How to organise your paperwork… and keep it organised
If getting your paperwork organised fills you with dread, please read on. I know how easy it is for papers to accumulate! Each piece of paper takes such little room, it's easy to keep "just in case”. Yet a box of unsorted paperwork is heavy, physically and mentally.
I’m going to run you through Marie Kondo’s method seasoned with my personal advice. For many of us, paperwork is not joyful. But wow, the time saved and peace of mind is the real joy. I sometimes feel I’m literally watching a weight ease off my clients’ shoulders at this point in their KonMari® journey. As always, declutter first and store second! A joyful storage solution is the icing on the cake. Don’t worry we’ll come to that at the end.
I urge you to keep only papers for which you have a clear purpose - those you are currently using, those you need for a limited period and those that you need to keep indefinitely. Of course, each country and profession has its own rules on retaining various papers. That is not my area of expertise but I refer to some common UK requirements below. If in doubt, please consult with the relevant legal and financial professionals. Here we go…
1) Prepare
Make room somewhere comfortable to sit - your kitchen table or a large desk with plenty of floor space is ideal
Paperwork is brain heavy so keep your water bottle close and stay hydrated!
Get ALL your paperwork into one place from across your home
If you have a filing system, empty it out - just like when we KonMari our clothes and books, we approach this task with fresh eyes
Keep post-it notes and a pen handy
2) Declutter & Categorise
In my experience, it usually makes sense to declutter and categorise together. If you prefer, you can categorise quickly (like a sorting robot) and then declutter your resulting categories or vice versa. If you already find yourself speed reading the papers to make a decision, you can save time by not doing it twice. Post-it notes are your friend!
Recycling: It is prudent to make sensitive personal information illegible with a rolling privacy ink stamp like this OR tear those bits (e.g. your address on a letter) for the shredding pile. Stick a post-it note labelled recycling on the floor or next to a bin bag. As we get on, this often becomes a mountain!
Shredding: Any sensitive personal information belongs here to deal with once you’re done! If you have a shredder, you can do it yourself. A few of my clients’ kids were thrilled to do it for pocket money! A few of my clients took a bag to their office secure document disposal bin. 100% confidentiality and zero judgement over here. If it is a lot, save time and outsource to a shredding company.
Pending: Things you need to act on. Keep only what you need, discarding the envelopes and any accompanying advertising flyers. Outstanding bills, letters to post send and other papers that require your action belong here.
Keep stacks: Use post-it notes to label stacks such as medical, children's documents, warranties, certificates, qualifications, tax, banking, property, work, receipts. As you keep going, categories that make sense for you will emerge. You will start to see the shape of the outcome. The middle can feel messy with a table full of papers! There is a list of common paper categories on my free printable Konmari tidying checklist. An example: I now have a file for each child, that has their medical, school and other key papers in.
Keep going. Drink water. Take short breaks.
3) Do you really need to keep it? How long for?
Now this bit is crucial. As you start to identify the papers you must keep, keep asking yourself do you need them? 20 years ago we required more papers. As our digital lives explode, why double up with paper clutter?
Generic flyers, junk mail and envelopes: Recycling these is the easiest way to reduce bulk fast! FYI generic bank account info with interest rates will more up to date online and accessible from your online banking portal.
User manuals: Are you holding onto bulky user manuals? Most clients of client discover the manuals for long gone items. I know I certainly did when I did this process myself. No-one requires the papers for two toasters ago! Would you google or YouTube it nowadays? If I try to fit a car seat or fix a gadget I google first. Will you build that IKEA Billy bookshelf again, and even if you do won’t it be quicker to access the info online? Worst (unlikely) case scenario you can contact the manufacturer if you can’t easily find the information on their website. Though if a manual sparks a lot of joy for you, keep it with confidence!
Warranties: Unlike generic manuals, this is personal to your purchase. Do you still need to register your ownership online? If so it belongs in your pending box. In-date warranties for items you still own is a common keep category.
