It doesn’t matter who you are or where you come from. Paper clutter does not discriminate. Check out these top solutions for organizing paperwork that will help you organize paperwork for good!
Best Solutions for Organizing Paperwork
Each and every day, our homes are flooded with piles of paperwork. From junk mail to school papers and all of the receipts in between, it can be downright difficult to keep it all organized. Confession: even I, a self-proclaimed “Conquerer of Clutter”, struggle with paper clutter. {gasp}
Thankfully, I’ve found some pretty awesome {AND awesomely pretty} solutions for organizing paperwork!
Before we begin, I’d like to mention that it’s a heck of a lot easier to organize paperwork once you’ve done a thorough decluttering first. Lucky for you, I’ve written a post which details step-by-step how to declutter pesky paperwork in 4 easy steps. You can read that post HERE.
By the way, if you are curious which paperwork you should keep and what pieces you can shred/trash, I’ve got you covered with this handy graphic…
Now, on to the fun part.
Go Paperless
I know what you are thinking…”Geez, Cheryl, why don’t you just tell me to sprout wings and fly?”
Decluttering Guru, Marie Kondo believes in a paper-free life. In fact, she recommends throwing out ALL THE PAPERS! According to her, there’s nothing more annoying than paper. {I’d have to agree with her on this one.}
Unfortunately, the majority of us simply aren’t ready to toss all of our paperwork in the trash. We need a kinder, gentler approach to organizing paperwork.
Which is why, when it comes to going paperless, I suggest you start small. Sign up for online banking, convert all of your bills to paperless billing, and use Cozi (a FREE digital planning system) to keep track of everything.
Important Paperwork
Even if you do decide to go paperless, you’ll still want to hold on to irreplaceable paperwork such as:
- social security cards
- birth/death certificates
- marriage/divorce records
- tax records
- wills
- diplomas
- passports
The best way to organize/store important documents such as these is with either a safety deposit box or a fire/waterproof lockbox like this one. You simply do not want to take risks with things like social security cards, and vital records. They are too hard to replace!
Finance/Medical/Household Papers
This is where a Home Management Binder will help a ton! You just need a binder (I’ve found 2-3″ works best) and some dividers with pockets and tabs. If you’re not sure how to go about creating a Home Management Binder of your own, here’s a simple tutorial.
Binders are perfect for storing papers you need frequent access to.
If you’d like, you can create the following binders
- Health Binder
- Budget Binder
- Kids Binder
- Recipe Binder
You can include bank statements, paystubs, investments, retirement plan, medical records, shot records, insurance, warranties, manuals, utility statements, bills and more inside your home management binders.
P.S. The Planning Simplified Printable Binder is perfect for this. This year’s version includes over 85 printables to help you get and stay organized!
Kid-Related Papers
My son is attending public school for the first time this year (after being homeschooled for 5 years) and HOLY COW…the papers!
Let me just make one thing clear regarding school and kid-related papers…YOU DON’T HAVE TO SAVE EVERYTHING!
Feel better now? Good. Here’s how to organize the kid paper you do decide to keep.
School Papers & Crafts
Here’s how I organize school papers & crafts. You may want to sit down for this. Because my method is so simple it will blow your mind!
- I use one of these.
- When it’s full, my kid and I sit down together and decide which papers/crafts to keep and which to discard.
- File the papers we chose to keep in a binder or file box.
- Done!
Report Cards & Transcripts
Report cards and transcripts go directly into a binder or file box. At the end of the school year, save only the final report card (because all semesters will be included on it), and discard the rest.
Permission Slips, Flyers, Important Events
These get logged into my planner AS SOON as they are brought home. Or, at the very least, by the end of the week.
Organizing Paperwork: Recipes
While I prefer to store my recipes digitally (on my iPad and Pinterest), I realize not everyone is ‘wired’ this way. (See what I did there?) Here are a few more creative ideas for organizing recipes.
Create a Recipe Binder
Get your free DIY recipe binder printables here.
A Good Old-Fashioned Recipe Box
You know, like Grandma used to use? Only, YOUR’S can be so much cooler!
Here are a few of my favorite recipe boxes:
Tip: It’s a good idea to spend a weekend laminating your recipe cards so they will hold up under the elements of cooking.
Use an Accordion File
Are you a ‘recipe clipper’? If so, you likely have stacks of full-page or random sized clipping of recipes from multiple sources. The best way I’ve found to store these recipes is with an accordion folder like this one.
Craft Papers
Okay, get ready for some eye candy! Because the best way to tell you how to organize craft papers is to SHOW you!
Use a hamper to create a gift wrapping station
Short on space? Use the back of a closet door!
Use magazine holders to organize craft paper
Use a shelving system
DIY craft paper organizer
Easily organize tissue paper inside of a gift bag
Shopping-Related Papers
While there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to organizing coupons, receipts and rebate slips, one thing’s for sure…It’s NOT at the bottom of your purse!
If you are a receipt ‘hoarder’, why not make your own receipt dropbox out of a square tissue box? Make a rule, though, that once it’s full, you MUST sort through and organize the receipts inside!
My preferred method for organizing receipts is to put them in a tickler file (see how to make a tickler file here). At the end of each month, I sort through the receipts in the file folder and throw away any I no longer need and file the rest. For the record, I only keep receipts as proof of purchase of larger items (e.g. tv’s, computers, furniture) and items under warranty. Everything else gets tossed after a month.
I no longer coupon, but for those who do, the best way to store them is in a portable coupon organizer like this one. Alternatively, you can store them inside baseball card sleeves kept inside a binder. Rebate forms can be kept along with coupons, as long as they have their own pocket/divider.
Sentimental Papers
Undoubtedly, after you’ve decluttered your paperwork (and even if you’ve decided to go ‘paperless’) you will be left with some special papers which you will need to find a home for. Sentimental papers include greeting cards, love letters, favorite school papers, photos, ticket stubs from first dates, and more.
I’ve always believed that if you love something, you should display it. Not stuff it away in a box in the back of the closet.
As such, you can organize your sentimental papers in a way that honors them. Create a scrapbook, shadow box, or decoupage project out of your favorite papers and let go of the rest.
READ MORE:
- The Best Planners And Organizers (with reviews)
- 4 Simple Steps To Decluttering Paperwork For Good
- What To Do With Old Photos You Don’t Want
- Decluttering & Repurposing Used Greeting Cards
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Evidently you don’t have a hobby that requires many records! My genealogy files from years and years of work is mainly in notebooks (and on computer). When I am making reference to several family members it is so much easier to pull a notebook and see several entries rather than going back and forth on the computer to retrieve information where you can see data on an individual. Just sayin!