsfeed because I’m ready to get started. Thank you for sharing your tips!!
That’s awesome! Thanks so much for letting me know and I would love to hear how you converted your husband – I’m still working on that one! lol!
How do you handle a husband who is a huge “ClutterBug”? I’ve tried everything over the years & he just won’t do it. Recently I just gave up, handed it all to him, & said “you do it then”. Now it’s all in a pile on his desk in the computer room & another pile on the dining room table. We don’t eat there except on holidays or when we have company. 🤪😡
That’s definitely a hard one. I think the best you can do is focus on what you do have control over and get rid of all the other clutter around that’s not his. Then confine all of his clutter to a specific space {or spaces} that can be closed off – not the dining room table. If he won’t get rid of it, the least he should do is be considerate of your feelings and come to an exceptable compromise. Also, when you have discussions about it, do it at a time when you both have some time to sit and talk and not when you’re angry about it all! lol!