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How to FINALLY organise your paperwork

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A Tidy Mind
How to FINALLY organise your paperwork

How to FINALLY organise your paperwork

Decluttering paperwork


Don’t over complicate it. Ask yourself simple questions such as: Do I need to retrieve this info? Can I obtain this online? Do I have duplicated info?

  1. Have a recycling/shredding bag box ready as well as an “action” box. Take each piece of paper in turn, ask yourself the questions and make a decision. If you don’t need it, place it in the recycling/shredding bag. If you’re keeping it, place it in a pile on the floor – decide the name of the category and write on a post-it note on top of this pile. Make the categories as specific as possible. Line up the piles next to each other but not on top of each other. Staple documents together where possible.
  2. When you have been through all paperwork, go through each pile again. Ensure you still need everything in each category and discard if you don’t.
  3. Count how many categories you have. This is the number of hanging drawer files or file dividers you will need.
  4. Place the papers in their category files, clearly labeled.

Going paperless


Some say that we should all be ‘paperless’ by now. But let’s face it, that’s not the reality for most – not completely. And there are still plenty of us who simply aren’t comfortable with it. So for the paperwork that remains following your declutter, how best to organise it? I recommend using a simple system:


Hanging Drawer Files

These can be used in a filing cabinet or a specially purposed drawer. Or you can buy Really Useful Boxes specifically in which to hang them.

If you attach labeled filing tabs to the tops of the hanging files, it’s really easy to flick through to find what you need, especially if you have the categories in alphabetical order. I would recommend having plenty of categories as you don’t want too many papers in each one i.e. have separate files for CAR – INSURANCE, CAR – TAX, CAR – MOT, etc 

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