How To Organize Your Filing System For 2016

The writers at Home Storage Solutions 101 know just how quickly your papers can become a mess!  Mail, receipts, tax documents, stationary… it all collects in our desk in no real order until finally I'm staring at a mess I've got to reel in.

If your filing system is starting to look like a disorganized tornado of paperwork, you'll love these tips for getting it organized:

Step 1: Choose A Place And Storage Solution To Store Your Home's Files

The first step in the Organize Files Challenge may seem like an obvious one, but it is very important, since it is to choose a place and storage solution to store your home's files.

I made the mistake for several years of my adult life not really having a place to file and keep papers in my home. That resulted in lots of lost paperwork, and scrambles to find important documents when we needed them.
Every home, no matter how small in size or number of family members needs a place to hold and file paperwork. This can be a file drawer or cabinet, a rolling filing basket, or a cardboard bankers box.

It should ideally be at least two file drawers in size, or an equivalent based on the storage solution you choose. That may seem large to you (or small, depending on how much paper you have), but giving your paper enough space is important. You can choose a file cabinet that looks like one you'd find in an office, or they have file cabinets for your home which look more like nice pieces of furniture.

Make room for as much filing space as you need, because if you don't have enough filing space you'll delay filing things, because shoving one more thing into the space just really isn't possible.

We store our files in the desk.  There are six drawers, but we only use 4 for filing. Very important papers (like birth certificates) are kept in a locked, fire-safe box next to the desk.

Step 2: Create Your Home Filing System And Organize Files

There is no way to tell you exactly how to create and organize files for your home, since your filing system will be unique to your family.

Once you've create all your file folders go ahead and create a file index. The article linked gives you more information, but basically this is a table of contents for your filing system, which will help you not accidentally later make duplicate files with a slightly different name, or scratch your head wondering what you named a file.

Next, go ahead and organize files for each of the categories, adding things as you go.

If you've been working on your filing system from the very beginning of keeping your home, what I've just told you to do doesn't sound to overwhelming. However, if you've got papers all over your home and never had a home filing system before, what I just said about how to organize files will seem like an almost impossible task.

Trust me, I've been there. The first thing to do is set up the system, and begin using it today. Over the next couple of weeks sit down with a shredder and go through your papers, putting them into the correct files or shredding them if you no longer need them.

It will take a while, but a little at a time while listening to the radio or watching a movie on your computer will get the job done and then you'll just have to deal with papers as they come in, not huge stacks ever again!

Not sure how to choose categories for organizing your files?  As the pros at Home Storage Solutions say, it really is unique to your family. However, they have some ideas and helpful suggestions in the complete article about organizing your files at Home Storage Solutions 101.  Check it out, then tell us about your own solutions in the comments.