While some people are minimising paperwork by scanning documents and storing them digitally, there will always be a needfor a filing cabinet. What is often forgotten is the time needed to scan everything, and then the need to organise the files digitally. For many people, there’s no other way of storing important pieces of paper than with a filing cabinet, as there’s no need to scan anything and your paperwork can be kept tidy and organised. Or it will be, once you’ve read this article! This article shares some tips to help you keep your paperwork perfectly organised.
Tip 1− Choose a Simple Filing System
Don’t choose a filing system that’s too complicated or impossible to follow over the long term. Your system needs to be quick, easy and stress-free. You may want to think about the kind of filing system you want to use. Do you want to use a filing cabinet, or put everything into binder ring folders? What will make your documents easer to access? Choose the system that will require the least amount of effort for you to maintain.
Tip 2 − Use Colour Coordination
You may want to use different coloured folders for different subjects, but if this becomes stressful or too finicky, see tip 1. For those who love to coordinate with colour, go right ahead and make everything beautiful in your filing cabinet. It will make you happy every time you use it.
Tip 3 − All Filing Cabinets AreNot Made Equal
Choose a classy looking and sturdy filing cabinet. Cheap filing cabinets are no good, as they cancollapse under the weight of all your precious documents. If they don’t completely burst under the weight, they can become too full for the doors to open properly. To avoid these problems, quality is the key. You should also pay attention to the aesthetics of thefiling cabinet, as they don’t have to look like they belong in an accountant’s office. You can get very nice ones these days, so it’s worth shopping around.
Tip 4 − Keep Important Papers Safe
Important papers such as bank account details, birth and/or marriage certificates, credit card numbers, deeds, receipts, medical records and mortgage agreements need to be stored safely and categorised logically so they’re easy to access. You may choose to put your most precious documents in a safety deposit box and just keep copies in your filing cabinet.
Tip 5 −Don’t Go Too Narrow
If you’re creating a new filing system for your filing cabinet, don’t go too narrow with your categories. Naming your hanging folders with categories that are too specific will only result in too many folders being created. This will mean that it becomes harder to find what you need because you’ll have more things to rifle through. Make a start with a few larger categories that are clearly different from each other. You can always fine-tune things in your filing cabinet later on.
Tip 6 − Have a Basket System in Place
So now you’ve got your filing cabinet full of files, but what about things that you need to take action on, or that you might want to read? One technique that can be used is a four basket system. You can have a ‘to do’ basket, a ‘to pay’ basket, a ‘to file’ basket and a ‘to read’ basket. Between your filing cabinet and these four baskets, all your filing needs should be taken care of.
