Best way to organize home office files

So it's crucial to set up a functional home filing system that you will actually use. Your filing system must account for all the different types of paperwork you have, and you have to stay on top of getting rid of the papers you don't need to streamline the storage.

This project will help you with the initial setup of your home filing system. The steps are easy to follow, though the time you spend on it can vary widely depending on how much paperwork you need to sort through and organize.

But if you put in the initial effort, you should end up with a filing system that works seamlessly for you. The first step in setting up a home filing system is to corral all of your paperwork in the same space, so you can sort through it. Besides taking papers from obvious locations, such as your desk drawers and filing cabinets, do a sweep of the rest of your home to make sure you've accounted for everything. Check common places where paperwork can accumulate, such as the kitchen counter or inside a work bag.

Bring it all to one spot where you have lots of room to spread out. Sorting papers on the floor or a large table can be effective. Now it's time to sort all of your paperwork. Each document will go into one of these five categories: action, archive, household, recycle, and shred. Here's what to put into each of these categories:. Now that you've divided your paperwork into the five categories, you can clear some space by discarding the papers you don't need.

Take out the recycling pile first, as this should be easy and just involve you dropping it into a recycling bin. Just like cubbies, matching bins bring a look of orderliness to a home office. This flawlessly organized home office from A Beautiful Mess uses white bins with labels to contain tons of crafting supplies and other office essentials. Not every bin is identical, but even the ones that have a different design beautifully blend in to make the wall of storage work.

Old-school desktop paper holders and paper sorters are perennial office workhorses. It's a simple way to hide all of those papers that are lingering around your workspace. A white desk sorter effortlessly blends in on the desk of this chic office from The Lovely Drawer. Though it sounds counterintuitive, bringing beautiful objects into your office can be a way to organize your space. By surrounding yourself with items you cherish, you're more likely to keep your space free of junk so you can thoroughly enjoy your pieces without the interruption of clutter.

That's the idea behind the small shelf in the corner of this office from Park. The simple shelf showcases precious vases and gemstones that also serve as decor.

Pin onto a board or wall inspiring clippings and random pieces of paper. By using your vertical space, you'll give them a place to live instead of left in a forgotten pile of papers. That's what Interior designer Vanessa Francis did in her home office by dedicating the space under her shelving and behind her monitor to thought-provoking imagery.

It's also a way to liven up typically unused wall space. If you have the space and budget, consider bringing in a bank of cabinets to improve your organization. A wall of built-in cabinets in this office by Rookery Design keeps items out of the way. Consider stock kitchen cabinets from a home improvement store that can do the same job hiding office supplies and files. Top cabinets with a length of countertop for extra workspace. Or, head to Ikea for cabinetry that you can customize to fit in your office.

Bring the same efficiency of a mudroom or kitchen family command center into your office. Create a home office station that includes your printer, a corkboard, files, and a calendar. Continue the process with the remainder of your file folders. The next step is to prepare your filing cabinet. Remove the contents of your filing cabinet if any and place them onto a clean, flat surface for the time being.

Feel free to refer back to your filing system and file list as needed to remind yourself as to what goes where. When placing papers inside of folders, you should organize papers in either chronologic or reverse chronologic order. This will make it easy to retrieve information when you need it. For instance, if you have a series of cell phone bills from the past year, you can place them in chronologic order from January, February, March, and so on.

You could also file these same bills in reverse chronologic order, so that the first bill sitting in the file will be the most recent bill, such as November, October, September, and so on. You may have to spend some time sorting through papers, materials, and documents to match like items with like, but the essential structure of your files is already there. Check out my post on sorting papers for some quick tips here and read up on paper decluttering tips here.

Have a massive stack of papers that need to be filed? Keep a basket, box, or container near your filing cabinet to temporarily store papers. You can then file several items at a time, instead of piecemeal. You may also want to set up a nearby recycling bin or a shredder with a container to make it easy to properly dispose of old, or outdated papers. Get into the habit of filing papers on a regular basis. You can file papers at the end of the day, week, or month. The most important thing is to make sure that you work is consistent.

You can turn filling papers into a productive task at any time of the day you so choose, start your day off with some filing, do a spot of filing before lunch, or save filing for whenever you need to take a break from your desk, stretch your legs, or give your mind a rest from work that requires deep thought and concentration.

How about you? What do you find is the most difficult thing about keeping a filing cabinet organized? Join in the conversation and leave a comment below! Want help organizing that filing cabinet? If you want help decluttering and organizing your filing cabinet, I offer professional organizing services and organizing mindset coaching. Click here to learn more about how to work with me. Get organized the easy-peasy way! Click here to learn more.

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