How to organise your papers and Documents at home

Its very  crucial to set up an easy to use home filing system that you will actually use. you will need to keep up with it for the system to work.

Main tools needed

You will need some items to help you start organising your papers.

  • Filing cabinet or file box
  • Hanging file folders
  • Desktop file holder
  • Shredder
  • Recycling bin
  • File folders
  • Label maker or pen

Put all of your papers together in one place

gather all your papers in one place to make easy to sort out which ones need to be recycle, and shred. This will help you to keep focus on task at hand and you will be thorough

Separate Your Papers Into Five Categories

all f your document should fall into one of the following categories :

  • Action
  • Archive
  • Household
  • Recycle
  • Shred

Action

These are the one you need to take action  and then they can be discarded. things like  invitations, parking tickets, appointment reminders, homework, and bills

Archive

these are the documents which you need to keep hold o to for a year or so , things like tax returns, medical records, academic records, deeds, leases, warranties, and contracts

Household

These are documents which you use them to run your home, things like vouchers, recipes, user manuals, receipts etc.

Recycle

​​These are documents which do not fall in any categories  and have not personal information. for example junk mail,  newspapers, magazines, etc

Shred

These are the documents which you no longer need example credit card offers, old bank statements, and bills

 

Get rid of any documents which you no longer need 

The documents which contains your information need to be shredded and the rest can be tossed in a recycle bin.

Archive Category 

These are important documents you own, which includes

  • Tax returns
  • Medical records
  • Academic records
  • Proof you served jury duty
  • Deeds, leases, and contracts
  • Passports
  • Social security cards, baptismal certificates, and birth certificates
  • Employment records
  • Life insurance and retirement documents

Store these papers in a fireproof box if possible, in labeled file folders. Your personal filing system should include the following categories: Academic, Car, Employment, Financial, Health, ID, Insurance, and Mortgage documents.

It is best to organize them alphabetically, but keep the ID file, with your birth certificate, passport, social security cards, and anything else you use often at the front of the file box.

Arrange a Household File

These are pretty much the things you may need in the future but dont need to take action right away and  that doesn’t belong in your archive file.

Make sections for the following:

  • Coupons, vouchers, gift cards, and pending rebates
  • Receipts for big-ticket items like furniture
  • warranty
  • Rewards and loyalty cards
  • Recipes
  • Car/home/ insurance policies

Set up an Action File

The sections are the papers you need to take action on and then discard. Any important document that needs to be filed permanently or for a long period of time belongs in your household file. Action files are physical reminders of things you need to do.

You can use a tray hold these papers.

Example of the documents includes:

  • Incoming mail
  • Invitations for upcoming events and any response cards that come with them
  • Bills to pay and then shred or recycle
  • Permission slips to sign
  • Appointment reminders
  • Receipts for items you’ve recently purchased or ones you’re waiting to receive

The best way to deal with this section is to just put them in the file holder with a label incoming  and go through it once,  twice or three times a week. I prefer to do once a week on weekend,. Then shred or recycle the things you no longer need and store the ones you need (can put in To be File folder and file them once a week).

Filing Storage Ideas

Filing Cabinets

Another easy way to add office storage is with file cabinets. Some of filing  cabinets can be used for organizing your papers and files while also offering additional storage with drawer space.

Some comes with an option to lock, this is ideal especial if you have visitors in the house and you want to keep your documents private.

File Boxes

Files boxes are another options for office storage especially if you prefer your office to be  mobile. It’s easy to store these boxes in a closet then pull them out when you need them.

     

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