Your home filing system... (and mine) :-)

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Your home filing system... (and mine) :-)

(14 posts) (12 voices)

Started 1 year ago by Maura
Latest reply from pkilmain
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Maura
Member

Are these forums "search-able" (or only tag-able?)

In any event, I apologize if this is a "repeat" topic.

My home filing system has gotten out of hand. I definitely need to purge and reduce. I am thinking that the best way to tackle organizing my home files is to start over. Create a new streamlined system, start from scratch. The plan is to completely empty my filing cabinet (and the few "portable/duplicate" files I have). I would then just have "piles"... and start fresh (hopefully tossing/shredding most!) Is this a crazy idea? I expect it to be time-consuming, but I really haven't purged in over a decade, and I think I will be pleased with the result... worth the time investment.

In the spirit of simplifying, I don't necessarily want folders-within-folders... I don't mind "broad"...

What I am wondering is -- what hard-copy filing system do you use? What categories do you use? Do you have separate filing locations? For example, I have a filing cabinet on the other side of the room for stuff I don't need to access often. Then, I have portable, accessible file storage that I call "fingertip files" for stuff I reference or go to often. And what do you do with items that can be filed in more than one category? For example -- would I file "College Info" in its own folder - or stick it in the folder with my daughter's name? Maybe a note to cross-reference, directing me to the correct location?

I am making this all sound more complicated than I want it to be!

Please share your system, tips, advice, etc. Thank you!

Posted 1 year ago #
chacha1
Member

Hi Maura, one of our intrepid link-finders will undoubtedly chime in to provide links to other threads on this topic. Files are one of the big clutter-pits for a lot of us, I fear!

I think your idea of dumping it all out, purging first, then organizing is exactly the right way to proceed. Yes, it will be a mess and it will take time.

My own system is, active files are in a cabinet right by the desk in the home office. Files that I can't shred yet are boxed up (1/yr) in my closet. ... For me, the only thing that works is to keep all the active stuff in a single location and to be vigilant about clearing the files every year.

I label files very specifically - i.e. Suzy College, vs just Suzy or just College, because College could include other kids and Suzy could include her car insurance, kwim? And then I'd probably subdivide into Suzy College Apartment, Suzy College Loan, etc. I would rather have several slim files per person than one fat one I have to sort through to find the right category of paper.

For another example, I have one file for our car insurance that covers both vehicles, but a separate file for each car's maintenance records. This isn't necessarily the simplest way to go but it renders the filing process very quick and easy, and thus the paper-finding process is greatly eased as well. If you keep your utility bills all in one file, when you have to research something, you have to spend time sorting out the various bills for that provider, whereas if Power Co. is filed separately from Cable Co. everything is pre-sorted.

Of course, if you receive and pay your bills electronically, a lot of this filing goes away altogether! :-)

Posted 1 year ago #
Ella
Member

The single best and simplest change I ever made to my filing system was to get rid of the plain vanilla manila folders and switch to colored folders. I streamlined down to just a few broad categories (for example, Car, Home, Health, Money, Taxes...) with a color assigned to each category, then alphabetical within that color group. Inside each folder, papers are chronological with the most recent on top.

It couldn't be simpler... when I'm working and might have several folders lying about, I can just look across my desk for, say, a blue folder > Car Insurance, or green > Telephone Bills, or red > 2011 Tax Return. Easy peasy.

Posted 1 year ago #
ArtGal
Member

YES! However make sure that you have the time to do this in a timely and as-stress-free-as-possible manner. I took 3 days of "vacation" and gutted my 4 filing cabinets (8 drawers) a few months ago.

