Tips for Organizing Your Files

It’s Organize Your Files Week, so I’ve asked our resident organizing expert to share her thoughts on bringing order to a cluttered desk. Keep reading for tips from Modified by Melissa.

Raise your hand if you have a stack of papers sitting on your desk or countertop that you don’t want to look at. Maybe you’re unsure of where to put things, or you don’t have a process in place yet. I get it. Paper filing is not one of my favorite things to do, but it becomes so much more daunting once it gets away from you.

Instead of feeling that constant dread or overwhelm, let’s apply some tips to get it managed once and for all. Setting up a new system can take a bit of time and feel a little overwhelming at first, but once you have a system that works, your life will be so much easier!

These five tips are so essential in creating a system that works, for YOU.

Determining a Filing System

Customize systems to each person or family; if you try one approach and it isn’t working, feel free to tweak or change altogether. Finding what works for you will be the number one contributor to your success.

Systems can be created within file drawers that are typically housed in your office space, or they can be in binders, which make them easier to transport if you need to take them to appointments. You might want to do a little bit of research to see which option you like most. Pinterest is an excellent resource for this.

You might like the sleek look of this drop file unit. I love that it has a great surface top that is perfect for a printer or a landing zone (see tip five!).

Creating Efficient Labels

Doing so might seem unimportant at the beginning of creating your paperwork organizing system, but it will really have an impact moving forward as you work to maintain it. Some like files to be done alphabetically, others like them in order of importance or most to least often accessed. It is crucial to take a few moments before you begin to take note of your personality and the way you think when you are looking for an item. You want to choose labels for your files that make sense to you.

Simplicity Equals Consistency

As with anything, consistency is key. Once you’ve determined your preferred filing system and labeling style, make sure you stick with it. Things start to get confusing if you don’t follow through the process the same way every time. I also always recommend to clients that they keep systems and labeling simple for this reason. The more detailed you get with labels, the harder they become to maintain. It becomes less effective if you can’t remember how you labeled something or where you ‘may’ have put it.

Set a Monthly Appointment with Yourself to Cull

Once your system is in place, implement a schedule that encourages you to keep up with it. Set monthly recurring appointments in your calendar to focus only on filing/managing paperwork. This step will make a huge difference in the amount of time you need to dedicate to this task overall, and will also be less daunting as it will be smaller volumes to manage at one time.

Landing Zone

For the in-between times, it is helpful to create a “landing zone” for paperwork that needs to be filed away or disposed of. I use a wall hanger like this one from IKEA to sort paperwork to be filed, one for my business and one for personal. I suggest having three main zones: filing, shredding, and recycle. You can toss the papers into the appropriate bin and keeping moving. Once you’ve finished filing away documents that need saving, work on the shred and recycle boxes.

Melissa

Melissa Rogers is the owner of Modified by Melissa and specializes in helping women reinvent spaces as they transition through different phases in life.

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