Organization Tip: Manage the paper

November 17, 2009

Photo by sanja gjenero.

So, I’ve figured out an effective way to deal with the endless streams of paper that creep into every nook & cranny of my life! (May I take a moment for a  totally unrelated parenthetical sidebar? I’m giving away a new blog design OR a $25 Amazon gift card this week. Enter here. That is all.)

OK, now about that beastly paper…

So, anyone not overrun with paper, raise your hand. Funny that in this day of technology and digital-everything it seems there’s more paper floating around than ever. Makes me crazy. I’m pretty good about opening the mail right over the recycling bin, but still, STILL, how is it that boatloads of paper still make it into this house? That’s what I want to know. And why is it that dealing with paper makes us all want to run for the hills? Well, I’ve been a paper piler and I’ve been a paper filer; I’ve finally found a system that works for me.

A few years back I was determined to control the paper chaos. I came up with a filing system second to none (if I may be so bold to say so). I had main categories and sub-categories and hanging folders and manila folders and it took me FOR.EVER to get it all organized. But I did. I went through all our papers. I tossed, I categorized and I filed until my eyeballs nearly fell out. I tell you, after that behemoth of a project, I felt qualified to fix pretty much anything. In fact, I was fixin’ to call those Israelis and Palestinians and work my magic there too.

I admit I slept a little better at night knowing all that paper was filed away nicely. But, long story short, my level of organization was TOTAL overkill. I was TOO organized. I had no idea that was even possible. Who knew?

So, I did what any reasonable human being would do, I tossed the whole system out and started over. I guess you could say I became disorganized. And surprisingly, it has worked swimmingly for several years. WAY better than the ultra-organized way.

It’s simple, really. Just make a few general categories. Label file folders, an accordion file folder or even boxes — whatever. Stick ‘em where you want, but easily accessible. My main categories are:

1. Utilities
2. House
3. Auto
4. Insurance
5. Health
6. Banking
7. Credit Card
8. Taxes
9. And one file for each family member.

The simpler the better. Too many categories is overwhelming. With my old system I was uptight about not mixing things. For example, I had separate folders for separate bank accounts. And separate folders for each car. Now I just toss all things bank-related into one folder. Same with the car stuff. Really, most of the files are so rarely revisited that a simple system works just fine.

Once you’ve got the files/boxes/etc. set up, start small and file a small stack of papers each day (maybe 5 pieces of paper a day?). Don’t forget to throw stuff out too. Eventually you’ll see some progress. I think a lot of people find filing so stressful because they’ve got to think too hard about what goes where. The beauty of very general categories is that it’s pretty easy to know where something goes without having to think so much.

Anyway, at the end of the year (or the end of every other year because I’m lazy), I grab the stuff in a folder, toss it into a recycled manila folder (from my ultra-organized days you know) and throw it into a plastic bin. I stick a sticker on the outside of the bin like “2009 Files” and that’s it. Done.

So the moral of the story is this: Organization can be overrated. Sometimes a little disorganization just works better.

This post is part of Works for Me Wednesday over at We are THAT Family. Check it out!

No related posts.

Comments