Step One: I had a cardboard box for shredding, a box for recyclable, and a "keep" box.
Step Two: Get a beverage of choice :) and put on some good music, wear comfy clothes and turn off the phone and shut the door (tell people you are on vacation). Have file folders pre-labeled and put them in the "keep" box so that when you start going through papers it can go directly into its own folder, eliminating another step later. It is also helpful to arrange them by date.
Step Three: Be ruthless! You will find that at least half of what you have, you don't need...or it is obsolete...or you have no clue what it is! :)

My main home files are: BILLS, BANK INFO, TAXES (to collect receipts, etc.), CAR PAPERS, HOUSE PAPERS, INSURANCE INFO, UTILITY INFO, DOCTOR/DENTISTS/HEALTH, and MANUALS.

My main business files are: STUDIO (Billing/Banking Statements/Receipts), TAXES, CONTRACTS (Current and Past), and REFERENCE FILES.

It takes time. Please make sure that you shred all papers with personal info on it.

Posted 1 year ago #
pkilmain
Member

Yes, the threads are searchable, by tag. For instance I clicked on your tag of home office and got about 10 others. If a thread is not tagged, you can add one and then click on it.

Posted 1 year ago #
luxcat
Member

I recently went through this process myself and my biggest bit of advice would be... think seriously about each category before you determine to keep it. I don't keep hard copies of many things now that I would have before the internet and/or digital storage. Each person will have their own method. I have 19 categories/file folders (not including my taxes). For some that might be excessive and for others too little. The trick is to find what works for you so that you will use and maintain it!

Posted 1 year ago #
bandicoot
Member

i overhauled my filing cabinet recently.
i did it all in one hit....it is the only way for me to start a whole new system!
i removed every file from the cabinet.
i had the following at hand:
shredder
hanging files
manila folders
labelmaker

i created a few obvious files to get started:
bookkeeper
car
motorbike (mine)
motorbike (his)
property
computer
telecomms
travel
business legals
health
wills
personal documents (this is the one we grab in the event of an emergency)

then i looked at every single bit of paper and either:
shredded it
filed it in one of the existing files
created a subfile and filed it

i prefer lots of small thin files and my files aren't alphabetical.
they are in an order i can understand, and i can put my hand on any piece of paper within twenty seconds.
that is all i ask.

file maintenance:
whenever a new piece of paper comes in (insurance, annual car stuff, annual motorbike stuff) i am now reasonably good at removing last's year paper, before i file this year's paper.

periodically, i go through the files to check that things are relevant, and that i am not hanging onto paperwork relating to things i don't own anymore.

Posted 1 year ago #
irishbell
Member

i think i must have lots less paperwork than most people.
I have one main filing cabinet in the basement, many small, thin files that I can find right away. your basic stuff, car, insurance,health, house, weddings (of course) etc.Then i have a smaller file thingy that is incorporated with my calendar area in the kitchen. those are "temporary files", so i can access and refer to them if I need to easily, then they get moved downstairs after a year.same basic files, separate one for each kid, car, house,dental, health,taxes,etc etc. I do all my bill paying online- so i don't have that paper mess. I've wondered when i go to peoples houses how they have so many paper piles laying around, if I am just throwing away stuff i shouldn't...but I've never had to refer to something that was tossed or shredded, yet. I do have one friend that keeps everything paper. mail, kids stuff, church stuff -so I knew what was in her paper piles.

Posted 1 year ago #
Netleigh
Member

I'm purging and reorganising my filing system gradually rather than as a pull everything out exercise. I failed to do the regular purging of files last year when life got a bit overwhelming, so it needs doing. I can't face doing it all at once.

I have an aim to pull one file out a week, purge it and either refile it as it is named already with a nice new label or rename/split it.
We have a 4 drawer filing cabinet with suspension files, 1 drawer is his, 1 mine, 1 household/joint and another was ds stuff but has moved out with him. Ds's old drawer is now a nasty drawer with all the family history research in it needing filing in a new way, will do that one after household and mine. DH is in charge of his own drawer.
I've been working on the household drawer and pulling out utilities first, then will progress to finance, health, manuals, then see if there is anything left with an old lable.

Posted 1 year ago #
JayEff
Member

My wife and have begun to streamline our paperwork.

