What's in Your File Cabinet?

 

People often tell me that they accumulate piles of paper because their file cabinets are full. In honor of National Archive Your Files Month, take a look at what you’re keeping where.

• Active files are those that you use regularly, for work in progress
• Reference files are those you use less often, to refer back to when you need information
• Archives are for things you probably never look at but need to keep, like old tax files or documents related to the purchase of your house

If your file cabinet can’t take another piece of paper, chances are good that you’re holding on to stuff you don’t need or keeping it in the wrong place.

While you’re sorting tax paperwork, weed through your papers and let go of the ones that have lost their meaning.

Talk to your tax preparer about the documents you need to keep to back up your taxes, as well as how long to keep them. Tax files don’t need to be kept with your daily files. You can box up tax files and put them in a less accessible place like a closet or under a bed.

I recommend a fire- and water-resistant safe for archive files like birth certificates, passports, car titles and home deeds. Rather than having those documents in a safe deposit box at the bank, you can access them more quickly when they’re in your home.

Do you keep your archive files in a separate place from your working files?

 

Organized by Marcie^TM: Save time and money by letting go of what you don't need and finding room for what you value
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What's in Your File Cabinet?

 

People often tell me that they accumulate piles of paper because their file cabinets are full. In honor of National Archive Your Files Month, take a look at what you’re keeping where.

• Active files are those that you use regularly, for work in progress
• Reference files are those you use less often, to refer back to when you need information
• Archives are for things you probably never look at but need to keep, like old tax files or documents related to the purchase of your house

If your file cabinet can’t take another piece of paper, chances are good that you’re holding on to stuff you don’t need or keeping it in the wrong place.

While you’re sorting tax paperwork, weed through your papers and let go of the ones that have lost their meaning.

Talk to your tax preparer about the documents you need to keep to back up your taxes, as well as how long to keep them. Tax files don’t need to be kept with your daily files. You can box up tax files and put them in a less accessible place like a closet or under a bed.

I recommend a fire- and water-resistant safe for archive files like birth certificates, passports, car titles and home deeds. Rather than having those documents in a safe deposit box at the bank, you can access them more quickly when they’re in your home.

Do you keep your archive files in a separate place from your working files?

 

Organized by Marcie^TM: Save time and money by letting go of what you don't need and finding room for what you value
Follow me on twitter,  facebook and pinterest

And if you like what you've read, share it using the links below!

 

 

 

 

Reader Question – How to Deal With School Papers

Once school is out for the summer, many families ignore the stack of papers that have been brought home over the course of the school year. Backpacks remain stuffed with old assignments and somewhere there’s a pile of projects that seemed important to keep.

A reader asked what to do with all the paperwork that accumulates during the school year, given that it’s going to start again in the fall.

One of the things I caution parents is that you can’t keep everything your child does. When you start to scrutinize each piece of paper that comes home, you notice that many are similar and that few truly are gems.

I suggest that each child have a box for school papers that display firsts – first spelling test, first A on a quiz, first time using multiplication, etc. Programs from performances your child participated in are fun to remember, as are exciting moments, like newspaper clippings showing a dignitary visiting the school.

In short, keep the best and toss the rest. You don’t need to keep every paper your child signed, but do keep representative samples of that signature so you can appreciate the changes over the years.

The same principles apply to artwork. I recently dedicated a blog post to that subject.

The way to keep papers from piling up is to make decisions about them immediately. You might want to post a worksheet on the refrigerator or a bulletin board for a period of time. After that, determine whether it merits a place in the keepsake box or if you can let it go.

Some people who have trouble making decisions hold on to everything and address it at the end of each term or the end of the school year. You might find it easier to pull just a few pieces when you have a large collection to choose from.

Whether you tackle the project once a year or weekly, make it a habit to go through kids’ papers. As they get older, have them participate in the process so they can learn to determine what is worth keeping.

