the weekend organizer {creating simplified + organized personal reference files}

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The Weekend Organizer is a series of projects that I post on Thursdays. These projects are small and easy to accomplish over a weekend. They also relate to each particular month’s organizing topic.

Paper organization can be an overwhelming issue. So today, we’re going to tackle the paper clutter of our Personal Reference Files with a simple strategy that is sure to get them fabulously organized!

Personal Reference Files are hard copy files that we can refer to for important–and sometimes vital– information related to major aspects of our lives. There’s also another set of files that are often called Active Files, which we will discuss in a different post. These active {temporary} files pertain to paper you are currently or actively working with and would keep on your desktop for easy access. You would move these files to “reference” if they become something that needs to be permanently kept for future reference.

Before we go into detail, I just want to say that this is just one way to do this, not the ONLY way to organize personal files. It is simple, straightforward, and very user friendly for me. Use this strategy to your liking. If anything, let this be an inspirational starting off point that you can work toward developing a functional filing system that works for you.

Let’s talk STRATEGY.

1. Assess and Sort Through Your Files

{BEFORE organizing the files}

Get a tablet of paper and a pen and do an assessment of your files. I first sorted my files by a MAIN subject {very similarly to the way I organized my computer files} and then color coded those files that fell under the same subject with the same color. We’ll talk more about the color stuff as we create the file folders.

• Important Documents {dark pink} NOTE: For safety purposes, you may want to consider storing all of the information in your important files into a safety deposit box at your bank or a fireproof safe in your home, instead of keeping them in your file box.
• Money {green}
• Household {turquoise}
• Health & Wellness {dark gray}
• Community {orange}
• Leisure {brown}

Here’s a few images of how I divided my files into MAIN subjects and sub-files. There were several of these sub-files that were not necessary for me {and may not be applicable to you, either}. So just let this be a guide and you can decide what to delete or add based on your family’s needs.

I want to stop here for a minute to ask you a quick question. Do you have a ton of “idea” files with images and articles for things like house decor and recipes and tips for maintaining an organized home, etc.? I did, until I discovered Pinterest. This magical {and FREE} site has literally allowed me to organize my ideas, recipes, images. and inspirations onto an unlimited number of sorted subject boards. While using Pinterest: I am not using any space on my computer, I don’t have a ton of files with magazine clippings taking up space in my office closet, and I can access it anytime I’d like!

How do you get your paper file articles, images, etc. pinned onto Pinterest? Just go to the site of each of your paper archives and click the pin associated with the pic or article. Sites may or may not have a Pin button with the article or image. You can add a pin from literally any site even if the site doesn’t have a Pin button. How? You would just a pin by going to the site of your article/image and copy the URL. Next, click ADD on the top menu of your Pinterest page and then click ADD A PIN. Paste your URL into the space provided and choose an image to represent your pin! Voila!!!

One more thing. If you decide to join Pinterest, it is important to review their Pinning Etiquette.

Continuing on…

2. Decluttering and Simplifying Your Files

As you’re sorting through your stuff, you can also declutter items. Make a pile for recycling and a pile for shredding. I put my shredding in a crate because I’ll be doing it a little at a time {our shredder isn’t very strong and poops out after a little over 5 minutes worth of shredding}. BE SURE TO GO THROUGH THESE ITEMS CAREFULLY!!!! You really don’t want to throw out anything of importance or of value! I can’t stress that enough.

• Everyone ALWAYS asks, “how long do I keep certain documents?” Here’s my answer and the resource that I use –>click here

{Here’s my trash and shred pile…seriously unbelievable!}

3. Selecting Materials & Containers for your Organizing Files

Materials I used:

• Smead Kraft File Folders 2-Ply Tab standard size 100 count for simple files {these folders don’t have creases in the bottom to expand}
• Smead Classification Folders 2 Dividers 10 count for our medical/vet files that are more complex
• Green Hanging Folders With Top Rack Innovation they hang low so you can actually see the label on the file folders
  
• clear generic file box with snap lid
• Crayola Colored Pencils
• Black Sharpie Fine Point Permanent Marker
• two-hole punch {for the documents going into the classification file folders}

I’m sure you noticed that I didn’t use printed labels. I get so frustrated with printed labels and I knew that doing this with the color coding would make the printing more complex and annoying. So, I wrote out my labels in ALL CAPS and to the far right of the tab, I drew and colored in a circle for the corresponding subject. Before using the colored pencils, I took a folder out and tested colors to see which ones “stand out” the most on my file folders. You could also use colored circle or star stickers instead of actually coloring in a circle. These labels were super quick and easy for me to make.

For the medical files, I needed something that would allow me to organize one type of doctor, like the veterinarian, into parts for each animal…or for the cardiologist, into parts for specific things like labs, CT Scans, echocardiograms, etc. The classification file folders were perfect for this.

Here’s an example of how I used it with our pets in the veterinarian folder:

When you open the folder, the first thing you see to your left is contact info for the vet and information on our pet portal where we can order food and meds for the animals.

The front and backs of the inside dividers are labeled for each furry friend: Merriam, Oliver, Millicent, and Jackson. I have the vet visit summary for the last 3 years for each pet.

Finally, the far right of the folder {the front side of the back of the folder} is where I keep all of their current rabies vaccination documents. This makes them easily accessible. I change them out with each yearly vaccination.

4. Putting It All Together

Lastly, distribute all of your materials into the file folders and place them in color order. You can decide which color order best suits your needs. I find it helpful to have the important stuff in front.

I put 2 or 3 file folders into one hanging folder if the file folders are sparsely filled.

One thing to remember…EVERYTHING needs a home. Papers need a designated place or they need to go!

Here’s the final product. A personal file box that is simple and easy to use! Yay!

Live fabulously, folks!

Leah :-)

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