|

How to Do a Filing System Declutter

This post contains affiliate links. I may receive a commission, at no cost to you, when you choose to use the links provided. See the Disclosure Policy for more information.
After the filing system declutter. Folders were removed, papers were pitched, and things were looking pretty good!

Do you have a good system set up for filing paper? I'll be honest – my filing system is still a work in progress. I've tried a lot of different systems, but none of them seem to work out quite right for me.

pink and purple file folders full of paper that need a filing system declutter

Today, I'm writing about how I decluttered my filing system. I'm sure not everything here will apply to you and your unique filing situation, but I hope that this post will help you anyway. I know it helps me when I read about how other people organize things.

I have done a few things in the past few years that have helped me to keep papers more organized, but I'm constantly tweaking and changing my systems. Part of this is because we've moved, and the way our house is set up made it necessary to change up the system.

Part of it is that I've done a lot of decluttering, so I don't have as much paper to organize. And, part of it is that circumstances change as families grow. Files I needed to keep when our sons were babies are very different than the file I need to keep now that they're a little older.

Even though I have a so-so system, I knew it was time to go through it and declutter the things we didn't need any more.

Related Article

Organizing with Binders– Make everything easy to find by using a binder organization system.

Before Decluttering the Files. A hot mess, but at least the folders are cute!
Before the Filing System Declutter.

Before I started getting rid of things, I decided to look at what was working in our filing system. Here's what I decided to keep:

Related Post

FREE Paper Organization Challenge – Go here to sign up and start organizing your paper today!

Files and Filing Systems I Kept

  1. A desk organizer. I love this organizer because I can see all of my folders at once. It's easy to grab a folder while I'm working, or file something away quickly. I don't have to thumb through a lot of papers and folders. Unless I don't declutter it, and then it's just a very visible mess.

    This is where I keep all of my pending projects. I use slash pockets so I can easily get to things, and see everything in a folder at once.
    Slash Pocket File with Pending Projects
  2. Slash pockets in a file box. After reading The Sunday Basket, I started doing a weekly review of all of our family's papers, and I file pending things in slash pockets. I also use slash pockets to store travel documents.
  3. GTD Folders. After I read Getting Things Done a few years ago, I set up an elaborate filing and organizational system. It worked for a while, but I didn't keep up with it because…working on files is not my full-time job. I did keep some folders from that system though:
    1. Maybe/Someday Folder – For things I might want to do someday when I have more time. These are things that look super cool. I don't want to forget about them, so I put them in this folder. Periodically, I go through the folder, and usually wonder what in the world I was thinking when I decided to keep some of these things. Sometimes, I find some great ideas that I “forgot”about in this folder.
    2. Waiting Folder. This is for stuff that I need input from someone else in order to complete. I keep shipping records in there for things I've sold on Amazon. Sometimes I file receipts in this folder if I think I might need to return something. You can put anything in this folder that might need to come back to later.
  4. Blog Post Ideas Folder. I have a tendency to think of blog post ideas when I'm out and about. I jot them down on a piece of paper, and put them into this folder when I'm by my desk. Later, I can go through the ideas and schedule posts or pitch bad ideas.
  5. School Folder. For all things related to school. I was a room mother this year, so it was nice to have everyone'e email addresses close by.
  6. Menus Folder. Any restaurant that will deliver to our house (and that's about four restaurants), get a place for their menus in this special folder.
  7. Medical Receipts Folder. A few years ago, this folder was huge. Thankfully, now it's much thinner.
  8. Project Folders. These are project-specific folders for things we're working on for our house or family. For example, I'm trying to consolidate a lot of our finances into fewer accounts, so I have a special folder for this project.
  9. Accordian File for Business Receipts. I bought one at Target for $1. It fits nicely into the desk organizer, so there are no excuses for me not to save things properly.
  10. Tax Information Folder. This is where we keep all of the information we'll need to include with our personal taxes. I like having this folder at my desk, but I'm considering moving it to our family's mail file box so it's easier for my husband to find too. Especially if my desk filing system gets totally out-of-control again, having this in a more central location would be good.