Do you have an organizing or productivity question? Let me know and I’ll answer it in an upcoming post.

Organized by Marcie^TM: Save time and money by letting go of what you don't need and finding room for what you value
Follow me on twitter, facebook and pinterest

And if you like what you've read, share it using the links below!

Reader Question – How to Deal With School Papers

Once school is out for the summer, many families ignore the stack of papers that have been brought home over the course of the school year. Backpacks remain stuffed with old assignments and somewhere there’s a pile of projects that seemed important to keep.

A reader asked what to do with all the paperwork that accumulates during the school year, given that it’s going to start again in the fall.

One of the things I caution parents is that you can’t keep everything your child does. When you start to scrutinize each piece of paper that comes home, you notice that many are similar and that few truly are gems.

I suggest that each child have a box for school papers that display firsts – first spelling test, first A on a quiz, first time using multiplication, etc. Programs from performances your child participated in are fun to remember, as are exciting moments, like newspaper clippings showing a dignitary visiting the school.

In short, keep the best and toss the rest. You don’t need to keep every paper your child signed, but do keep representative samples of that signature so you can appreciate the changes over the years.

The same principles apply to artwork. I recently dedicated a blog post to that subject.

The way to keep papers from piling up is to make decisions about them immediately. You might want to post a worksheet on the refrigerator or a bulletin board for a period of time. After that, determine whether it merits a place in the keepsake box or if you can let it go.

Some people who have trouble making decisions hold on to everything and address it at the end of each term or the end of the school year. You might find it easier to pull just a few pieces when you have a large collection to choose from.

Whether you tackle the project once a year or weekly, make it a habit to go through kids’ papers. As they get older, have them participate in the process so they can learn to determine what is worth keeping.

Do you have an organizing or productivity question? Let me know and I’ll answer it in an upcoming post.

Organized by Marcie^TM: Save time and money by letting go of what you don't need and finding room for what you value
Follow me on twitter, facebook and pinterest

And if you like what you've read, share it using the links below!

Reader question – How do I go paperless?

Photo by hyena reality

 

The beginning of the year is a good time to look at how you’ve been handling paper and to think about how you can reduce the amount of paper in your environment.

 

A reader asked, in preparation for filing income taxes, how to have a paperless home office.

 

I don’t know if it’s possible to be completely paper-free, so I suggest working toward having less paper.

 

The first step is to avoid having paper come in.

·  Get your name off junk-mail lists with the Direct Marketing Association’s online tool www.dmachoice.org/register.php.  

 

·  Reduce the amount of mail you receive by signing up for email notifications that your monthly statements are ready for downloading to your computer.

 

The next step is to scan loose paper that you want to keep.

·  Set up files on your computer that mirror your paper files.

 

·  Scan documents and “file” them in the appropriate folders.

 

·  Shred any sensitive information before you toss it.

 

Finally, have a schedule for moving paper out of your home and workspace.

·  Decide how long you will keep paper, depending upon its legal and/or financial necessity.

 

·  Create a schedule for clearing out your virtual files, as well.

 

Do you prefer to keep paper around or would you rather rely on digital files?

 

Organized by Marcie^TM: Save time and money by letting go of  what you don't need and finding room for what you value

Follow me on twitter , facebook and pinterest

And if you like what you've read, share it using the links below!

Reader question – How do I go paperless?

Photo by hyena reality

 

The beginning of the year is a good time to look at how you’ve been handling paper and to think about how you can reduce the amount of paper in your environment.

 

A reader asked, in preparation for filing income taxes, how to have a paperless home office.

 

I don’t know if it’s possible to be completely paper-free, so I suggest working toward having less paper.

 

The first step is to avoid having paper come in.

·  Get your name off junk-mail lists with the Direct Marketing Association’s online tool www.dmachoice.org/register.php.  

 

·  Reduce the amount of mail you receive by signing up for email notifications that your monthly statements are ready for downloading to your computer.

