How I did it: In April, I was motivated to begin the process of organizing my paperwork because my counselor tasked me to start the process.  I had thrown all the papers in a box and to sort it, took about 2-3 hrs.  Unfortunately, my motivation was through fear of looking back and seeming like a sloth, rather than wanting to be successful. 

At that time in Apr'11, I did not have the extra motivation or office supplies that I needed to get completely organized.  Thus, this took another 2.5 more months for me to get there.

Before getting to getting this goal completed, which most of it was done in the past 7 days, a few weeks ago I went through major decluttering my bedroom, which is where my office is, too.  I also decluttered my kids' rooms, their workstations (desks), my bathroom.

It feels good to declutter as you feel freer.  I've been able to enjoy things much better and my life with my kids as well as with others a lot better. 

Because I had pressure (my personal perceived) because of a meeting I had this past Monday, it was Saturday afternoon and I hadn't done anymore organization.  Now I thought I had all the office supplies, but ended up by the time I finished very late that evening, foregoing all personal needs like food, water, going to the bathroom, found that I still needed more stuff.

Anyway, waiting a few days more (6 days to be exact) allowed me to save so much money on office supplies.  I could see the homestretch this week and seeing how clear my mind is, and fear getting way smaller, that that helped greatly motivate me.

Anyway, I have needed to organize my paperwork since Q4'09 and it's the end of Q2'11.  Had I done this earlier, this would've helped me to be even more financially organized and to allow me greater success overall.

My paperwork system is now organized and maintaining it should be much easier.  Having these black file crates allows me when I move someday to know that these were the files that I had while living at my dad's, instead of needing to look through numerous boxes.

I praise God for giving me the ultimate nudge to get me to get this goal completed.  Getting all my paperwork organized is a part of financial success.

Lessons & tips:

• Assess what supplies you will need
• Look for discounts & rebates of office supplies to save money.
• Items you may need are:  filing crates, bins, cabinets, storage boxes; markers, hanging file folders, tabs, labels, manila folders, envelopes, paperclips, stapler, tape, binder clips, scissors, pencils, pens, sandwich baggies
• If you have lots of paperwork to go through, section piles into 15 min. piles and set a timer.  Organize piles in 15 min. increments, which breaks down your time into more managable chunks rather than say you'll sort papers for hours on end.
• When you open mail, assess immediately whether you need to discard (shred), file, or take action.  This will minimize what you need to file and get rid of paper clutter.
• If you have multiple accounts from the same place, consider having manila folders within a hanging file folder to reduce the # of hanging folders.
• Once you have all the names you want of your file folders tabs or labels, print these out using the computer & printer for greater neatness.  You can use colored ink for certain types of folders (i.e., consumable bills = red, credit cards = blue, insurances = green, etc)
•  It's not always necessary to spend extra money on sticky labels or tabs, rather you can just print on regular paper to save money and use tape where you need sticky labels and for hanging file folder tabs, you just slide it into the tab.
• Sort paperwork within a hanging folder chronologically from oldest in back and earlier in front (or vice versa).  This makes finding a specific piece of paperwork much easier.
• Use paperclips or staples to keep certain papers together.
• Use post-its to write little notes to remind yourself on the specific piece of paperwork, if needed.
• Set a deadline and have accountability (like if you're going to meet with an accountant or financial planner or whatever . . . get your paperwork organized BEFORE that time so you can have an efficient meeting).
• Address fears - What's the downside of you being successful in this goal?  Address those issues that come up.

Resources:

• God & Prayer
• Mom & Siblings
• Financial Mtgs (deadline pressures)
• My friend who suggested in 2007 to think of decluttering & organizing in 15 min. chunks.
• Staples black file crates, hanging file folders & clear tabs
• Scissors, post-its, paperclips, laptop/printer/paper, stapler
• Storage box for letter size files
• Manila folders from a friend
• Coupons, rebates from Staples, my mom

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Jul 02, 2011, 10:55AM PDT | 1 comment | 30 cheers