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Welcome to Day 3 of 7 Days To An Organized Home Office.
Today’s task will take about 1 hour for the average home office. Depending on your home office situation you may need more or less time.
We’re going to create a super-simple filing system – one that makes it easy to put papers away in the right place and also to find things when you need them.
Here’s how…
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Working on office tasks right now and will go back and do home filing system later because I already have a good system will that; I just may need to tweak it a little.
My group decisions are as follows:
One level of filing using manila or colored file folders:
Pink folder: Academic.
Green folder: Financial.
Red folder: Health/Medical.
Blue folder: Legal Documents.
Yellow folder: Tax Records.
Manila folder: Warranties.
Academic: Diplomas, Transcripts and Portfolio Work.
Financial: Bank Statements, Bills, Credit Card Bills, Leases.
Health/Medical: Diagnoses, Doctors Numbers, Health Insurance, Lifetime Illnesses, Prescription Drugs.
Legal: Adoption, Baptismal, Birth Certificate, Death Certificate, Driver’s License, Employment Records,
Marriage, Military Records, Passports, Retirement/Pension, Social Security Cards and Wills.
Tax: W2’s, Investments, Paychecks and Paystubs until W2’s are received, Death Certificate.
Warranties: Appliances, Computers, Furniture, Household Items, etc.
Oh you dreaded files…..I guess here I come (really dragging my feet on this one)!
I finally completed this. Phew! Feels good to be done. I got derailed several times, but I finally got back at it.
Well done Briana! Derailing is part of the process sometimes. The great thing is that you got there in the end! 🙂
Hi Again Everyone – Congratulations on all your terrific progress 🙂 Back finally after being called away unexpectedly for work, Easter then more work. Good news is – my newly created zones from Day 2 made packing and unpacking such a breeze – plus, rather than feeling derailed by the long break in the middle of the 7 day challenge, when I got back into my office today – the emerging order and solid start already made, gave me cause for joy and bolstered my spirit, so jumping back in was easy, and fun. So I now have a lovely filing system in place that totally makes sense to me and I can definitely see I will be able to keep the organisation I am achieving bit by bit. I quite like working in my office again now – thank you soo much Michele 🙂
Oh – and also, thanks for keeping the wizard open for a bit – I am grateful to have access beyond the seven days so I can travel all the way to the end of getting my home office organised, YAY 🙂
What a wonderful comment Jorja! I’m so happy you’ve not been derailed and your progress is continuing. You’ve made my day!
This task was surprisingly easy. I was amazed how many of these I already have in place! Having said that though, I have a huge pile of papers that need to be filed into them :/ Still purging as well, but I have now broken through to the top of my desk. I can see it again!
Sound like great progress Karen, good job! – Kylie, Community Manager
Skipping Day 3 as I’ve got a good filing system in place already. Mostly electronic, and on a mission this year to scan as much as I can (if I really need to keep it of course) and get it into electronic format.
I currently already have a wonderful filing system in place called FileSolutions that I have been using for several years now and it still works perfectly for me, so this step was easy! 🙂
Making progress! Colored files and hanging files is helping. What I realized is that the household filing is a snap – I suppose I already knew that – the business filing needs some work. But it’s all the things I print out and want to save for reference, yet never go back and look at them. If I need an answer to something, I go to the internet. I hate to admit it, but maybe I don’t need to color code those files, maybe I need to purge them.
There is that trade-off between keeping stuff and feeling light and organized. I’ve only very rarely wished I’d kept something Cheryl, but that inconvenience was worth the lovely sense of control and ease that came with having less stuff.
Label link below Cheryl, check out all the coloured tapes you can use to match your file colours, including a clear plastic if you want to use your own coloured card 🙂 http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B0030453IM/ref=mp_s_a_1?qid=1363937100&sr=8-5&pi=SL75
I got my business labeled and ready to go! I am using what I already have instead of purchasing at this time. My household filing, I still need to clean out. I just realized I did not “purge” that yet 🙁
It’s absolutely fine to use what you have Kokeb. You can always spruce things up later if you want to.
From no-home-office to all-the-office-stuff-in-a-pile, I am sorting and purging. And I have made some decisions about real estate. I usually pay bills sitting on the sofa so I have 2 file boxes that fit on the bottom of the coffee table to file immediately! One file box is for tax/business stuff and the other is for home/medical/hobby stuff–bills/receipts/schedules. And the printer is installed–plugged in, turned on–on the bookshelf. I am feeling much less scattered, even though I still have much to do:)
That’s great progress, Ann. It’s a journey!!
I, too, have tried to file a-z and have always ended up with a GIANT-okay, many giant- piles of “TO FILE” because I never got around to doing it. The broad categories idea is SO exciting, and I’ve purchased a yaffa block milk crate style box for my NEW color-coded files…huzzah! I am SO excited…never before have I taken a picture of my files, until now…ofcourse I haven’t filed anything IN them, yet…
OK, once I took a deep breath and allowed my knuckles to become a rosy pink from the ghostly white they had become this wasn’t bad at all last night – probably because I can still avoid touching any of the crazy piles of paper and play with pretty stationery instead. That being said I have drafted up what I think are the filing categories I need for home, and placed coloured hanging files in the 4-drawer A4 filing cabinet nearest my desk (which I cleared out on Day 1). I also have a fancy new label maker and posh coloured tape to match the colour of the files, and have the clear plastic tabs and paper tabs to label everything. I haven’t gone as far as actually producing the label, as I have realised a very funny thing. I should at his point confess that I should be a member of “Stationery Anonymous” and state now “My name is Amanda and I am a stationery addict”. So If I leave the production of the label until the file has something in it (i.e. I have sorted some paper at last), then I have the “reward” of actually creating the label (which at the moment is one of the most exciting things on the planet to do – possibly in the universe), and therein I hope I have found a driving force to get me to the end of the week because at some point I know Michele you are going to say, get a paper pile and do something about it, and I’ll just want another bottle of wine instead, but this is where we cue the label maker and suddenly you’ll have to hold me back – that’s the plan any way! 🙂
Amanda I love your label-reward system. That’s just a smart use of your preferred currency (playing with stationery). I use that strategy all the time.
