People tell me frequently that I am organized but I'm here to tell you that I am NOT a naturally organized person. I enjoy being organized so that motivates me to do it, but it is something I have had to work at and get ideas from other people. And I do like getting ideas. I attend organizational classes whenever I get the chance.
One of my very favorite ideas is one I heard about 15 years ago when my oldest child was about 8 or 9. I had gotten a cassette tape from the library that talked about home organization. This woman (and I forgot her name long ago) talked about the three things that had helped her get organized. The first thing was a wall calendar. The second thing was a file box. And the third thing I can't remember! But what I want to talk about is the file box. I have used one ever since I heard this idea and I have loved it. It may not be much to look at after 15 years of service but it has been such a good way to keep on top of the paper clutter that life and children generate.
The file box is one of those portable boxes that you can get at Walmart or office supply places. It is small enough to carry pretty easily and has a handle on top. The most important rule about the file box is that it must be kept in a place where it will be used on a daily basis. For me, this is in my dining room on my "junk counter". This spot is very close to the laundry room, the kitchen, and near my wall calendar. The file box needs to be either kept open or opened very easily. If you don't follow this rule, there's a really good chance you won't use it. My own file box is closed most of the time because there is a cupboard right above it but there's enough space that it can be opened pretty easily without moving it. If I want to open it all the way then I just have to pull it out a little ways.
Once you have a file box, you need to create files for it. I use hanging files. I have a file labeled for each member of the family plus a few additional files with my most useful file being my financial file.
Now to implement the file box: each time you get a piece of paper (ie. in the mail) you have to decide what to do with it. When the children bring home papers from school that I can't throw away, that paper goes in their file. When I get a bill that I need to pay, I put it in the financial file. Some pieces of mail I don't keep. When I get an invitation to something, I put it on the calendar including the relevant info like the address and then throw it away. Ads that you want to look at later could also have their own file but I actually keep the few ads I save behind the file box next to the wall. I put coupons directly into my purse (but I'm not a big coupon clipper). The woman suggested making a file for things you need to discuss later with your husband but that file didn't work for me. I would forget about it. It worked better for me to leave it out--then I would remember because I would want to get rid of it. If you can only touch your mail one time, it will really help on your clutter. I stand right by the garbage as I open it and a lot of it goes in there or in recycling. Especially with all the college promos my 17-year-old has been getting!
Another file she suggested making was "Things to file later" which refers to papers you need to keep for a long time in a more permanent file. This also didn't work for me. I would put off filing it until that file was crowding out all the rest of the files. What I do now is leave the things I need to file in my permanent file (warranties, financial papers that I need to keep, or scrapbook-worthy papers) on my junk counter and within a few days I will get around to taking it there--usually when my junk counter is looking pretty junky.
Another thing that has really helped me in using this file box is to have a set day every week when I do our family finances. Sometime on Tuesday afternoon or evening (or maybe Monday or Wednesday if Tuesday is super busy), I will get out my financial file and I will record all our receipts on our budget, pay any bills that have come in, and balance the checkbook. Since I like to do it, it's easy for me to be motivated. It's one of my favorite household jobs.
I'm not so good at cleaning out the other files consistently. But now and then, if a file seems to be taking up more than it's fair share of room then I will work on it. I'll sometimes tell my older kids they need to clean out their files and that will take care of it.
There you have it--one of my favorite ways to get organized.
One of my very favorite ideas is one I heard about 15 years ago when my oldest child was about 8 or 9. I had gotten a cassette tape from the library that talked about home organization. This woman (and I forgot her name long ago) talked about the three things that had helped her get organized. The first thing was a wall calendar. The second thing was a file box. And the third thing I can't remember! But what I want to talk about is the file box. I have used one ever since I heard this idea and I have loved it. It may not be much to look at after 15 years of service but it has been such a good way to keep on top of the paper clutter that life and children generate.
The file box is one of those portable boxes that you can get at Walmart or office supply places. It is small enough to carry pretty easily and has a handle on top. The most important rule about the file box is that it must be kept in a place where it will be used on a daily basis. For me, this is in my dining room on my "junk counter". This spot is very close to the laundry room, the kitchen, and near my wall calendar. The file box needs to be either kept open or opened very easily. If you don't follow this rule, there's a really good chance you won't use it. My own file box is closed most of the time because there is a cupboard right above it but there's enough space that it can be opened pretty easily without moving it. If I want to open it all the way then I just have to pull it out a little ways.
Once you have a file box, you need to create files for it. I use hanging files. I have a file labeled for each member of the family plus a few additional files with my most useful file being my financial file.
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| Most of my plastic file labels wore out long ago so I just use paper labels glued on and they've worked fine! It doesn't look that organized or professional but it works great. |
Now to implement the file box: each time you get a piece of paper (ie. in the mail) you have to decide what to do with it. When the children bring home papers from school that I can't throw away, that paper goes in their file. When I get a bill that I need to pay, I put it in the financial file. Some pieces of mail I don't keep. When I get an invitation to something, I put it on the calendar including the relevant info like the address and then throw it away. Ads that you want to look at later could also have their own file but I actually keep the few ads I save behind the file box next to the wall. I put coupons directly into my purse (but I'm not a big coupon clipper). The woman suggested making a file for things you need to discuss later with your husband but that file didn't work for me. I would forget about it. It worked better for me to leave it out--then I would remember because I would want to get rid of it. If you can only touch your mail one time, it will really help on your clutter. I stand right by the garbage as I open it and a lot of it goes in there or in recycling. Especially with all the college promos my 17-year-old has been getting!
Another file she suggested making was "Things to file later" which refers to papers you need to keep for a long time in a more permanent file. This also didn't work for me. I would put off filing it until that file was crowding out all the rest of the files. What I do now is leave the things I need to file in my permanent file (warranties, financial papers that I need to keep, or scrapbook-worthy papers) on my junk counter and within a few days I will get around to taking it there--usually when my junk counter is looking pretty junky.
Another thing that has really helped me in using this file box is to have a set day every week when I do our family finances. Sometime on Tuesday afternoon or evening (or maybe Monday or Wednesday if Tuesday is super busy), I will get out my financial file and I will record all our receipts on our budget, pay any bills that have come in, and balance the checkbook. Since I like to do it, it's easy for me to be motivated. It's one of my favorite household jobs.
I'm not so good at cleaning out the other files consistently. But now and then, if a file seems to be taking up more than it's fair share of room then I will work on it. I'll sometimes tell my older kids they need to clean out their files and that will take care of it.
There you have it--one of my favorite ways to get organized.
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