Work can sometimes be stressful that you don’t have the smallest things. That mountain of documents on your desk, not to mention those pieces of scrap paper scattered around the room, didn’t build up overnight.
Most likely, you bring in a new document and tell yourself “I’ll park this on the desk then just organize it later,” after which you forget all about it or realize there’s actually nowhere to store it.
Start a simple yet efficient way of filing with these easy- to-do storage tricks:
- Gather all documents – Go through each piece of paper, and ask: “Is the information written here still useful to me?” and “Will something bad happen if this gets lost?”
- Categorize everything – The key is to not overcomplicate matters by creating too many categories; limit it to only six. Chances are it’ll be a challenge for you to decide where to store and locate a document when it can easily fit in too many groups.
- Storage – It is recommended to have one lockable and fireproof safe to go with your regular storage system. Keep important documents that contain sensitive information and are difficult to replace—such as marriage and birth certificates, will, passport, and insurance policies—in the safe. Place it somewhere you can quickly access in case of emergency.
- Maintain the cleanliness – Instead of temporarily putting a new document on the nearest table, file it immediately in your new storage system.
Finally, go over your files at least once a month to make sure that everything is in its right place and that there are no irrelevant pieces of paper.
*This article has been revised for online reading. The original article appeared on the July 2014 issue of My Home Magazine. Get the e-mag version My Home Magazines on Magzter.
