How to Organize Paperwork
Do you know where your birth certificate is? Would you be able to lay your hands on your passport if you needed it in a hurry? Are all your tax records up to date and in order? If you can’t answer yes to these questions then you may need some help with keeping your paperwork in order. Here are some suggestions to help you keep things in check. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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How to Organize Your Paperwork
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Keep your desk in order. Whether you are in your home office or at work, clutter on your desk in the number one enemy. This makes your waste basket your ally. Keep your desk top neat and orderly. Throw out old and unwanted documents, don’t forget to shred them if they contain personal information, and don’t forget to recycle.
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Eliminate unnecessary documents and paper work. Stop and think for a moment. Do you really need to print that email. Instead of making a hard copy of that important document, scan it and save it to a file.
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To prevent paper clutter from taking over, keep all your important documents in file folders. As a last resort, create a "miscellaneous" file for loose papers that can't be filed elsewhere. Keep your filing system simple. You should be able to find anything you need immediately.
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Instead of keeping loose scraps of paper with your notes, telephone numbers and other bits of information, make it a point to transcribe them into your planner. You'll always know where to find the information you need.
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Re-file regularly. As you finish a project, move the files associated with it away from your desk and into a file cabinet or storage area. If you've taken old files out of storage for a specific project, don't forget to put them back when you no longer need them.
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Throw away any documents that you no longer need. Do not file anything unnecessarily.
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Establish a shelf life for each of the different types of files you keep. Throw away paperwork when it is no longer relevant. Do not hold it indefinitely, clogging up the system
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Tips & Warnings
Record-keeping is more than merely a matter of neatness and order. Legal and safety factors enter in as well. Many records and papers can be kept in a home file for ready access, while others should be left with your attorney or placed in a safe-deposit box.
