Organizing Your Paperwork
Organizing paperwork can be quite the task! Whether the papers are right in front of you or scanned into your computer, documents of all kind should be kept in order in case of needing them at a moments notice.
There are so many different ways to get organized when it comes to filling. Depending on the amount of space you have you can either separate papers into different storage boxes (or document folders) per person or use one big filling cabinet system for the family.
No way of filing is wrong except for not filing at all. Below are some tips and tricks to get your documents organized in a time friendly manner as we continue the 10 Days of Organization with Day 7: Filing Your Paperwork!
Shred as you go. Don’t feel obligated to keep every paper that comes into your home. Whether via mail, your child’s school, work and so on you should only keep the essentials and toss (or shred) the rest.
Start by sorting the papers you already have. Going back to step 1, shred what you no longer need and sort what you do and categorize accordingly.
Find a system that works for you. Not everyone is the same. Some may sort by company, where other’s may sort by person, then company. No matter how you do it, make sure it is a system you understand and can remember.
Go paperless. You can go paperless with so many companies these days. Going paperless not only controls the paperwork clutter in your house, but also saves trees! If you do decide to go paperless, set up a folder on your desktop for easy access to these files.
(Hanging folders shown above: purchased from The Container Store and Staples.)
Invest in colorful, sturdy accessories. Using colorful accessories such as fun designed folders and paper clips helps you determine who each paper or folder belongs to faster. The right accessories can help inspire a person to be more organized. Fun accessories make organizing feel less like a job and more like a fun task.
Keep your files in an easy to get to, safe place: To avoid your paperwork from stacking up, have them accessible to you. If you have to search or fight your way to your papers, it will make it hard for filing to become a habit.
Items worth investing in when organizing your documents:
storage bins or drawer
labels
paper clips and a dispenser
sturdy hanging folders
a shredder
sticky notes
One of my all time favorite places to shop for all things organization are the Container Store’s Special Savings Clearance and sale items. You’re sure to find a great deal there!)
Day 1: De-cluttering Your Devices
Day 2: Organizing Your Work Space
Day 3: Organizing Your Accessories
Day 4: Organizing Your Bedroom
Day 5: Organizing Your Kitchen
Day 6: Organizing Your Bathroom
How do you keep you keep your paperwork and documents organized? Feel free to comment below. I would love to hear from you! Happy organizing!
this is what Im supposed to be doing today, but Im spending the day outside cos it’s about 75 degrees and too beautiful to be stuck indoors sorting paper!!!
You are so lucky! I can’t wait for it to be 75 here again, that’s the perfect temp. Enjoy!
I’ve been working on this for a WHILE now. I love all your tips and this is the push I need to get it done this week! Love your whole blog, actually. It’s such a great collection of all things practical
Thank you so much for the incredibly sweet comment! That really means a lot to me. Huge thanks for stopping by
Thanks for visiting my blog. These are wonderful tips. I definitely sort, file, shred first thing as I open my snail mail and I’ve gone mostly paperless. I do, however, need to find a prettier filing system. Thanks for the tips. You have a lovely website.
Thanks for following me, first of all
Liked your post, but for me the biggest problem when organizing the papers is getting rid of the last year’s college notes. I always think I might need them one day and feel sad throwing away my knowledge
I thought about digitalizing them, but it seems kind of time-consuming and boring, so now I have a little pile of notes patiently waiting to be sorted out :/
I have been trying to do this for the past month. Although, every time I start this task, something gets in the way. Or, I just don’t have enough folders and organizational storage to finish the task. So many documents and papers that I don’t know what to do with.
Hopefully the colorful folders and accessories help. I mean, how could it not?