Paper Organization Tips
Bills, letters, papers and emails---all documents that accumulate quickly in your home or place of business. Keeping papers in order is the key to finding the document you need when you need it. Setting up a paper organization system not only helps in the short term, but also in the long term when it's time to purge emails, letters, memos and other papers you no longer need or want.
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Designating Filing Systems
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Purchase or designate a filing cabinet or plastic filing box for personal and business files. Label each filing cabinet or box so you know exactly where to place personal and business documents.
Creating Sub-categories
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Before placing documents into your filing cabinets or boxes, sort the papers into sub-categories including medical, bills, insurance, deeds, contracts, operational procedures, equipment, employee data, warranties and so on.
Setting Up The Filing System
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Purchase hanging file folders, manila folders and color-coded stickers. Label a manila folder with a color-coded sticker, and write on the sticker the type of document you want to place in the folder. Only use that color for that specific type of document. Place the manila folder in a hanging file folder. Place the hanging file folder in the filing cabinet or box it belongs in---personal or business.
Purging
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As you are labeling manila folders and storing documents in specific folders, purge papers you no longer need or want. If you are unsure about a document, create a folder with the name "Check On," or similar wording. Return to this folder once you are done sorting and filing your other documents. If you can't part with a document, consider scanning it into your computer and saving it on a CD or removable disk, if you have a scanner or access to one.
Managing "Daily" Papers
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Create a folder with the name "To Do." Store papers you need to handle daily, like a payroll time sheet or other document, in this folder. Throughout the day, check the folder and handle whatever pieces of paper are present in the folder. Also, review and handle any papers in the "Bills" folder once a week so you are not past due on a bill.
Recent Documents
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When filing papers, place the most recent document---bills, insurance polices and other dated documents---in the front part of the file folder. As you collect papers in each folder, you'll know exactly where the older documents in each folder are located.
Creating Historical File Boxes
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As your file folders grow with papers, move older documents out of your filing cabinets/boxes once every six months. Move the papers to a file folder labeled with the type of document present in the folder and the date. Example: "Insurance 2009." Place these historical files in a heavy-duty corrugated paper box and store them in a cool, dry place in your home or office.
Read, Sort, File
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Instead of piling papers up in an "Inbox" or on the floor, read, sort and file papers as they come in. If you can't make a decision about the piece of paper immediately, place it in the "Check On" folder. Address the "Check On" folder by the end of the day and no longer than the end of week.
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