How to Organize Household Paperwork

Keep your paperwork organized to avoid frustration at tax time.

Paperwork can get messy. When tax time rolls around, sifting through a desk exploding with stacks of forms and bills, or rooting around the bottoms of purses and jacket pockets for receipts is the last thing you want to be doing. The the sooner your can get your hands on needed paperwork, the sooner you're done. Set up a system for organizing receipts, coupons, bills and other important papers to save time and trouble, and keep your home office looking good.

Things You'll Need

• 4 or more cardboard shoeboxes of the same size.
• Unlined 3-by-5 index cards.
• Craft glue
• Wrapping paper or fabric.
• Marker or letter stickers.

Instructions

1. Sort your existing paperwork into piles by type. Use categories that will be useful to you in doing taxes, or whatever you use you paperwork for. Categories may include utilities, credit cards, business expenses, warranties, mortgage or rent receipts, car repair, medical or vital records.

2. Cover the appropriate number of shoeboxes -- one per category is best -- with craft glue and wrap with fabric or contact paper. Cover lids with complementary fabric or paper. Shoeboxes of the same size and shape look best and are easy to stack.

3. Cut index cards in half to create a label for each box. If your shoeboxes are purchased with label plates, remove labels.

4. Using marker or letter stickers to label each box. This is eyecatching for you and one step up from just writing on the side of a shoebox. Glue cards to the fronts of the boxes, or slip back into their plates, as appropriate.

5. Sort paperwork into the decorated shoeboxes by category. More categories and boxes can be added as needed. The more decorative the box, the more likely you are to leave them in a highly visible location that is within easy reach.

Tips & Warnings

• If you find you are not using your boxes as much as you should, move them to a more appropriate location for daily use. Alternately, make a point of sorting your papers into the boxes on a weekly or monthly basis to keep yourself on track.

• Annually, shred papers that are no longer needed and move papers you need to save to a permanent file you can tuck away.

References

• Utah State University Extension: Organizing Paperwork Tips