Organizing Paper

Unless it’s a nice fat check, papers universally do not spark much of an emotional reaction, other than an ugh! It’s such an ugh to so many that the papers entering their homes have a fair chance of taking over the establishment!

Some organizers recommend getting rid of all papers. But that’s ridiculous and impractical!

We recommend sorting papers into three piles:

The first pile are papers we need to keep for an indefinite amount of time. This includes Social Security cards, titles, deeds, birth, marriage and death certificates, passports, etc. These need to be kept in a safe place.  A safe deposit box or a fireproof home safe would work.

The second pile of papers are those you should keep, if only for the time they are important: tax documents and returns (7 years), bank statements (although they can be accessed online), warranties, loans, contracts, insurance/warranty policies, etc.

The third pile of papers are those that are currently in use and/or need your immediate attention. This is your ACTION PILE. That includes papers for current projects, bills to be paid, invitations, announcements, items that need to be signed or scanned, etc. Keep all these action items stored in a single folder and dealt with as soon as possible. Sort through this folder once every week and discard after accomplishing. 

Any other papers that do not fit into one of those three categories should be scanned or discarded. If you absolutely want to keep some papers use your scanner to digitally file. There should be a high bar for keeping a piece of paper.  For every piece of paper ask yourself: what is the action associated with this paper.  When in doubt, scan!

If you are worried about missing something, most records can be accessed online.