Setting Up a Filing System

Tips for Tuesday

Even if you don't own a business, you should still have a filing system for your personal files. Everyone has financial, medical and possibly legal papers. It is important that you are able to find them when you need them.

Setting up a system is simple if you follow a few rules.

First,sort your papers into broad categories. Put school, work, medical, bank, credit card, home maintenance, etc., papers into piles. Further sort them into specialized categories. For example, you should have individual medical files for yourself, your spouse, each of your children, and your pets. Each person should have their own folder.

Next, create folders for each of these piles. If you are a visual person, use different colors for each broad category. Name each file. Use only a few words that clearly identify the contents. This will usually be a noun and verb, and perhaps a year. "Tax documents 2011" for instance, or "VISA Chase."

Place your files in a cabinet or drawer close to where you use them. They may not all be in the same place. File them by category or alphabetically—whichever works best for you.

If you are file challenged, then purchase a system that categorizes and indexes everything for you, such as Viewables from Smead. Use their colors, or customize your own labels.

Finally, keep on top of filing! File papers as they come in, and purge old ones you don't need.

File, Don't Pile

Senior Thursday

Papers can be daunting. They come into the home from many different sources--mail, doctor visits, work, etc.. There are papers for your house, your health, your finances and your family. But where to keep them all? Many times, out of frustration, we just drop them on the nearest pile.

What happens when you need that piece of paper, though? Where is it? What pile did you put it on?

If you set up a functional filing system, you'll be able to find what you need when you need it. Here are some tips for setting up a filing system.

• Store away what you don’t use--This is anything that you need to keep, but don't need to access. Old tax returns, supporting tax documents, old receipts, and memorabilia fall into this category
• Use labels that work for you. What words would you think of when looking for it again? Would your spouse use the same description? Use something you'll remember.
• Limit the description on the label. The fewer words you use, the easier it will be to remember and read. A noun, adjective and year is often sufficient.
• Color code your folders or labels. You can categorize them by person, subject , or year. Use what is comfortable for you.
• If you are intimidated by the task of setting up a system, use a pre-packaged system, such as Freedom Filer, that comes with stock labels and an index guide. These are easy to use, and the index helps you locate items easily.
• Schedule time for filing. In order for the filing system to work for you, you have to keep on top of it. Schedule time every day or week for doing your filing. Purge your files every six to twelve months to keep them from getting too big.

Organizing Your Work Space--Part One

Writer Wednesday

Being organized has many benefits. Among them are being able to find things easily, which in turn makes you more productive. And who wouldn't want to be a more productive writer?

Here are some things you can do in your office to make it more efficient, and you more productive.

• Set aside space in your home that is dedicated to your writing. If you move from space to space, you will tend to drop notes, files, mail, etc, wherever you land next. Then when you need that note or file, you will have to search for it. If you dedicate a space to your writing, all writing-related material should land there. Thus, you will know where everything is when you need it and know what you have to do.
• Keep only those items you need on a daily basis on your work surface. Why use up precious real estate for items you aren't using?
• Create folders for the following--"TO DO", "PENDING", "TO READ", and "TO FILE". These should be on top of your desk so you can use them and reference them every day. Check these files every morning to plan your day, and every evening to anticipate the next day.
• Keep only those items you use on a regular basis in your work space. This is similar to the above, but is more about files and storage. If you have files you no longer reference regularly, pack them away and move them to a different room. Your files will begin to overflow if you keep everything in your immediate space. It will become cluttered, as will your mind and creativity.
• Set aside time each week to do your filing. This may be on Friday afternoon after putting in a week of writing, or Monday morning to clear your desk and start fresh. Write the time in your calendar so you don't forget. Keeping on top of filing will make it less painful than addressing stacks and stacks of paper every few months.

March 12 is Genealogy Day

March 12 is Genealogy Day

Organizing Your Family Photos--part 2

As stated last week, you will amass a large amount of photos while conducting your research. Here are some more helpful tips for storing them safely.

Archival products--There are products made specifically for storing photos. They are acid-free to prevent fading and wear. This includes plastic pages, boxes and even markers and stickers for scrapbook use. They are available at retailers such as The Container Store and online companies like Creative Memories. Before using anything for photos, verify that it is archival and acid-free.

Plastic pocket pages--These come in a variety of sizes to fit all your photo needs. Older photos are different sizes, depending on their age, so you may need a variety of pocket pages. Place only one photo (or two back-to-back) in each pocket. These pages can be kept in binders.
Keep negatives separate--Never store your negatives with your photos. This will not only keep your photos safe, it will give you a back-up should something happen to the photos. Negatives should be stored in a cool, dark place with low humidity.

Identify people/place-- When storing your photos, mark the names of any people in the photos, along with the place and date. Never write on the backs of the photos. Instead, purchase pocket pages that have a white strip specifically for documenting this information. Future generations will appreciate this.

Storage products--There are several ways to permanently store your photos. First, there are photo albums and plastic pocket pages. As mentioned above, they come in a variety of sizes so you can keep different sized photos in one album. Second--photo boxes. These are easier to use, as photos can be dropped into the box and separated with dividers. You can identify photos by writing on the dividers. However, they only accommodate photos up to 4"x6". Third, there are traditional scrapbooks. While these are beautiful works of art in themselves, they are also the most time-consuming. It can take hours to do just a few pages. Fourth, there are digitized scrapbooks which take digital photos of any size and arrange them to create bound books. No matter what you use, make sure all your products are acid-free.

Categorize your photos--Just like you categorize and separate your documents, do the same with your photos. Separate by event, family member, year, etc. Whatever works best for you.

Taking the time now to organize your photos and files will save you and your family hours of stress later.