Setting up a home filing system may sound like a boring, unwelcome task. However, a well-organized method of filing may ultimately save you countless hours of frustration in searching for important documents when the need arises. Does this Spark an idea?
Sorting and Discarding
The first thing you need to do is figure out what you have, what you need to keep and what you can throw away. Although everyone has different documents that need to be saved, there are several common items that most people have---tax returns, receipts, work or school files, credit card statements, insurance papers, important personal documents, bills and mail.
According to the Internal Revenue Service website, "The length of time you should keep a document depends on the action, expense or event the document records. Generally, you must keep your records that support an item of income or deductions on a tax return until the period of limitations for that return runs out." When you are doubtful if you should throw records away, keep them, since you never know when a personal audit could occur.
On top of these things, determine what other information you need to retain, and group it into categories. If what is left over is not important enough to categorize or keep, throw it away. Chances are, you will not miss it.
Categorizing
For your filing system to be effective and efficient, come up with categories that make sense to you. Keep the names of your categories simple and clear, and personalize your system. If you like color and want your system to reflect your personal style, buy files and organizers that will allow you to color-code your files. If you prefer something more on the plain side, standard manila and green hanging folders will suffice.
Either way, you will need to invest in a file storage system of some kind. Whether you purchase actual file cabinets or a shelving storage system, you need to figure out what will best work with your system. File folders, organizers and box files are a must. As soon as you finish categorizing your documents, you need a place to store them so they are available for easy retrieval. Stores like Office Depot or MyVitalFiles.com have various filing options; therefore, you can keep it as simple or make it as elaborate as you want.
Organizing and Filing
Once you have all of the file "hardware" you need, create self-adhesive labels that correspond to the categories you have established. Place them on file folders or file boxes. As for the order in which you arrange your files, you can alphabetize them by category or label, or group them according to category type or color-code. Again, it is essential that your system make sense to you, since you are the main person who will be using it.
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