YOUR ORGANIZED LIFE: Desk, Files & Paperwork

Is it really tax season already?  It feels like we just put away the holiday decorations and finished off the last of the Halloween candy…

Professional Organizer Lisa Dooley of Your Organized Life offers these easy tips to get your desk and files ready for tax season and leave more time for Teen Mom 2 winter fun.

•    Invest in quality filing products and filing cabinets.  Those broken-down banker’s box with your papers in rubber bands are not helping you get organized.  There are many fun and functional products on the market – investing in quality items will make organizing your paperwork less tedious and will help keep you motivated.

•    Your FOREVER documents should be stored in a Fireproof Box in your home.  “forever” documents include Adoption Papers, Automobile Title, Birth Certificates, Life Insurance Policies, Marriage Certificates, Passports, Powers of Attorney, Property Deeds and Wills, Trusts and Estate Plans.

•    Your WORKING documents should be filed alphabetically in pendaflex files in a quality filing cabinet.  Your WORKING documents include Bank Statements, Credit Card Statements, Health Insurance documents, Mortgage Statements & Paperwork, Pay Stubs and Utility Bills (filed separately:  cable, electric, water, gas).  

•    Every January, create a pendaflex file for the New Year – i.e, Taxes 2012, Taxes 2013.  When you are filing paperwork that you will need for taxes, place it directly into this file including Real Estate Tax bills, Charitable Donations, Excise Tax bills, etc.

•    If you are starting to organize your files, gather all paperwork together and while reviewing, decide whether the item should be kept or tossed and then sort into piles by topic. Then, create file folders for each topic and file in a cabinet alphabetically.  See what to keep and how long here>.

•    Ideally filing should be done daily or at least once a week. This can be done as a "scheduled" time - get it down on your calendar! Waiting for it to pile up only causes frustration later.

•    The major source of clutter is INCOMING MAIL! Sort your mail daily and address actionable items immediately and file or recycle the rest.  

•    Shredding sensitive documents like receipts, credit card solicitations and anything with your social security number is a must. Go here> to find a list of what to shred.

Finally, if you're overwhelmed, enlist the aid of a pro.  There isn't anything they haven't seen {and conquered!}.