How to Organize Documentation

List where your documents are stored, and photocopy vital ID cards.

Many Americans feel overwhelmed by paperwork. Most relationships they have with a business, bank or government agency come with a piece of paper and sometimes an account number attached. However, this documentation can be vital to ensure you can claim money when it is owed to you by an insurance policy or have your credit cards replaced when your wallet goes missing. Spend a few hours organizing your household documentation to save you from a later headache of digging through stacks of unsorted papers to find the one piece that you need.

Instructions

1. Divide your documentation into categories. If all your documents are currently in a stack with no common attribute other than the fact that you want to keep them, go through them one by one, and split them up by function or type. For example, you may want to create one stack for warranties, one for insurance policies, one for bank statements, one for paid bills and so on. Have a shredder handy to destroy and recycle any documentation you no longer need, such as expired warranties or very old bank statements.

2. Photocopy both sides of all your vital documents and cards, including your credit cards, passport, birth certificate and any other cards you normally carry with you and cannot risk being lost or stolen. You may wish to create a separate category for this documentation and label it personal identification.

3. Purchase a filing cabinet, series of boxes, files or other organizational tools to hold your documentation. Place each organized stack into one box or file. If you have several items, you may wish to organize them within the file by date or by name of insurance company or warranty provider.

4. Write down the location of each kind of document to serve as a reference list when you need to find something specific. For example, your list may include such items as "Warranties -- Box 1" and "Insurance Policies -- Box 2." Make a few copies of this list, and keep it in a safe place, such as the desk in your home office, at work, or taped to the fridge.

5. Add new documentation to the boxes as necessary using the same filing system. Create new categories if needed, and update your reference list as you do so.

References

• Oprah: Organize Your Vital Documents
• Womens Media: Get Organized: The Paper Crisis