Simplify Your File System
I'll be honest. I used to hate dealing with paper. It's so tedious and every system is different. I've already shared with you a system with dealing with paper around your house. Now let's talk about a file system for those papers that you are choosing to keep around.
I came across an idea one day that completely changed my idea of filing papers. It made the system easier to adapt and just looked more neat as well.
Only use one tab.
What? I know, I know. You grew up with at least 3 tabs and probably more. If you've ever worked in an office you can't even believe I thought to use only one tab much less suggested it. But let's all be honest, we have too much paper in our homes and we hardly ever go back to get into the papers we keep at home anyway. Having just one tab keeps your eyes only looking for a word (in alphabetical order) instead of moving back and forth also.
Before we get started with the papers, I want to suggest that you go paperless with everything that you can. Next up, throw away anything you don’t need. Now that we have the least amount of paper in our houses that we need let's get to a simple file system. We are going to stick to a super simple LEFT only tab system for our examples today.
Choose simple *broad categories for the hanging files and specific categories for file folders when necessary (tip: it’s not always necessary to have specific category files).
Auto (each specific car)
House (product guides, utilities)
Family (each specific family member)
Financial (Bank, Credit Cards, Retirement)
Medical (Dental, Medical Insurance, Eye Care)
Pets (each specific pet)
Within these file folders you will have only the things that are important. For example, in "utilities" there is no need to have a separate file for each company unless you need every bill for taxes. You can throw away individual bills as the payment has cleared your bank account meaning there should be a limited amount of papers in this file. However, you may want to have the initial contracts with your utility companies and any maintenance in this file.
Whatever way you choose to set up your files, be sure to be as simple and straight forward as possible. There are bound to be papers that could be in multiple categories. When that happens, pick the file that comes to mind most naturally. For example, would you keep car insurance with “auto” or “insurance”? If you only have “auto” as a file then “auto” makes the most sense.
What file system do you use? Has it worked for you?