ORGANIZING PAPERWORK: ANY AND ALL SYSTEMS: GO!

ORGANIZING JUST NEEDS A SIMPLE PLAN. YOU JUST HAVE TO DECIDE TO GET STARTED!

Pick one spot, any spot and just get started. In this office I thought the logical place was the chair...so my client could sit at some point.
Have 3 boxes or bags nearby: One for recycling, one for shredding, one for keeping.
Start with a small pile and sort, in manageable batches at a time.
Take a break to breathe and notice your progress, not how much is left.

The more papers you hold on to, the deeper the pile and the harder it is to get started.
The more you hold on to papers the harder it is to let go.
Holding on to bank statements, reports, or articles just makes it more difficult to find something you need when you need it.
I might need it someday," is a dangerous thought. Take the time to go through the paperwork and see if there is something particular that you may need. Either photograph it or take that sheet out.
Clean out your filing cabinets so that a good filing system can be set up to put new or saved papers.

If you think in categories, such as "Insurance," then making an overall "Insurance" folder, subdivided within for auto, home, travel, jewelry, etc. will work for you.
You don't have to remember the names of your insurance companies to find what you need. Just go to "insurance" folder.

Example: I think in categories and alphabetize within them. A client of mine thinks alphabetically. I knew I had put her AAA insurance in the folder with insurance up front. She was looking for it at the front of all files because it began with "A".
Lesson: The system has to work for you! It only took a minute or to reset the system. Easy access is the name of the game.

Consult with your accountant as to how many years you particularly have to save your income tax returns. Are you self-employed? That makes a difference.
Ask your accountant to give you either a disc copy of your files, or e-file
If you can, in "Documents" on your computer, create a file for taxes for each year.
SCAN AS MUCH AS YOU CAN FOR PERMANENT SAVING!
- If you have original newspaper articles you want to hold on to put them in individual plastic sleeves.
- If you've cut out articles or reprinted articles, you can find them through Google, read on line, or make a folder for "Important Articles" in your "Documents" on your computer.
- You can make folders within folders, just like in a filing cabinet for different categories of articles.
- SAVE OUR TREES! EVERYTHING IS AVAILABLE ON LINE! Set up on line banking, bill pay etc . Stores nowadays have your receipts on line, too!

Greeting cards are sentimental. But if you put them in a box on top of the closet you will barely look at them.
Take a photo of the sentiment side of the card with your phone. You can make an "album" of cards and look at them everyday if you like.