Yes we will soon attack the piles, but by then it won’t seem so bad because the filing system will be all nice and the piles will be smaller. And a wine reward sounds just about perfect!
Amanda, tell me about this label maker and coloured tape that matches the colour of the files you refer to. I need a visual – maybe a link to Staples or Walmart or wherever would help.
like others… I’m still stuck at day 1… which will take me days to just clear the floor (let alone anything else). I am making progress…. but it’s really hard to find the “extra” time to do this (especially as it’s taking me a lot more than 2 hours). I KNOW it is worth it – and the purging is the most important thing to do. So I’m soldiering on with it. But the “7 day” course might take me 14 days. :).
I’m dreading the filing component. I have YEARS worth of filing that I need to sort through. Purge the old stuff in my filing cabinet. And sort through the boxes and boxes of stuff that needs to be filed.
One tip I have: When I buy appliances or anything that has a warranty – I scan the docket and ‘file’ it online in a folder called ‘warranties & receipts’. This was really beneficial yesterday when the shredder died…. and rather than search for the receipt (which is stored in my bookwork archive boxes) – I printed the scanned receipt and Officeworks had no problem with that, and replaced my shredder.
Thank you for your persistence, Jodie. I think this first part of organizing your home office is one of the hardest challenges in the home. It really does take time and effort. But you already know how great you will feel when it’s done. So go at your own pace and keep checking in to keep your momentum going. You’ve actually made an amazing start. 🙂
On Day 4 we look at what you really NEED to keep, and it may be that you don’t have to sort through everything – you may be able to assign entire boxes to the archive, shred, or recycle piles.
I’ve also downloaded an ‘Inventory’ App from iTunes Jodie, which has the same capability to retain scanned warranties/receipts etc. Had I done this before the contents of my home were lost to mould, I would have been very grateful. I start ANEW! Good luck with your persistence!
start from new to old it will make you feel better to do something current. you may feel less bogged down…good luck
Today has been very productive… and I’ve cleared soooo much “rubbish”. I am nearly ready to start the filing component. One thing I read yesterday was to remove EVERYTHING from my desk… then put back only what I needed. So…. I have moved the mountains of paper (and ‘stuff’) that was on my desk. And it looks amazingly clear. When I get the kids down to bed…. I will start work on the filing. And try to work on it throughout the weekend to clear it all.
Thanks for your tips Julie & Michele.
Julie… I couldn’t find an app called “Inventory” (actually, some about stock control)…. but it got me looking and I found an awesome (free) app called Purchase Warranty Tracker !! It stores receipts… and sets up warranty reminders (when they are due to expire). The lite/free version only allows 5 items (after the 30 day unlimited trial) Full price is $3 – not too bad. “Shoeboxed” looks like another good app for recording receipts.
Jodie Daniel Great work on all that rubbish and your desk, Jodie. 🙂
I have traditionally filed in alpha order, but I’m liking the idea of categories and color coding. Being a visual person, I think it will help me feel that my file cabinet is my friend instead of my enemy. It would mean a total overhaul of my system but I think in the long run it will be a very good thing. I also like the idea of a “To Be Followed Up” category for my business – that has been a real issue for me – such a simple solution.
As a visual person Cheryl you’ll probably love the ease of filing this way. Color-coding the categories makes it way more friendly too!
I’m going to use an idea from work Cheryl because I often find my ‘to be followed up’ categories are usually quite large/cumbersome or have attachments that can’t be filed, is simply to use an insert sheet/piece of long cardboard, identifying where its located > like a GO TO CARD telling me where I’ll find the bulky parts of this document. It could be in my cupboard, bookcase, or another room. Of course, if I actually become that diligent, I may have to get myself a hobby 😉
I’m over thinking this, something I’m very good at. As I look at my file cabinet, I have used colored hanging files before. But I use manilla folders because they’re cheap. So then I don’t even see the color of the hanging file. And if I use colors, I may not be able to see the writing on the folder, unless I use a label, which of course is an additional cost. I guess I can’t have cheap and optimal, huh?
Unless you try a dark, think, BLACK sharpie or pastel-colored folders?
I didn’t see any pastel folders at Staples, but I did find matching colors for folders and hanging folders: yellow, blue, green, red, lavender. I’ll get a fine point sharpie and use same color file folders/hanging folders and trust that going the extra mile will be bring peace and optimal organization.
I hear you Terri…me too!
Hang in there Sonia! We’ll get this done!!
I have household files in two separate places. In keeping with your real estate model, files that are accessed often are at my desk. Those household files that don’t have to be accessed but every 6 months or annually or even only once (all papers related to mortgage for example) are in file cabinets in office closet. Makes it easier to have space at desk.
That sounds like a good strategy Terri.
I will still be purging in order to be able to file…UGHHHHH….
I know the purging can feel like a giant and endless pain in the butt, but (haha) believe me Terri, it will make the rest of this week so much easier. You’ll feel SO good when it’s done. 🙂
Arrrgggghhhh! You mentioned the F word (how could you Michele!), now I’m clinging to the chair so as not to run a mile!
But it’s the F word made easy Amanda!