 

The next step is to scan loose paper that you want to keep.

·  Set up files on your computer that mirror your paper files.

 

·  Scan documents and “file” them in the appropriate folders.

 

·  Shred any sensitive information before you toss it.

 

Finally, have a schedule for moving paper out of your home and workspace.

·  Decide how long you will keep paper, depending upon its legal and/or financial necessity.

 

·  Create a schedule for clearing out your virtual files, as well.

 

Do you prefer to keep paper around or would you rather rely on digital files?

 

Organized by Marcie^TM: Save time and money by letting go of  what you don't need and finding room for what you value

Follow me on twitter , facebook and pinterest

And if you like what you've read, share it using the links below!

Archive Your Files Month

February is National Archive Your Files Month. Yes, another one of those organizing “holidays.” No, I don’t know who comes up with them. It is a good time to archive your files, however, as you should have received paperwork that supports your taxes from your banks, employers and other entities.

I recommend that clients hold on to tax-related paperwork for seven years and destroy it after that. There is no need to keep the paperwork in your frequent-access filing, though; put it in a remote location. Creating an archive area for older files that you rarely (or never) look at gets them out of the way of your day-to-day paperwork activities.

You can keep archives in a box in a closet or a separate drawer of a file cabinet instead of devoting “prime real estate” to files you don’t use regularly. My archives are in a closet in the basement, where the oldest tax file is shredded to make room for the most current one.

Where can you keep archives so that they don’t compete for space with your active files?

Organized by Marcie TM: Save time and money by letting go of what you don't need and finding room for what you value
Follow me on twitter, facebook and pinterest

And if you like what you've read, share it using the links below!

Archive Your Files Month

February is National Archive Your Files Month. Yes, another one of those organizing “holidays.” No, I don’t know who comes up with them. It is a good time to archive your files, however, as you should have received paperwork that supports your taxes from your banks, employers and other entities.

I recommend that clients hold on to tax-related paperwork for seven years and destroy it after that. There is no need to keep the paperwork in your frequent-access filing, though; put it in a remote location. Creating an archive area for older files that you rarely (or never) look at gets them out of the way of your day-to-day paperwork activities.

You can keep archives in a box in a closet or a separate drawer of a file cabinet instead of devoting “prime real estate” to files you don’t use regularly. My archives are in a closet in the basement, where the oldest tax file is shredded to make room for the most current one.

Where can you keep archives so that they don’t compete for space with your active files?

Organized by Marcie TM: Save time and money by letting go of what you don't need and finding room for what you value
Follow me on twitter, facebook and pinterest

And if you like what you've read, share it using the links below!

Emergency Preparedness – Not Just Flashlights

Hurricanes, tornadoes, heavy rain or wind all have the potential to create tragic situations. Your ability to withstand a severe weather emergency is partly determined by your advance preparation.

In addition to having an emergency kit, which I’ve written about before, make sure you can grab quickly all the important documents you would need if you had to leave your home. Misty, of Your Own Home Store, ran a series of posts about preparing for emergencies, including this one about gathering your paperwork.

Do a little bit each week toward creating your emergency supplies and you will have the means to survive the loss of power, water or worse. Being organized is about being prepared. It’s not always fun, but it is important.

Organized by Marcie TM: Save time and money by letting go of what you don't need and finding room for what you value
Follow me on twitterand facebook

And if you like what you've read, share it using the links below!

Emergency Preparedness – Not Just Flashlights

Hurricanes, tornadoes, heavy rain or wind all have the potential to create tragic situations. Your ability to withstand a severe weather emergency is partly determined by your advance preparation.

In addition to having an emergency kit, which I’ve written about before, make sure you can grab quickly all the important documents you would need if you had to leave your home. Misty, of Your Own Home Store, ran a series of posts about preparing for emergencies, including this one about gathering your paperwork.

Do a little bit each week toward creating your emergency supplies and you will have the means to survive the loss of power, water or worse. Being organized is about being prepared. It’s not always fun, but it is important.

