http://pinterest.com/pin/185210603397149117/
Here is a brief explanation of how I organized my files previous to my makeover:
Credit card statements/mailings/etc were kept in binders.
Banking statements were kept in a binder.
Receipts were kept by month in 2 different accordion folders (the cheap plastic kind). The folders only had 7 pockets, so I had to double up months.
Taxes were kept in yet another accordion folder.
Instruction manuals were kept in my filing cabinet, mostly by brand name (which is similar to how my mom organizes hers).
Medical benefits were kept in my filing cabinet.
Car stuff was kept in my filing cabinet.
All the binders/folders were wherever I could fit them (shelves in the closet or in the room).
So, in other words, not very pretty.
You really can't have someone TELL you how to organize your filing cabinet. You have to take suggestions and make them work for you. I used both links to give me ideas on what to do.
I bought my filing cabinet at Office Max. I knew I'd only need 2 drawers and I wanted this color wood. I recently moved the printer on top of it (it used to be on a shelf above my computer, but it was too hard to scan things).
My top drawer is the important stuff. I got the folders at Office Max as well.
Arranged by sections: Automobile, Medical, Personal, Home, Taxes & Credit Reports.
Then, within each section, I have 5 subsections. Except for "Insurance", the subsections are alphabetical. I chose 5 because that was how many hanging folders came in each color.
Automobile (the only section with less than 5 subsections):
Insurance
Registration
Repairs/Maintenance (could be separate, but sometimes things are done at the same time and sometimes I don't know if it's a "repair" or "maintenance")
Medical:
Insurance (for medical, dental, and vision)
Dental (the bills associated with dental visits)
Fitness (gym membership, etc)
Health (same as dental)
Vision (same as dental)
Personal:
Life Insurance
Memories (I keep my brother's wedding program in here, racing bibs, obituaries, etc in here)
School (College acceptance letters, transcripts, etc)
Work - Current (anything related to my current "job" - or in my case, my unemployment)
Work - Past (anything important I think should be kept from past jobs)
Home (not alphabetized on purpose):
Insurance (Renter's insurance for me)
Leases & Moving (by moving, I mean, information I used when I moved most recently so I can have it ready the next time I move)
Banking (anything that comes from the banks that hold my checking and savings accounts)
Credit (anything for credit cards)
Utilities (all PAID utility bills)
Taxes & Credit Reports:
Credit Reports
Taxes for the last 7 years (though I recently heard that you're supposed to keep the returns forever) - I keep the most recent year in a hanging folder by itself, then 2 years per hanging folder for previous years
The bottom drawer is receipts. Right now, the red is current year and blue is last year. I also have them reversed, so as I file throughout the year, I am moving closer to the front of the drawer. At the beginning of 2014, I will move the red to the back and shred all of the 2012 receipts. 2014 receipts will then go in the blue folders. It is so much easier to look for a receipt when they're organized like this than organized the way I had them before.
In it, I put things that don't go in the filing cabinet, but need a place that doesn't clutter up my desk. These are ordered by importance.
Deal with now (anything that's not a bill that needs to be dealt with soon)
Bills to pay (I receive most electronically, except for almost all of my utility bills, so I put them here and then go into my account once or twice a month and schedule the payments)
Blog (I write down recipes and then takes notes when I've made the recipe and then stash them in this folder until I'm ready to write about it)
Resumes (as I'm unemployed, I keep a few ready for mailing)
Taxes (getting ready for next year, mostly donation receipts)
Labels, Adhesives (labels and those 3M sticky things that go on the backs of hooks)
Misc (anything that needs a temporary home until I'm ready to throw it away)
There are several blank, because I don't know what to do with them yet.
The pink box is where I throw my receipts before they're filed. Today I spent half an hour filing them. Sometimes I get behind. See that ugly drawer set? I think I saw something on Pinterest about making it prettier...
In case you were wondering, that's the label maker I have. I prefer using it for the tabs because it looks cleaner than writing on them.
You may be thinking that there are some things missing... There are. I'm working on putting together a couple Home Management binders that will keep other things more handy (and ready in case there's an emergency... since I can't exactly take a filing cabinet with me).
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