This will likely come as no surprise, but paperwork is a big source of frustration in most households. It is one of those items (kind of like laundry) that only seem to multiply. Even with the move to digital bills and other paperwork, there is still a need to organize the physical paperwork in our homes. While it is not an easy task, it is one of those things that if you create a system that works for you, it can decrease the amount of time you have to deal with this necessary evil. In an effort to not overwhelm you, I am only talking about how to organize the physical papers that enter your home. I will save the digital organizing for a later blog post!

Below are six steps for you to follow to help you get the paperwork in your house under control and some suggestions on systems that can help you keep it that way!

Steps one and two can take a bit of time, so make sure to give yourself a good chunk of time on your calendar to do those steps. These steps DO NOT need to all be done in one day, break up the steps in a way that feels manageable to you. Some people can spend two hours at a time looking through papers, and other people lose focus after 15 minutes. Go with what works for your brain and your schedule, it will all work out in the end!

Step 1: Gather all the paper in your house

When I say all the paper, I mean ALL the paper. Dig through those junk drawers and old filing cabinets. Look in drawers and cupboards in each room. Even go through your car, backpacks and your purse. We all tend to stuff papers in different parts of the house for various reasons, now is the time to bring it all together. I am talking about bills, taxes, receipts, manuals and user guides, homework, art work, and everything else that is paper. I suggest gathering it all in a box or two so you can move it to where you need to do the sorting for the next step.

Step 2: Sort all paperwork into four groups- Action, Archive/file, Shred, Recycle

Find a place in your house where you can easily sort the paperwork. I recommend working at a surface that is comfortable for you to stand or sit at for a while. Perhaps it is your dining room table, or a spare bedroom. I personally do this step on my bed because it is the largest flat surface in my house and it is a good height to not hurt my back!

Use a piece of paper or a sticky note to define each of the four sorting categories; Action, Archive/File, Shred and Recycle. You may choose to use a grocery bag as the shred or recycle piles. The important thing in this step is that we are getting rid of all the paperwork that is not necessary. Recycle all those old envelopes or random pages put in with your bank statements. You can recycle anything that does not contain your personal information. The shred pile is for any document that contains your personal information.

For this step, you do not need to separate your bills from your taxes or from your medical records, you are just making one pile of the paperwork that you need to keep and another pile of papers that you need to take some sort of action on, such as paying a bill or signing a permission slip. We are sorting things into “macro-piles” right now so that you can get through this step a bit quicker and get to the point where you have lots of papers to get rid of….step 3!

Step 3: Get rid of unneeded papers, your recycle and shred piles

If you have curbside recycling in your area, then just add all that “to be recycled” paper to your bin. In some areas you may have to take that pile to a recycling center to finish this part of the task.

As for shredding, if you have a shredder at home, go ahead and shred away. Though, when you have a large amount of stuff that needs to be shredded, using your home office shredder may be more of a hassle than you need right now. The good news is, there are several ways to get rid of larger amounts of shredding material. First, you can take your bags or boxes to a local UPS or FedEx store and pay to have the items recycled. They usually charge per pound, so do a quick “shop-around” to make sure you are getting the best deal.

In some cities, such as Bellingham (where I live), different organizations will organize “Shred Days” where you can bring a certain amount of documents that need to be shredded and they will do it for free! In Bellingham, Washington Educational Credit Union (WECU) has several shred events each year. In fact, they have one coming up on September 15th! If you live in Whatcom county, check out the details about the WECU Shred Event. If you do have access to an event like this, I recommend putting them on your calendar so you can gather your shred materials throughout the year and take advantage of these free services.

Step 4: Create a system for your archive/file pile

This step really has two different parts to it and you might need to set aside a good chunk of time for this. Again, you will need a large flat surface to work at and you will need to grab all the papers you originally sorted into your “archive/file” pile. These are essentially all of the documents you need to keep. If you really aren’t sure if you should keep a specific piece of paper, or you are wondering how long to keep each record, check out the resources below for some guidance.

Resources: Forbes and Suze Orman

First, create a sticky note for each different category of paperwork you have. For example, you might have paperwork for medical, mortgage, bills, loans, credit cards, etc. Start with sticky notes for your most common paperwork. You can always create new categories as you go through your archive/file pile. As you go through this pile assign each piece of paper to one of the categories you have created.

Once you have sorted all the paper into its proper category, now is the time to make some decisions about what type of system you want to set up to house all these documents. There seem to be two main ways I have seen people store their needed paperwork, a binder or some type of filing cabinet/bin. This is where you need to take your preferences into account. A hanging file folder with a category label is just one step. However, it can take up a bit more room. A binder takes up a little less room, but you usually have to do two steps to file things away, hole punch and then insert into the binder. Of course, there are all sorts of color coded files and folders you can use in both of these systems. The most important thing to consider is it needs to be something you can keep up and something that makes sense for your brain! This system does not need to be fancy. In my house, we don’t have much room for paperwork, so I have a file box that fits perfectly under our bed and we have some fire safe envelopes that we put our most crucial documents in (like our will and birth certificates). All of the items below are from the Container store, but you can purchase similar products at any office supply store.

Step 5: Create a system to attack the action pile once a week

Now for the action pile! This should be all the things you need to take care of in the next couple of weeks. I think the best thing to do with this important pile is to keep it somewhat visible. Maybe you put it in a nice file tray on your desk or in a fun folder with your keys. I recommend you keep it in line-of-sight so that you remember to go through this pile once a week (at least). Then, once you have dealt with the action task, you can then shred/recycle or file it away. By addressing the items in this pile once a week, this pile should remain manageable and not out of control!

Step 6: Create a system for incoming paperwork

Lastly, with all your new systems in place, it is important to work with your family to determine what everyone should do with any piece of paper that comes through your door in the future. Maybe all your mail gets put into one spot and you clean it out every week. Maybe each person in your family has a bin with their name on it for paperwork they need to deal with (either take action on or archive). This also goes for all the papers that get brought home from school (forms, artwork, quizzes, etc.). Your system should be simple but should also consider EVERY piece that comes home. Bottomline, no piece of paper should be left stranded in some random drawer because someone doesn’t know what to do with it. Worst case, put it in the “action” spot and then make a decision about where it needs to be in your weekly action pile clean-out.

While I know there is nothing really sexy about getting all your papers organized at home, it is something that needs to be done. I promise, if you take some intentional time now to set up all your systems and get rid of unneeded paperwork, you will be able to breathe easier, feel less stressed, and you will be more likely to be able to find something when you need it!

Happy Sprucing!

How to organize your household paperwork