Keeping track of Important Papers

This is a guide to keeping track of important papers for people have trouble keeping track of important papers.

I have spent many years losing passports and requesting duplicate tax forms and forgetting to pay my car registration on time because I couldn't find the paperwork. I was not able to keep track of my papers in a filing cabinet and I find myself quickly overwhelmed by paperwork. This is the system I worked out to get a better handle on it.

If you would like this advice in a more humorous and less orderly format, you can see it on Tumblr.

Premise

Essentially, what you are going to do is create a single folder where you do not have to sort papers at a granular level.

Why this Works

• It's less overwhelming than a large filing cabinet or a desk drawer (because it's just one binder).
• It allows you to find things relatively quickly (because you don't have to go through the whole folder to find your pink slip, just the "car" section).
• It creates a place for papers to "go." If you get stressed out by paperwork you may struggle with putting things in the appropriate place, which can lead to accumulating little piles all over the place and having trouble remembering where the specific important piece of paperwork you're looking for goes.
• It requires extremely minimal sorting; you're not putting your mechanic's bill into one folder and your pink slip and another and your insurance in another and your lease agreement in another - those all go in "car."
• See-through page protectors allow you to see generally what's in the folder as you flip through.

How to Make Your Organization Folder

Materials

• One 3-ring binder, no more than 2" thick.
• A pack of transparent page protectors.
• Folder organizers; you can use tabs, you can use colored sheets of paper, or you can use something else. I like the stiff colored plastic dividers with little pockets so that I can use the pockets to put the REALLY important stuff (Bloodwork report from the vet can go in a page protector, proof of rabies vaccination goes in the pocket up front of the "pet" section.)

Optional:

• A backpack or messenger bag to store the folder where you can also put non-paper objects that need to stay someplace safe or that you would want to grab in an emergency. I have a DVD with my wedding photos, some family heirloom jewelry, and similar items in my bag with the folder.

Instructions

Preliminary Sort

• Gather your important papers, your binder materials, and a shredder or trash can in one place where you have a reasonably open workspace.
• Begin sorting your papers into very broad categories; "financial" might include bills and tax paperwork, "home" might include a copy of your lease agreement and the business card of your local plumber. Only make as many categories as you have dividers for the binder.
• Once you have sorted each category, go through each category and discard duplicates or outdated paperwork. You do not need a pink slip for a car you no longer own (though if you can't bear to part with it, read the page on Memory Books). You do not need a copy of a vet bill you paid three years ago for a checkup with no abnormal results. Remove extraneous papers from your piles as you go to thin down your collection of papers.
• Continue until you have gotten rid of at least most of the unnecessary paperwork.

Stuffing Page Protectors

It is important to note that you are NOT