How To Organize Home Files

Most homes do not have a starting point when it comes to how to organize home files.

The reason? Simple.

There is not a standard method to follow in getting this done.

Does your filing look like this? If it does you are not alone. And when company comes over do you shove everything into a drawer somewhere so no one will see it? Again, you are not alone.

But there is a simple solution that will show you how to manage this and never have to worry about it again. The nice thing is it is easy, quickly accomplished, and is truly effective if you just follow the system.

This is how it works

1. Collect all your files, documents, paperwork, etc. in one place. I suggest dumping it in a box, but just as long as it is in one place it will work.
2. You have four types of files. They are Personal Records, Assets, Liabilities and Insurance. See Home Filing Categories for more in-depth descriptions of these categories.
3. Sort you documents into one of the four categories. You can put these in a box, drawer, or just a pile on the floor. Each piece of paperwork goes into one of these four.
4. Start making files for each document. So for instance, under Insurance you might have a file for auto insurance, homeowners insurance, boat insurance, etc.
5. File each file, by category, in some sort of storage. This could be a filing cabinet, plastic box, expandable folder, etc. It doesn't matter as long as the files are together by category.
6. When you get a new piece of paper either put it in the file already made, or make a new file in the proper category.
   

And that is how to organize home files. Really, easy or what? And all along you thought it was some big project that would take forever and you wouldn't get right.

Now that it is done it is so easy to keep up. Just make a pile of everything that needs to be filed away in the system, and make sure once a week, or month, you do the filing.

So now you have no excuse for that drawer full of unorganized files. Get out there and get it done!

---

Return to the top of How to organize home files

Return to the Home Page

---