3 Things You Should Know Before Setting Up a Home Office Filing System - By: Heidi DeCoux

How long does it take you to find a particular bill, receipt, or document from your desk? Can you find what you’re looking for without turning over each piece of paper, digging through junk, or turning your desk inside out? If it takes you too long to find documents, then you might need an efficient home filing system.

A home filing system helps you to keep documents and files in a neat, orderly, and categorized manner so that you will never have to dig through piles of paper or junk looking for another file again. Here are three things that you need to know before you set up a home filing system:

1. The most efficient home filing systems are category based systems

Arranging your files in a category based system allows you to find whatever you need much faster than other systems. For example, alphabetical systems can be very confusing. If file documents in alphabetical order, you might put your car-insurance policy under C for car or under I for Insurance Company. In an alphabetical system, finding that policy again becomes a matter of your long-term memory, or luck. Different types of papers should go under different, carefully selected categories that make sense so that the next time you need a file, you’ll find it in a jiffy.

2. A good home filing system is clear about what to keep and what to shred

Have you looked at the huge pile of papers on your desk lately? Have you tried sorting out what you need and what you don’t? You’d probably be surprised at the huge pile of papers that should be thrown away or shredded. When you have trimmed your piles down to the keepers, it will be easier to put them away in your home filing system. For a complete list of which papers to keep and which to shred from a good home filing system, see the resource box at the end of this article.

3. Choose a home filing system that will grow with you

A home filing system will spare you from the frustration of wasting time and energy searching for files, letters, receipts, bills and other documents. Furthermore, as your household or business grows, a makeover of your home filing system can save you from paying hefty late-fee for bills that are not paid on time. It can also keep you from missing business deadlines because you lost an important document in the clutter. A good home filing system can grow with your growing needs.

About the Author

Heidi is a professional organizer and creator of The Fast-Filing Method home filing system, and publisher of Life Made Simple e-Magazine. Heidi energizes her readers’ lives by teaching effective systems to help you accomplish more in less time! Visit http://www.ClearSimpleLiving.com to get your free report: A Simple Guide to Which Papers to Keep & Which to Shred.

Article Directory Source: http://www.articlerich.com/profile/Heidi-DeCoux/106643

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