So, it’s tax time. Are you scrounging around trying to gather all your paperwork so you can file your taxes? Or, are you overwhelmed because your paperwork has been in disarray for years? Well, you’re in the right place! Here is the ultimate guide to organize your paperwork:
Get my FREE Chart – Terry Elisabeth’s Paperwork Maintenance Routine here!
Most people cannot keep up with their paperwork because of the constant influx whether it be mail, receipts, brochures, pamphlets, documents from your kids’ school … whatever it is, it’s all constantly flowing in. If you don’t have a system and routine set up, it just piles up. There are professional organizers who just organize paperwork because it can be so difficult to tackle all that paperwork once your paperwork has gotten seriously out of hand. So, here is how to keep it all organized!
There are very few papers you actually need to keep. Most documents can be accessed online these days, so whenever you have the option to go paperless, go paperless. If you decide to go completely digital and scan all of your paperwork, this physical system and paperwork maintenance routine that I am showing you will be the same. But, I will show you, at the end, how to set up a digital system on your computer.
So, this system helps you to purge excess paperwork, regularly. It is similar to the FreedomFiler system which can be found at freedomfiler.com but I’m a bit picky when it comes to color-coding … as in, I don’t color-code. And, I’m picky in regard to labeling, so I have customized my own system. I prefer hanging files with the included tabs and I don’t use additional file folders within the hanging files as the hanging files are sufficient in themselves. I use a label maker to stick a label on the outside of the tab, for both personal and business filing systems. I have printable labels that fit within clear tab labels which I will explain further below.
As I show you my system, I will go through my paperwork maintenance routine with you which help you maintain your paperwork on a daily, weekly, monthly, and annual basis. You can actually obtain my paperwork maintenance routine chart here for FREE!
Let me take you through the flow of this chart (go ahead … download it and we will look at it together). First things first, to reduce the flow of paperwork coming into your home or business, immediately recycle the junk. If you know you won’t look at it, just don’t bring it in.
In order to organize and keep up with your paperwork, you need a few different “holding areas”.
FIRST HOLDING AREA
On a desktop, or tabletop, or a wall-mounted organizer, you will have at least three labeled sections:
- In Box
- Follow-Up
- To File
The desktop document organizer I use is from Target but is no longer available. Click here for an affordable option from The Container Store. I have my desktop organizer broken down further which I show you in my small office organization post.
SECOND HOLDING AREA
To organize your paperwork in the next holding area, you will have a file cart, or totes (I use these from The Container Store), or cabinets with labeled hanging files. You will have a “Current Year” section and a “Previous Year” section. Or, you can label each “Odd Year” and “Even Year” depending on your preference.
In the “Current Year” section, you will have your current insurance policies, current resume, current tax year documents collected over the year that you will bring to your Accountant at the end of the year or the beginning of next year, rather. And your current year petty files which you can label by month for things like receipts and invoices.
In your “Previous Year” section, you will have previous year “important” files labeled by type and previous year “petty” files labeled by month.
THIRD HOLDING AREA
This can be a fireproof safe which will contain your permanent files including automobile records like titles and maintenance records. So, if you sell your vehicle, you can have all the documents together for the transfer. Other permanent files include your deeds, trusts, and wills, education records such as degrees and transcripts, home receipts including renovation receipts and large appliance receipts, and your medical records including diagnoses, immunization records and important lab results which can be very helpful for your children and their children.
FOURTH HOLDING AREA
This area will include your archive files or archive file boxes. You will use boxes if you have large stacks of tax documents and other important files that do not fit in the other holding areas. I show you how we have archive boxes set up for a shared office in this post. The file folders or boxes will be labeled by year up to ten years OR you can label them one through ten.
The typical home can get away with combining the second through fourth holding areas into one area, section, or container like I have illustrated in the video.
HOW TO MAINTAIN YOUR PAPERWORK.
My routine helps you to maintain your paperwork on a daily, weekly, monthly, and annual basis.
Daily
Gather all your accumulated paperwork from the day and drop it all in your in box. This can come from the mail, your purse, your briefcase, your wallet, etc.
- Recycle the junk.
- Open every envelope and recycle the envelopes (YOU DON’T NEED TORN, EMPTY ENVELOPES … can you tell this is a pet peeve of mine? Just a little.)
- Connect the contents of the envelope by stapling the documents together or clipping them together with a paperclip. Don’t forget to connect the return envelope if you need to send back snail mail.
- Go ahead and take care of any urgent matters immediately or schedule when to do them.
- Make notes on any paperwork you need to follow up on. Fill out a sticky note and stick it on and place the paperwork in your ‘Follow-Up’ bin or section of your paper sorter. For anything that does not require further follow-up, place it in your “To File” bin. Don’t forget to remove any paperclips and make sure the documents are stapled together.
- Shred unnecessary paperwork that contains identifying information. Don’t forget to recycle the shreds.
This daily routine, though the list seems long, will actually be really quick … especially when it becomes a part of your routine.
Weekly
- Pay the bills. Fun!
- Follow up on the items in your “Follow-Up” bin.
- File all completed paperwork. Again, don’t forget to remove any paperclips and make sure the documents are stapled together.
Monthly
Recycle any paperwork you don’t need, like expired coupons, for example, and anything else you know you will never make use of.
Annually
- Purge, review, and update any insurance policies and contracts.
- Move your “Current Year: Petty Files” and “Current Year: Important Files” to your “Previous Year” area.
- You can shred all “Previous Year: Petty Files”
- You can store all “Previous Year: Important Files” with your tax archives.
- You will place the emptied “Previous Year” file folders in the “Current Year” area.
- For you archives, you will shred the 10th year’s files. You will then bring the emptied file to the front of your system and insert the newest year’s files.
HOW TO TURN THIS INTO A DIGITAL SYSTEM
Pretty much, my paper filing system is exactly the same as my digital filing system. You will create folders and sub-folders with labels as described above (and illustrated in the video) and scan your documents into each folder. Just remember that you will still need to physically keep official documents like titles, certificates, and deeds. A small, fireproof safe will be all that you need.
In both my “How to Organize Any Space in 7 Simplified Steps” book and my “How to Organize Your Paperwork: The Ultimate Guide” book, I break down what paperwork you need to keep for both personal and business use. I also breakdown the different types of holding areas depending on the amount of paperwork you have. I also include FREE file labels in both books!
The main goal in organizing anything, is to create a place for everything that you need and use. As you can see, you don’t need to collect boxes and file cabinets to store your paperwork because you think you need to keep it all. You will purge the unnecessary paperwork, regularly and keep your stored paperwork to a minimum!
Don’t forget to download my free paperwork maintenance routine chart here!
Happy Organizing!
Author of “How to Organize Any Space in 7 Simplified Steps“