My last post was about sorting and purging your paper clutter. But once you've accomplished that, how should you organize it?
There are so many paper systems out there it can be pretty overwhelming.
First let me start by explaining some basic filing methods:
The 3 Basic Filing Methods
Filing Cabinets
This is what many of us think of when we think of a paper system. This could be just one box with hanging files in it you can carry with you on the go, or one or more standing filing cabinets with pull out drawers all filled with hanging files. No matter how many you have, the point is that each file has a label and they are organized in a logical way. For example, if you have one standing filing cabinet with three drawers. Maybe the top drawer would be all tax records and it is sorted from newest in front to oldest in back. This system is great if you have a lot of physical paper you have and want/need to keep (a.k.a. not digitized).
Digitize
Digitizing is great because it completely removes the physical clutter. Digitizing your paper clutter means taking photos or scans of your physical papers and uploading it to your computer or device and organizing everything on there. However, digital clutter can quickly become an issue. So make sure to organize and label your digital files just as carefully as you would your physical ones.
Mixed/Smaller Filing Method
This is basically every other paper filing system out there. So if you don't like having hanging files, find another method you prefer. You could use binders with plastic inserts, or just hole punch your papers. You could use small folders and just have them lined up on a book shelf color coded in a way that makes sense to you. But the main thing about this method is that you probably have a lot less paper than if you use a filing cabinet system. This could also mean you have part of your documents digitized and part physical. The point is, find a system that will work for you.
Organize Paper For Your Organizing Style
If you haven't heard of the Clutter Bug or the 4 Organizing Types, now's the time to figure out yours. Read my blog post about the four types, figure out your type, and then come back to this article. If you know how your personality and brain work, it will make it so much easier to make a filing system that works for you. Figure out your type? Now read on to see how to organize paper based on your type.
But if you don't want to figure out your type right now, feel free to read the following descriptions anyway and pick one that feels like you, or just skip down to the paper organizing steps.
Micro Hidden - The Cricket
Mirco Hidden Organizers like their items tucked away into specialized categories. If you're a cricket, you would probably do best with a paper organizing system where everything is out of sight (i.e. not in clear containers or out in piles) and in more highly specific folders (rather than big, general categories). A cricket's main clutter problem is setting up their detailed systems. You may have had no paper organization in the past and just shoved all your papers into your desk drawers or into boxes. This is because you probably had not taken the time to set up the detailed paper system you needed. So, take the time to set up your system ASAP. You shouldn't have too much difficulty in keeping it up once you know where everything belongs.
Micro Visual - The Bee
Micro Visual Organizers like their items where they can see them and organized into specialized categories. If you're a bee, you would do well with a paper system that's a bit more visually obvious (like color coded binders, clear filing drawers, and/or labels on the outsides as well as insides of your filing cabinets). Because bees tend to forget about items that are out of sight, a digital system may not work as well for you. A bee's main clutter problem is setting up their detailed systems. You may have had no paper organization in the past and just left piles out everywhere. This is because you probably had not taken the time to set up the detailed paper system you needed. So, take the time to set up your system ASAP. Bee's tend to be perfectionists, so you shouldn't have too much difficulty in keeping your system up once you know where everything belongs.
Macro Hidden - The Ladybug
Macro Hidden Organizers like their items out of sight and organized into more general categories. So as a ladybug, you may do well with a filing system using big paper categories. You are big picture oriented; detailed paper systems with tons of sub folders and specific labels would probably be overwhelming. For example put all your tax info for each year into one folder, rather than one for each kind of receipts, one for personal filing and one for work filing, etc. A lady bug's main problem is they tend to shove things anywhere if it's too complicated to properly put something away. Organizing your papers should be quick and easy. So, the key for you will be to set up a paper system that is super simple to use. Hold onto the mantra, "Keep it simple stupid."
Macro Visual - The Butterfly
Macro Visual Organizers like their items out where they can see them and organized into more general categories. They are big picture oriented and are they are not overwhelmed by visual abundance. If you're a butterfly, you would do well with a paper system that's visually obvious (like color coded binders, clear filing drawers, and/or labels on the outsides as well as insides of your filing cabinets). And you should probably use big categories. For example put all your tax info for each year into one folder, rather than one for each kind of receipts, one for personal filing and one for work filing, etc. A butterfly's main issue is they tend to leave items out wherever they last used them. They don't want to take time to put things away if it takes too much effort or time. So make sure your paper system is easy to see and easy to use. Hold onto the mantra, "Keep it simple stupid."
Get Organizing!
So now that you understand the basic methods you could use to organize and the way you could organize to work for your brain, get out that bunch of piles you sorted in the 10 step paper declutter and organize them.
You should have sorted them loosely into large, related categories. Now is the time to organize them in a way that will help you find what you need, exactly when you need it.
As you go through this process, make sure to only keep what you absolutely need. If you didn't purge as much as you could have the first go around, get rid of more. That's a great thing about doing this method, you have to look at things you're keeping twice. Hopefully, you won't have to do a big purge ever again after this. So be ruthless in your purging. Remember, if it's searchable, replaceable, or you don't really need it, ditch it!
For now, don't worry about the system you are going to put them into, but just sort them into separate piles and put them in an order that make sense to you. If you prefer micro organizing, then you might end up with a lot more smaller piles and within each pile, you may want to organize them alphabetically, by relevance, or by date. If you prefer macro organizing, then you will have less piles with more in each, and the order may not matter to you.
Now you can look at the piles you've made and brainstorm a system that would work best for what you have and for your preferences. If you have a lot and don't want to digitize, filing cabinets would probably be perfect. If you don't have much paper, maybe just a few binders or folders in your desk would do. If you want to go paperless and have the know-how to do it, digitizing would probably be your best bet. Now think, brainstorm, maybe do a little research and just pick one! It's okay if it doesn't work out. You can try another system later if this one flops.
Whatever system you decided on, now it's time to get the supplies. You may want to buy an expensive filing cabinet set at a furniture store, or you may just need to get some labels and a sharpie to put on the binders you already have. Whatever you need, get them!
Now is the fun, easy part: Put the piles you made in step 2 into your new system. Make labels. And enjoy!
Make sure you know how new papers will go into the system you just created. Leave room, extra folders, and blank labels for when you need to make a new category.
Comment below your organizing type and what system you decided on.