May 20, 2010
Creating a Simple, Effective Home Filing System
Last time I wrote about the importance of doing maintenance work on your existing filing system, but what if you don’t have an existing filing system or the filing system you have doesn’t work as well as you would like it to?
A good filing system and emptying a dishwasher have a lot in common. When you empty your dishwasher, it takes you very little time, right? Why is that? It’s because you know exactly where each item goes! The same holds true for filing papers. It can be a snap if each item has a “home” where you can reliably find it again or tell anyone else how to find it.
In addition to a little faith that your unruly papers can be conquered, here’s what you need to create a “home” for them. NOTE: Treat yourself to good supplies; they’re worth it.
1) A CONTAINER THAT HOLDS HANGING FOLDERS - The type of file container you should use depends on your space, taste and needs. Cardboard bankers boxes, portable file boxes, plastic or metal hanging file boxes, filing carts and metal or wood filing cabinets will all do the trick.
2) HANGING FOLDERS - Hanging folders divide the categories and sub-categories of your filing system. I recommend forgoing interior files altogether and just using hanging folders. It’s much easier and simpler and will save you money. Use letter-sized hanging folders unless you have a lot of legal-sized papers. The letter-sized take up less space and are less expensive.
I’m not a big fan of color-coded filing systems. Why? Because if you need to add a new item but don’t have the right color folder on hand, that brings things to a stand still, which is one way for the “to file” pile to become backlogged. And if you decide to use a color that you do have on hand instead of running out to the store to get the right color, that’s the end of your color-coded system and the beginning of confusion and chaos. It’s also more expensive to buy multiple boxes of colored hanging folders. In addition, if you live in a typical space-starved NYC apartment, conveniently storing several boxes of different colored files near to where your filing system is located can be a challenge and a poor use of precious, limited storage space.
3) PLASTIC INDEX TABS - If your hanging folders don’t come with 3½”, clear, plastic index tabs, get yourself some. Trust me, you’ll be glad you have large size tabs that you can read more easily every time you use your filing system.
4) LABEL MAKER - A “label maker” can be as simple as a good black marker or you can opt to use a label maker. I have found that people enjoy their filing system and are more likely to file often if their files are labeled with the authority that a label maker imparts.
There are a variety of ways to organize your files, but here are the two that I have found work best for the average, home filing system.
1. ALPHABETICAL ORDER: For many people, a simple, alphabetical filing system is the easiest one to use. Think about all the areas of your life that have papers associated with them and write down the categories that come to mind, i.e. “Apartment”, “Banking”, “Car”, “Family”, “Work”, etc. Generic category names (think “Banking - Chase Manhattan” not “Chase Manhattan Bank”) usually work better and are easier for you and anyone else using the system to remember. If you have relatively few categories of files and not a lot of papers to go with them, a simple, alphabetical filing system should work well for you.
Place each category of paper into a hanging folder and insert a plastic index tab on the FRONT of the first one. It’s much easier when the tab is in the front and not the back of the folder. You can see the labels better and it’s easier to access the contents by simply pulling the plastic tab forward. To create a peaceful, easy on the eye pattern, place all tabs in the same position on each hanging folder so they line up one behind the other. Organize the hanging folders alphabetically and place them in your file container.
2. RELATED PAPERS GROUPED TOGETHER IN BROAD CATEGORIES: Using broad categories follows one of the most important organizing principles: group similar things together. If you’re life-on-paper requires more than a few files, use these five, big-picture categories: Financial, Legal, Medical, Household and Personal. Using related subcategories under each broad category will make it easy to locate the exact information you need later on. For example, under the broad category “Medical” you could have sub-categories for Hospitalizations, Medical Articles, Test Results etc.
Organize your files in alphabetical order, first by broad category and then by related sub-category. Use tab placement on the hanging folders to indicate what level of category the folder contains. The five broad categories should be tabbed at the furthest position LEFT on the front of the hanging folder. Secondary level sub-categories should be tabbed at the CENTER position, while third level sub-categories should be tabbed on the far RIGHT side of the hanging folder. These cues will keep your filing system visually simple, neat and easy to navigate.
Once you have determined what your categories and sub-categories will be, create a FILE INDEX or inventory that lists them all. This will help you and anyone else who uses the files to find information quickly and easily by scanning the index instead of rummaging through the folders. Keep the file index in the first hanging folder of your filing system (appropriately labeled) for easy access.
People often fail to file because they haven’t built any time into their schedule to do it. Avoid letting the piles of paper grow by building filing time into your schedule and get into the habit of filing on a weekly or monthly basis.
Setting up a filing system can be a time-consuming process, but the time and energy it takes are far outweighed by the long-term benefits and peace of mind of being able to find what you need when you need it.
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MILLER ORGANIZING. All rights reserved.
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MILLER ORGANIZING. All rights reserved.
14 Stuyvesant Oval
NYC, NY 10009