How To Organize Your Paperwork

Published: June 11, 2021

Paperwork—a word that sparks anxiety in the minds of people everywhere. Paperwork is a necessary evil in most people’s day-to-day lives. Whether it’s keeping track of your receipts, tax-related information, forms from your child’s school, or birth certificates, paperwork is important. 

We’ve all been there before, frantically searching for the title to your vehicle, an old manual, or medical information when you need it in a pinch. If you misplace an essential piece of paperwork, it can be a challenge to replace, or sometimes not possible at all. 

Your reaction may be to hold onto every single form or piece of paper you ever received in a giant pile somewhere, in case you need it one day. But that can lead to more chaos. A great way to put your mind at ease is to develop a system to organize your paperwork while also reducing unnecessary clutter in your home.  

Create a system for past, present, and future

Before you start to organize papers, begin by sorting them into three categories: past, present, and future. Documents that would fit in the ‘past’ category could be car titles, birth certificates, and other documents that you want to keep but do not regularly use. You can also think of this as an archive for work documents that you want to hold onto. 

Create a filing system:

Once you’ve identified your ‘past’ papers, develop a filing system to keep all your stored paperwork organized. Not only will this help you manage what you already have in your pile, but it will ensure you have a system for future paperwork that you want to keep. Go through the items in your ‘past’ pile, and decide what you want to keep or trash. Be sure to shred any documents with personal information. There are many filing systems to choose from, and you will want to find one that works best for you. You will likely want to organize by category, like car-related, college loan documents, or pet records., et. Each person’s system will be unique to them to help fit their documentation needs. 

For current papers and future papers, create a take-action pile.  

Whether it’s to renew your car registration, a permission slip you need to sign for your child’s field trip, or a bill that needs to be paid, keep all paper that requires actionable items in a pile together. This way, you can keep track of what tasks need action items. Once you have finished using the form or paperwork, decide if you need to keep it or not and either shred, recycle it or file it into your archival files. If something comes up and you need the paper again, you’ll know where to find it! 

Keep a recycling bin and shredder right by your desk.  

Prevention is the best way to keep your space organized! By having a recycling bin and shredder by your desk at all times, you can immediately get rid of unwanted papers. Avoid your desk or areas of your home from turning into a dumping ground! Get into the habit of going through mail right when you bring it into the house.

Paper is one of the worst culprits of clutter in offices and homes. Get control of the clutter in your life and free your space and your mind. If you compile more than one file drawer or box worth of papers, consider renting a storage unit to keep your records in a safe, climate-controlled space. You can schedule a regular time to update your records if needed, and UNITS will be here to help. UNITS will drop a portable storage unit at your home, allowing you ample time to pack away your things. We’ll then transport your UNIT to our climate-controlled, secured storage space until you need it again. Whenever you’re ready, give us a call at (443)842-7400, drop us an email, or fill out a form on our website.