Setting Up an Effective Document Management System
Do you find yourself rummaging through your bag and drawers looking for small pieces of paper you swear you put inside them last week?
Do you always sift through loads of clutter on your desk trying to find that one receipt that would allow you to exchange the shirt you purchased two days ago?
Do you need to swim through piles of documents before you find what you are looking for?
If you are willing to spend an afternoon setting up a document management system, you will never again go looking for a lost paper, bill, or receipt. All it takes is just one afternoon and three packages of letter-size folders and a three-ring binder. Just follow the system suggested here.
The First Step
Find out what you have to organize. Begin by collecting all the paperwork stashed throughout your house and putting it on a large table. You will probably find bank statements, mutual fund reports, birth certificates, diplomas, car-maintenance records, appliance instructions, newspaper clippings … you get the idea.
Divide and Conquer
Now comes the challenging part. Go through what you have collected and put each piece of paper into one of four categories: fingertip files, household files, permanent files, or reference files.
Fingertip files are for information that you need to refer to constantly or will require in the next month or so. This is the spot for bank-machine and credit card receipts, appointment information, theatre tickets, and so on. The best holder for these is a three-ring binder stocked with clear plastic pockets. Label each pocket to make it obvious what goes where.
To stay on top of appointments, insert a calendar in front. If you do nothing more than this, fingertip files will tame much of the chaos in your life. However, these should not hold everything. That is why household files should be in a separate folder.
Household files are papers you refer to only once or twice a year. This is the spot for your car maintenance records, school files for your kids, employment files, financial papers, warranties, and instructions. Keep these for at least 12 months. You will then probably want to ditch some of them. However, keep information about other things for as long as you own them. Keep income-tax files for several years.
Of course, you should set up for permanent files. These include documents that establish the basic elements of your identity, such as marriage and birth certificates, passports, wills and university transcripts. It also includes papers that prove your ownership of your car and home. If you prefer to keep some of these important papers in a safe deposit box, put a photocopy of the document in a permanent file, along with a note to remind you where the original is located.
By now, the stack of papers on your table will be a lot smaller. All that should is left are reference files. These are usually articles from magazines or newspapers. Separate them by subject matter, tuck them into folders, and breathe a sigh of relief – you now have total control of all the documents in your life!