We do not own a scanner, but we receive all of our bills/statements electronically. We copy some of these bills/statements onto our computer.

By eliminating the paper from bills/statements, the other paper (car repair receipts, school handouts for the kids, doctor paperwork, etc.) is more manageable.

Posted 1 year ago #
Lori Paximadis
Member

Definitely pull everything out and purge and organize before making final decisions. Last time I reorganized I found it very useful to have a big pile of Post-Its on hand to use for temporarily labeling new folders because I found that I often changed my mind about how I'd like to label/organize things until I settled on my current system. I use crisp new folders and a labelmaker to make final files, because I'm a little obsessive that way.

I'm lucky to have abundant (although mismatched) filing drawers in my office, so I know that everything is all in one place. My most used files are in the drawer closest to me. My husband takes care of the paperwork and filing for the mortgage, utilities, and insurance in his own drawers. Here's how I organize mine.

Anything financial and ongoing gets a folder for each year:
bank statements 2011
credit union statements 2011
business A income 2011
business A expenses 2011
business B income 2011
business B expenses 2011
credit card A 2011
credit card B 2011
taxes 2011
sales tax 2011
(you get the idea)
Each financial account also has a general folder in another drawer to collect account agreements and general paperwork.

Other things that get yearly files: medical (lab reports and such), shows (I do few art shows every year, but making a folder for each would be overkill), classes (I teach also), misc. receipts (for important receipts that don't really belong in any other folder).

The current year and immediate past year are kept in my close drawer; older files live farther away since I rarely have to access them.

The close drawer also has folders for accounts receivable (invoices for projects completed/orders shipped that I'm waiting for payment on), personal papers (passport, birth certificate, marriage certificate, etc.), my current car (title, maintenance/repair receipts, the final statement showing a zero balance), each of the shops/galleries I sell in (contracts, inventory lists), my life insurance paperwork, and pending (flyers for things I'm considering doing, tickets for future events, etc.).

The rest of my files are grouped in categories that are logical to me: school, former jobs, clients (contracts, style guides), book stuff (contract, research, notes), clippings, idea files for various projects, house (not related to mortgage), and so on. Other than grouping like stuff together, there's no overall organizational system for this stuff, but I know where everything is.

Good luck with your filing project!

Posted 1 year ago #
Maura
Member

Thanks for all thought-filled responses! I tend to jump into "projects" without thinking them through and so I really appreciate the comments, shared experiences, and tips. I also get a little "eager" and just want it "done" but with my daughter coming home tomorrow (for over a week) I now know I won't have that block-of-time needed (until March 21st - Spring!) I literally lose sleep when about to embark on a project, so all of these suggestions are helping me to brainstorm ideas (and to sleep a bit better.)

I guess where I get "hung-up' is in the categorizing. Since my kids are on the brink of adult-hood, I think I will weed out stuff that pertains to them - separating their info from mine (i.e. no more broad "Medical" with sub-folders for the kids), eventually passing it along to them (medical, school, etc). This way, as I create my "new" system it basically will pertain only to me and my household stuff.

Thanks again for all the feedback and encouragement! I love these forums :-)

Posted 1 year ago #
ninakk
Member

I don't think there was a reply on searching the forum? Sorry if I overlooked! You can use this url and replace the last word with whatever you're looking for:
http://unclutterer.com/discuss/tags/filing

Or you can use the search field on the blog front page, which is google-based and therefore pulls out both blog article results as well as posts from the forum. Good luck with your projec!

Posted 1 year ago #
pkilmain
Member

Nina, I did post one, but it was short and is in the middle somewhere. No matter. :)

I no longer get paper statements from my bank/credit union or from my credit card company. I download the accounts into Quicken, and if for some reason I need the actual paper, I can download it as well. They all send me a notice when a new statement is ready, so I can review it actually sooner than if I were to get it in the mail.

Posted 1 year ago #

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