How do you organize your papers and keep them nice and neat?
Hi Cherie,
Fortunately, it seems like these days there are several ways to handle paper clutter, so maybe it would help to look up a few different methods (such as on blogs and YouTube) and pick some things that might work best for you.
I've read about some people who scan all their paper statements and receipts into digital files, and then shred all the paper copies, which sounds awesome, but I'm a little paranoid.
I personally like to keep the paper originals, so I organize all the hard copies like this:
I first buy folders with tabs, as you can see in the picture, so I can write a category on the tab: "Utilities", "Insurance", Taxes", etc. I really like Miri's idea of keeping everything alphabetically--I might do that myself--but I also Hi keep all the most-used files in the front or in a separate drawer.
I then sub-divide these folders by using individual colored folders (I stock up during back-to-school sales), and store them inside the folders with tabs, kind of like this:
In this picture, the large, tabbed folders are different colors too, but you can choose anything you like. So just picture each of these larger files having their own category, such as "Medical 2019," and then using colored individual school folders inside each one.
I try to use a similar "color coding" within each tabbed folder -- a green folder will hold receipts, a yellow folder is used for statements, orange is for information and policies, etc.
It's taken a lot of trial and error, but I've found that it's very helpful. When papers come in, I know exactly which tabbed file and folder it goes into, and when I'm looking for something, I have a good idea of where it will be.
Hope some of these ideas will help and that you'll find a method that works for you!
God bless, and keep us posted on what you find!