Okay, I admit it. Paper filing is one of my weakest organizational points. It seems overwhelming to know what to keep, what to toss, and realize how long it may take to go through all those papers! Most stay safely tucked away in a file cabinet that stays closed all the time!
But I do feel I have a pretty good system for monthly receipts and so forth so here it is:
- Obtain four sets of three drawer plastic cubes.
- Label each drawer for each month of the year.
- Keep the current month's drawer handy on your desk.
- Stick all receipts, policy renewals, even cards and letters in the box.
- At the beginning of the new month, put this drawer away. Pull out the next drawer.
- Go through the new drawer, removing any receipts you no longer have to keep (i.e. Walmart, etc.) Shred those.
- Keep important papers or things you are unsure of in that drawer. Consider scanning them and saving them to a service like Evernote, so you can discard them. (If tax, legal, medical, move them to special files of those categories.)
Enjoy reviewing nice notes and cards you received this time last year. Then, decide whether you still want to keep greeting cards, etc. Consider finding another sentimentality container for those now, maybe for review on New Year's day. Better yet, scan them to Evernote or scrapbook them.
Continue this rotation every month. This keeps the job manageable, and items immediately accessible for a year. It doesn't take long to rifle through one bin to find that missing Kohl's receipt to return that item, particularly if you have an idea of what month or season you bought it.
What are your ideas for managing files?
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