Organized by Marcie TM: Save time and money by letting go of what you don't need and finding room for what you value
Follow me on twitter and facebook

And if you like what you've read, share it using the links below!

Let Go of Clutter by Organizing Your Files

The third week in April is Organize Your Files Week.  This year, that week starts on April 15, which is a good time to sort out all the paperwork you have from filing your taxes. Consider what other paperwork you need and let go of the rest.

Some of you struggle with the word “need.” Truly, do you need receipts for things you’ve returned, warranties from products you no longer own or bills that you’ve paid off?

When you have trouble deciding what to keep, remember that there are only three types of filing:

Active

Reference

Archive

Active files are the ones you use regularly, at least once a week, and should be easily accessible.

Reference files are used less often. They don’t need to be kept in prime file storage because you only look at them a few times a year.

Archives, like your birth certificate, car title or previous years’ taxes, can go in more remote storage. You need to get to them when the situation arises, but you don’t need them in your immediate work space.

Start out by deciding which paperwork belongs in each category, then plan where your files will be stored. You may be surprised by how much space you save.

Organized by Marcie TM: Save time and money by letting go of what you don't need and finding room for what you value

Follow me on twitter  and facebook
And if you like what you've read, share it using the links below!

Let Go of Clutter by Organizing Your Files

The third week in April is Organize Your Files Week.  This year, that week starts on April 15, which is a good time to sort out all the paperwork you have from filing your taxes. Consider what other paperwork you need and let go of the rest.

Some of you struggle with the word “need.” Truly, do you need receipts for things you’ve returned, warranties from products you no longer own or bills that you’ve paid off?

When you have trouble deciding what to keep, remember that there are only three types of filing:

Active

Reference

Archive

Active files are the ones you use regularly, at least once a week, and should be easily accessible.

Reference files are used less often. They don’t need to be kept in prime file storage because you only look at them a few times a year.

Archives, like your birth certificate, car title or previous years’ taxes, can go in more remote storage. You need to get to them when the situation arises, but you don’t need them in your immediate work space.

Start out by deciding which paperwork belongs in each category, then plan where your files will be stored. You may be surprised by how much space you save.

Organized by Marcie TM: Save time and money by letting go of what you don't need and finding room for what you value

Follow me on twitter  and facebook
And if you like what you've read, share it using the links below!

Organize Your Home Office Day

Tuesday is Organize Your Home Office Day.

“Office” can mean anything from a business that you operate from home to an area you use for paying bills. Whatever you consider your office needs to be functional and accessible. You’ll be more productive when you can find what you need and put things away quickly.

Start by reducing the number of supplies you keep in your office. Do you really need the number of pens, pencils, paper clips, note pads or folders you have now? Set up a supply area in a box or on a shelf to keep the surplus out of your main work area.

Technology can help you save time and allow you to access your work from almost anywhere. Resist the urge to download every app that looks interesting, though. Like office supplies, they can become clutter when they multiply out of control. Give new apps a chance before you give up and grab the next new thing. If something isn’t working for you, delete it.

While technology can help you let go of clutter, avoid printing emails and other documents that you can save digitally. You can download recipes, articles and instruction manuals and print them only when you need to. Otherwise, you are left with piles of paper to file.

Remember that there are only three things you can do with a piece of paper:

*Trash/Recyle it

*Act on it

or

*File it

The same choices exist with digital documents. In both cases, aim to maximize the first two choices and minimize the third.

If you’re going to be in Sandy Spring, MD on March 20, join me at Brooke Grove Retirement Village and learn how to end paperwork overload.

What is one thing you could do to make your home office more efficient? Click on Post a Comment, below, and tell us.

Organized by Marcie TM: Save time and money by letting go of what you don't need and finding room for what you value

Follow me on twitter.com  and facebook

And if you like what you've read, share it using the links below!