Controlling Your Paperwork


Whether you have a home business or are organizing your family finances, you could be stuck beneath a mound of paper.  What is a person to do with all that wood pulp?  Here are a few tips for controlling the mountain of paperwork that threatens to overtake you.

When you live in this world, paperwork becomes a necessary evil.  While you may generate paper, all of it doesnít have to be kept if you can find a way around it.  Some documents can be computerized and not remain in paper form.  Here are some tips:

1.  Divide and conquer.  Organize your paperwork according to what it is.  You may begin with fifty piles but at least you have a place to begin.  Business papers can be divided between invoices, client information, accounting paperwork, business documents and the like.  For the home, youíll have household bills, receipts, insurance documents, medical bills, mortgage paperwork, car titles and a host of other things just lying around.

2.  Take one entity first.  Begin with the home or the business.  Since the business brings in income, it might be best to start there.  Go through each pile and decide what can be computerized and what needs a hard copy.  Papers that need a hard copy need a place to be stored.  The same goes for computerized paperwork.  It needs a place to live.

3.  Invest in a file cabinet.  Within the file cabinet, keep client contracts, business plans, equipment warrantees and other papers that you could need to get your hands on in a hurry.  Warranties come with equipment so it is already in paper form.  Color coding your filing folders keeps different papers separate:  blue for warranties, yellow for client documents, red for unpaid invoices (for example). 

4.  Invest in computer software to organize paperwork.  Some papers can be catalogued in your computer so a paper copy is not needed.  Computer software can generate invoices for you for clients on a monthly basis.  Keep a copy of those records on a flash drive and a backup somewhere else.  If you have a scanner and Adobe Acrobat, scan documents into your computer and save them as PDF files.  The information is right at your fingertips if you need to print a copy for a client or another reason.  Spreadsheets can be used to keep track of client names, addresses, and other vital information instead of several sheets of paper.

5.  Shred extra paper.  Once your paperwork for home or business is organized in a file cabinet and/or accounted for using computer software, destroy extra copies.  As long as you have saved files and backups on your computer those duplicate papers are not needed.

6.  Leave a file tray on your desk for current mail.  After the mail is dealt with (within a few days of receiving it) shred it if you donít need it.

Reduce your paperwork with a few steps to organize the home and home office.