I have a practical question for anyone who reads this blog. What is your system for organizing and filing paper at your home? I have a folder for everything--insurance, credit cards, tax receipts, etc--but they're not AT ALL organized. And then I have a folder labeled "103 Lincoln Ave" with random utility bills, homeowners info, and I-don't-know-what-else. I know that some of you are obsessive about organization (Hi Julie! Hi Cath!), and all of you are probably more organized than I am because it would be pretty hard not to be, so give me your tips...
Thanks much!!!!
ps - quick update - warm weather...spring break this week...going to Niagara Falls and Palmyra for a couple of days...started the process to sell our home...sad about leaving State College...Sammie's red hair still sticking straight up every morning...life is good!
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4 comments:
You are close. I have, not one folder, but many folders. Insurance, taxes, bank statements, credit cards (if you don't get them online), medical, utilities etc., etc. New statements go in the back of each folder. On New Year's Day, I take all those folders and set them in a different drawer and pull out the folders from 2 years ago, and shred everything Ben says we don't have to keep. You can do this!
Hi Melissa! Long time no talk!
I'm a little like Julie, I guess. I have one drawer in our filing cabinet devoted to all the important papers. But the labeling system isn't that great. For example, I keep copies of all our bills in a folder that says "Jan. Bills." I keep all of the stuff we need for our taxes in a folder titled "Check Stubs." Only I know what all those labels truly mean. Oh, and an old bank account folder is now Cameron's folder for cub scouts. Then there's a whole drawer devoted to health insurance--you know, brochures, claims, all that boring stuff that we don't really need but can't seem to throw away.
i, too, am a folder fanatic. i also do all my banking online which has significantly cut down on paperwork.
the paper that is left is put in a specific folder, as i would rather have a lot of folders than have to filter through one big folder for everything - and there is one folder left over for "miscellaneous" (usually warranties, receipts for things i may someday need to prove i bought, etc).
the way i work is to throw everything in a basket and then, every 2-3 months i go through it, file, shred and toss as appropriate. again, since i do most stuff online, i don't worry about opening recognizable mail immediately.
i keep the most current docs on top and keep about one year's history of everything and then toss it.
i keep all receipts for at least a year as well. i get those "expense' envelopes from franklin covey that fit in my planner and label them by month and toss everything in them. once a year i go through and ditch old ones. (note: receipts for big ticket items are kept in the misc. folder described above) ...
oh heck, why don't you just fly me out there and i will set it up for you??
hugs ...
WOW! I am very impressed by everyone's method of organizing. I'm not that organized but after reading Cath's post...I want to do it her way...and I'm half way there. I keep a years worth of stuff and every month or month and a half I go through our basket...but I don't keep receipts. And there are times it would have saved me some money if I would have kept them. I think I'll try saving them. Great ideas everyone!!
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