Paper is one of those things in your home or business that you typically keep for the “just in case you need it” moments. When paper is left unattended, it piles up quickly before you even realize and most often, you can never find it when the time comes. If this sounds like you, don’t sweat. Here are some tips for organizing your documents.

1.    Get your supplies ready. Some useful items to get you started include:

• Pen or pencil

• Post-its

• Paper clips 

• Stapler, staples, and stapler remover

• Consider using paper clips first, instead of staples in case you decide you want to scan later. You can always staple it after you scan.

2.    Find a large open surface and start sorting.

3.    Separate categories by type and write the category on the post-it.

4.    When it comes to creating categories, don’t fixate on going too micro. Start with big bucket categories first (i.e.: insurance) and then you can focus on subcategories (i.e.: car insurance, health insurance, etc.).

5.    Make a separate pile of papers that requires follow-up. Stay focused on this project and refrain from working on your action items when sorting.

6.    Designate bags for piles of documents for recycling and shredding.

7.    Research retention records guidelines for your personal and business documents.

8.    Pace yourself. Don't try to finish in one setting if you have a large quantity of paper to go through.

9.    Only keep your essentials. If you can find it online, consider bookmarking the page on your web browser. If you’re looking for some comedic relief, check out this clip where the Progressive Insurance Agent states: “You don’t need to print the internet.”

10. Consider scanning your documents into a cloud service to access information conveniently. This is a great option if you’re particularly low on storage space.

Once you have sorted through everything and gotten rid of any unnecessary documents, the next step is to find a way to contain the paper and create a maintenance plan.

Contain

• Storage: Consider a file box on your desk or shelf for a small quantity of paper. We love our slim file box and acrylic file box. A filing cabinet is great if you have a large amount of paper.

• Folders: Consider the color and size of the folders. If you have multiple categories you’re storing together, using different colored folders can help call out each category quickly. Double-check your paper size to see if you need letter-sized or legal-sized folders.

Check out some of our products here:

• Hanging file folders

• File folders

Label

• Make labels for your folders to add the final touch to keep it all neat and easy to find. We have the P-Touch in our organizing toolbox that we love to use for all our projects. It has Bluetooth capabilities, and you can select a variety of fonts.

Pro tip: When it comes to labeling your folders, we like to keep the major category label on the left side of the folder and subcategories to the right. Keep in mind that our brain likes to read from left to right, so why not do the same for your files? Having tabs pop up from all directions can be confusing and look cluttered.

Maintenance

Set aside any new incoming documents in a landing zone, like a paper tray. Check out this sleek option here. 

You’ve put in the work to set up your new system. Plan to review and process anything new that has come in. Periodically, revisit some of the categories to see if it still makes sense to keep.

Create a system that works for you! I’m the family paper manager at home. A system that works well for me is dividing each paper by family member. Each person’s document is in a file box (I love this!), labeled with their name. I also have a separate box for my dogs and a shared box for my husband and me. I have a small bin in my office that I put paper in, and when it gets full, I know it’s time for maintenance. I’ll review the stack, dispose of anything unnecessary, scan anything essential and then file.