Setting Up a Home Filing System
Filing Cabinets and Boxes
Start a home filing system when important papers, such as bills, business correspondence, insurance, medical reports and tax papers start to pile up. Allocate a place for filing. This can be your home office, garage, a spare bedroom or an extra closet. The filing location can consist of filing cabinets, bins or boxes. You can opt for a mixture of storage systems to use for your files. Mixing office desk filing cabinets, built-in bookcases with shelves and storage bins or plain filing boxes would give you additional options for sorting and storing your files.
File close by papers that you would need to get to on a regular basis. Use office filing cabinets or drawers with filing dividers to store papers that you need to access constantly. For anything that you need for record keeping for future needs, such as possible tax audits or backtrack of past records, you can use storage bins or boxes. Plastic storage bins and filing boxes that you can label can keep your papers intact for years to come.
To keep your insurance policies, birth certificates, social security cards, marriage licenses, immigration papers, wills and bank records, use a fireproof box or safe-deposit box.
Filing Folders, Binders and Envelopes
Organize your files by using filing folders and envelopes. You can use different colors of folders to separate each file, or you can opt for folders with multiple dividers. There are also spring binders that you can use to compile things. Use envelopes to file items that you need to seal. There are envelopes with the same size as legal papers that have sub-dividers that you can label. For example, a filing envelope to keep warranties for home appliances would have multiple dividers with each tab labeled for each appliance. A folder with multiple dividers for bills can have 12 tabs to correspond to 12 months in a year. Label each month separately.
You can use stickers, labeling machine or markers for writing labels. You can also type your labels on a white paper, cut them in smaller pieces and use a transparent tape to adhere them to the folders or envelopes, or you can use glue to stick the paper to the folders.
Computer Files
Files do not only come in paper forms or hard copies, but can also come in electronic forms. These electronic files are what you keep on your computer. Organize your computer files by creating different folders that would serve different purposes. When you label your files, the computer normally arranges them alphabetically. You may opt to label them with dates or names. You can also create sub-folders in each main folder, indicating different subjects, months or years. Protect your electronic files by creating passwords for each folder that you create. Restrict sharing the passwords to some members of the family who would need to access the files. This means, do not share passwords with children for they may accidentally delete your files or, worse, misplace the passwords that may end up in the wrong hands. Install a firewall and add encryption to prevent hackers from stealing important information from your computer files.
Backup of Files
It is important to make duplicates or copies of your important files, especially the ones that you are keeping in a safe-deposit box. This way you can keep the original copies safe and secure, while the duplicates can stay close by in case immediate needs requiring you to check on them arise. Use a flash drive, CD or external hard drive to back up your computer files. If you prefer, you may scan important documents and upload them on your computer, then copy the documents on a backup device, such as a CD or flash drive.
Tags: your computer, your files, computer files, keep your, multiple dividers