 

After the filing system declutter. Folders were removed, papers were pitched, and things were looking pretty good!
Filing System After the Declutter

Stuff I Got Rid Of…

  1. Tax Information from Past Years. Yes, years. This stuff all got packed into accordion files, and put away into our old file cabinet. Hopefully I'll never have to look at it again. Fingers crossed!
  2. Car Accident Paperwork. We were in a car accident that involved a lot of follow up doctors visits, shenanigans, and arguing with our insurance company. I have records of it all in one huge folder. This was also relegated to our old filing cabinet. Not seeing it all the time is sure to relieve some stress!
  3. Moving Files. We have records and paperwork from our past move. This was also relocated to the old file cabinet.
  4. Blogging Stuff. This was taking over my filing system. I made a binder to store it all, and got it out of the desk organizer area. Use this free printable to keep records for all of your rewards programs.
  5. Rewards Program Information. I transferred a lot of this information to my rewards program tracker. I put some of the documents in sheet protectors, and put it in our household binder. UPDATE: I made a better Travel Rewards Tracker. You can get it here.
  6. Folders for old projects. Some of these projects were done, some had been abandoned, and some just didn't make sense any more. I got rid of a lot of paperwork by getting rid of this stuff.

More Paper Organization Resources

How I decluttered my filing system and made it work better for our family. Filing System Declutter.

New to this community? Start here, friend!

Similar Posts

24 Comments

  1. I am so glad the Sunday Basket system is working for you! I LOVE seeing the list of what you got rid of. It helps me so much to see what I can get rid of in addition to how to keep what I have left.

    🙂
    Lisa

    1. I love it, Lisa! It’s really helped me stay more organized – especially with our family stuff. I love your podcasts too!

  2. Great ideas! My filing system is always I work in progress. I recently de-cluttered my files too… there were many things that were unnecessary to keep any longer. I enjoyed your post, it’s always inspirational to see how others keep their paper organized.

  3. I saw your post on the Mom Blog Party and I had to stop by. I love organizing my office. My family laughs at me because I love going to office supply stores. Your filing system sounds like a good one and I love that filing basket. Thanks for sharing these tips.

  4. I needed this today! I’ve been staring at the mountain of paper that should be filed away and is instead cluttering up our counter and desk. I know what I’ll be doing this weekend!

  5. I tend to keep a lot of the on going paperwork tucked in my diary so that I know where it is – I use a zip up tablet case for my diary and all the bits of paperwork. Bits that Our Sidekick needs to pay attention to are on the magnetic board in the hall way so that he sees them. Other bits get magnetically attached to the fridge.

    1. Hi Hannah! I like the idea of using a magnetic board that everyone can see. That’s a great strategy!

  6. I also feel overwhelmed with too much paperwork at times! I love your filing system and may have to try this for myself. Thanks so much for linking up with Share The Wealth Sunday!

    xoxo
    Lisa

  7. Great post! My goal this summer is clear off my desk and get rid of a lot of paper clutter. I have a tendency to keep every little bit of pape, but seeing the items you were able to part with is giving me some encouragement that I can do the same. Thank you! 🙂

  8. I just moved, so I need to SET up a filing system. At my old place,stuff was just thrown wherever. Sadly, I do mean that literally.

  9. Wow! Great ideas. Pinned and tweeted. We appreciate you stopping by to party with us. We hope to see you, tonight at 7 pm. Happy Monday! Lou Lou Girls

  10. I hate paper and filing! Every week or so I scan what I need to keep into my Neat Receipts scanner/filing system and then shred it. I hardly have any paper items anymore. But, if I did I would love pretty filing folders like you have! Thanks for sharing with #SmallVictoriesSundayLinkup 6/7/15

    1. I’m still pretty old-school about keeping paper and writing things down. If I were more tech-savvy, I would definitely scan things in. It must save so much space!

  11. Pingback: Friday Features Linky Party | Oh My Heartsie Girl
  12. Great tips. I’m coming back when I have less of a migraine and can focus!

    Popping over from Oh My Heartsie Girl.

    Have a great weekend!

  13. I love filing in binders also. A few years ago I Realized by creating 2 sheet protectors per company, I wouldn’t have to ever sort thru them again and can still keep 6 months – 1 yr of records. Jan – June go in one. And July – Dec go in another. Since I am ready to switch to July again, as I file this month, I simply dump last year’s July – Dec in the trash without even looking at it. Neat & simple! ????

Comments are closed.