I hate filing.
It is such a tedious task. Taking each sheet of paper, one by one, and deciding where to put it. Then searching alphabetically for the appropriate file and putting it in. So much work for such a skinny piece of paper. And my pile is 1 Foot deep! Digging out of this snow is more satisfying. At least I can get to the bottom of the snow!
I would like to share with you a system to file away those bills and statements that helped me get over that aversion to filing.
In my experience people keep bills and statements for mainly two reasons. They want to refer back to them to compare utility usage or costs from year to year or they want to keep them for security. They fear that they may need copies for taxes or some other unforeseen reason.
They also generally tend to file their bills alphabetically according to the biller’s name. That means that if you pay 12 bills in a month you will need to file 12 pieces in 12 files. Wouldn’t it be a lot easier if you could put all 12 bills in just 1 file?
Here is an easy and uncomplicated system that I use:
Label 1 sets of 12 hanging folders with January through December. One set marked “odd” and one set marked “even”. This is the year 2010 so you would use the “even” set.
I pay the bills two times a month. After I pay a bill I drop it in that month’s file. That’s it! No tedious filing of bills in multiple folders. A bill is filed by the month in which it is paid rather than by the biller’s name. It is uncomplicated and easy.
I don’t use manila folders either. That way there is no folders to misplace. Just open a drawer and drop in. Simple.
Each January the entire set of hanging files is replaced with the other set of Jan-Dec files. In January 2012 the bills filed in this year’s January folder will be thrown away and the 2012 bills will be put in.
It is a self purging system which doesn’t require to be organized year after year. Isn’t that neat!
No more worries about throwing away important tax documents either. If you didn’t pull out the documents you needed during the year you can easily pull them out and put in a tax file marked with the appropriate year. (More about that later…)
Freedom Filer sells a complete set of labels for a system like this. Check it out and File..File.. Away!
