Saturday 30 June 2012

Organising Paperwork

This post is about something I'm really NOT good at right now - organising paperwork. I do try, but lately it's just not been getting done, and there are piles all around my house that look like this:


...about to topple over!

When I do manage to sort through paperwork, I try to arrange in in these files:


The orange one is for general important paperwork, including passports, doctors information, and driving licenses. The blue file is for bills and our house rental contract. The yellow one is for paperwork related to my children, like nursery leaflets, child tax credit statements, and premium bonds my grandparents bought for them. 

The green card folder is for instructions for things we've bought, and the purple one is for any receipts we have to keep (except my craft ones). 

My craft receipts go in a separate card folder that I keep in my study (I keep a years worth in here, then they get filed or thrown away):


The last big file I have is for recipes. I have an obsession with buying recipe magazines, and picking up free ones from supermarkets. Then I try to cut out the recipes I like the sound of, and file them into this D-ring file. There's dividers for starters, mains, etc:


So I know I can be organised with paperwork, I just don't do it! Why is this? Help me! What can I do to get these piles of paperwork to disappear?! Any tips gratefully received.

Don't forget that commenting on this post, or any post from this weekend, will enter you into the Grand Giveaway {NOW CLOSED}- but only if you've registered your interest in winning it here

See you in an hour! x

23 comments:

Julie Baswell said...

I have piles just like that. Every once in a while I will use binders and poke enough in them to fill the up then stack however many there are together laid on their side. This is still stacks but at least they look neat!

Mel said...

I have a recipe folder too - but find pinterest a great online store for things too!

debs14 said...

It's just so easy to put off dealing with paperwork isn't it? I'm totally disorganised - except for recipe filing! Tend to leave the official stuff for my husband to deal with. And he puts it off as long as possible too!

Counterfeit Kit Challenge said...

See...papers are evil, so I try not to keep them. They come in and get filed...or tossed...if it is an idea/recipe, I google it to find it online so I can have an electronic record and NO PAPER! :)

Bethany

Annie Claxton said...

I know it's a boring answer, but the only way to avoid piles is to prevent them getting started, because once they do they just keep on growing! I'm rubbish and I have embarrassing piles all over the place just like yours. However, my husband, who either files or bins paperwork on the day it arrives, never gets them at all! He also goes for the paperless bills option wherever possible. As I say, boring but true :)

scrappyjacky said...

I'm pretty organised with paperwork....all mine is in a filing cabinet .....each type in its own folder eg. gas,electricity,credit card,bank statements,phone etc.
I also have ring binders full of things I've kept from magazines....sorted by type eg, scrapbooking,cardmaking,sewing etc.
On my computer I have loads of folders in my favourites.....again sorted into different types....to save links to websites,tutorials,challenges etc.
Hope this might be helpful.
p.s. I also make use of a shredder!!!!!

Patricia said...

We organize our recipes similarly! I have a binder just like you that is always growing with new recipes!

Daphne said...

Good idea with the differnet folders! I got a pile like you (but hidden away behind doors!) and sort through it twice a year.

Lou said...

I'm pretty organised with all my paperwork....have to be for filing in the tax return!!

Jo Murray said...

Colour coding works for me... if only I can remember which colour is what.

Carin McDonough said...

We use a filing cabinet with lots of hanging folders which should be easy to put things away in but we still end up with a big pile before we file it away! I am exactly the same with recipes and have them in a big binder. Once I have tried the recipe and we like it it goes into a different binder otherwise it goes in the bin. I have started trying to only collect recipes on pintrest now though as that is less work and mess!:)

Maria Ontiveros said...

I make my husband do it = LOL!
rinda

Emily Mae said...

I wish I had tips, but as a 19 year old, I really don't have much paperwork to sort right now! And what I do have is, sadly, in piles. Good luck! :D

Nathalie said...

I have a problem too! I think it is all about regular purging... I did a big clean up this week and now I think I am going to actually mark on my calendar to go through the piles once a month.

Cherie said...

I have piles everywhere! I want to make a cookbook with recipes that i have found, so I save them and have hopes of making it look pretty one day! I do store all my magazines in the same place in order by date under my end tables, but I toss receipts. I can't deal with having all the extra paper around! If I need to keep them I put them in a file organizer! :)

oneheartscrapper.blogspot.com

Diane Standish(crazeedi) said...

Oh my, this is my big weak point-my paperwork is all over the place-thanks for the ideas on some organization!

Sally said...

The best tip I ever learned was to attend to it straight away. I only have one pile of stuff ever and as soon as it is a 'pile' rather than a few papers it gets sorted. Junk mail gets chucked as soon as it arrives.

Margie said...

I am not the best at organizing paper work either, lol!

Clair said...

No tips or techniques to share, I'm afraid. I hate paperwork and have piles around the house which look very similar to your own.

Melissa said...

I really don't have any piles of paperwork. My number one tip is to process mail when you bring it in the house - stand beside the trash can & throw out all junk immediately! I have a "tickler file" for bills & things I need to take care of that I go through each Monday. Anything that I don't need to process but is important to keep, I file immediately. Magazines go on the stack beside my bed - once a month I go through it and cull if needed (I only keep three months at a time - older than that & it goes in the recycling or scrapbook inspiration file).

Caroline Hackney said...

Ugh, paperwork. I have the best of intentions but it definitely ends up being piles. We have a large plastic box in the study upstairs that houses hanging files, where papers eventually end up. I've now added a couple of in-trays to the kitchen counter - one marked Respond and the other File - to put things that need to be dealt with immediately, or things that we need but don't actually have any action item associated with them. Everything else gets shredded or thrown out. It just seems to take a long time for the important stuff to graduate from downstairs to upstairs!

The good intentions and at least some of the planning is there. but the downfall is in the execution! Must try harder...

Unknown said...

I have a filing cabinet for papers I have to keep (receipts etc.); a basket for incoming mail before it is sorted, a command binder for ongoing stuff; and anything I want to remember is pinned to Pinterest, or scanned and put into a recipe card box. I hate paper

Jimjams said...

I have piles of piles AND folders too - our biggest problem is that Hubby doesn't reckon we should purge the OLD paperwork and we get so much junk mail these days!

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