Within your home there is likely a dedicated space in which you keep valuable documents. But many homeowners store their paper documents in a range of places in the home instead of in one, neat location. This leads to spending hours rummaging through various paper piles to find that one document they need.
Instead of taking on the arduous task of searching through a pile of papers, why not simply organize all the documents? Within this blog, we’ll outline five tips for organizing paper documents.
- Use a Fireproof Box for Vital Documentation
- Keep or Discard
- Separate Documents by Type
- Consider Online Storage Options
- Clear the Clutter and Commit to Proactive Document Management
There are those paper documents that are almost irreplaceable. Items such as legal documents, passports and birth certificates must be protected within the home to ensure they’re not damaged. The best protection you can provide is a fireproof box. These smaller boxes will keep all important family documents safe for many years to come.
Collect all paper documents and then separate them into two piles: keep and discard. The keep pile will include documents such as handy school notes, recent receipts and utility bills. The discard pile will include old bills and old letters that aren’t of sentimental value.
After sorting documents by their type, you can sort through the keep pile and create separate sections for each type of document. This will help within the organization process as each person in the home can then decide which of their documents are most important. For example, your child might wish to keep some school notes, but still discard others.
You might have noticed that many companies you deal with regularly are now offering paperless billing options. You, too, can remove the amount of clutter in your home by scanning and storing your data online.
Consider scanning important information such as school notes and banking letters and then storing them on your home computer. However, you should only choose this option if you’re comfortable with your computer system’s security. Remember to keep any important documents password-protected on your computer.
Once you’ve organized each of your documents and have placed older paperwork in the trash, you’ll be able to clear the trash away and begin enjoying your clean and clear home space.! You can also take this opportunity to create a document management strategy in the home. Perhaps set out containers to separate mail coming into the home by level of importance. This will ensure the cleaning process is streamlined moving forward.
Expert management of the paper documents in your home will help ensure a stress-free living environment. Follow the guidelines highlighted in this blog to ensure your home paperwork is organized!