Bank statements: Can you pull up the PDFs from your online banking when you need them e.g. when you check your budget each month or when you need 3 months’ worth for a mortgage application? Can you ditch the papers and contact your bank to go paperless?
Tax and pay-related paperwork: How long do you need it for? HMRC suggest keeping records for at least 2 years after the end of the tax year submission deadline (for personal) and at least 5 years after (for self-employed or running a business) Are you differentiating between monthly payslips vs annual statements and P60s?
Utility bills and other proof of residence documents: You need to decide how many to keep once you categorise. A recent client who faced immigration issues was naturally conservative and kept a full history. You may just keep the last year’s worth.
Pension statements: Again, I always ask how many do you need? The last annual statement or the most recent 1, 2 or 3? I personally keep my last 1 for a physical overview and my account details - beyond that I can log on online. Once you decide, this can be your system going forward.
Receipts: 5 years after the tax submission deadline is suggested for business expenses. Can you go digital for some? For example, service invoices often come by PDF on email and can be saved in a labelled folder. All Organised Joy invoices are digital by the way! Proof of purchase of certain high value items like furniture or designer goods you might sell in future are worth retaining. As are items you would want to record for your insurance company. I personally keep most receipts short term in a clear envelope in my pending box - once I know I'm not returning the item, I discard them when I go through my pending box.
Newspaper and magazine clippings: You know, those travel articles for place you hope to visit or those recipes you hope to cook. Be discerning! If it’s a restaurant you want to go to, put it in your pending box and assign a date to book by! Or if you keep a note on your phone of Wishlist places, write it there and chuck the paper! If a particular clipping sparks a lot of joy, can you use it or display it? Or set it aside with sentimental items.
Old course materials: Are you promising yourself to review them “someday”? Often “someday” never comes. Do more up-to-date versions of this information exist? One example is old language course notes. Would you now favour Duolingo or similar learning apps? In truth holding on to the many selves we could be (or “should be”) can stifle us. Letting go might liberate you. These cliches are in our parlance for a reason: life is short, the world is your oyster! Getting clear on what you want to actively learn about or develop in yourself at any point in life is what this process is all about!
4) Set aside other “paper” categories for later
Sentimental items such as old letters, greetings cards received, childhood artwork: If you feel emotionally attached, I suggest you set these aside. We leave the sentimental category til the very end when your “joy sensor” and “decision making muscles” are stronger. Going down memory lane will slow you down at this point. However, if you find it simple, go for it and keep only those that spark joy!
Blank papers and unused stationery (envelopes, files, notepads) can be set aside to tackle with the rest of your stationery later.
If you have got to this stage, you should have categorised paperwork. Hurrah the hard job is done! You should feel very proud of what you have achieved. Now you need a clear system to keep your papers organised, accessible and easy to maintain. See 5) and 6) below.
5) Your pending box or in-tray
Deal with as many 'pending' papers as you can now, else set aside a day for this
I love an upright magazine box over a traditional tiered in-tray because you can access each paper easily. Nothing gets stuck at the bottom. Choose one that sparks joy or re-use what you have. Muji, Paperchase and Amazon are my go-tos - search for ‘magazine file’.
Dealing with incoming paperwork:
Open mail ASAP and recycle envelopes and unwanted flyers right away
Incoming papers are filed or go into your pending box with a clear "deal by" date
Regularly go through your pending box to deal with outstanding items and file
When filing, keep most recent on top
Whenever you file paperwork, can you remove something in the file? e.g. when filing a new utility bill, discard the oldest one
Step six: Create a simple filing system
I promise this is simpler once you're not holding onto lots of pointless paperwork!
There are many ways to do this, depending on your needs. I tend to be wary of traditional bulky office filing cabinets. Once you declutter, chances are you can keep it more compact! Once you know the volume of paperwork you are keeping, it becomes easy to choose the right solution. A few examples that work for me and my clients:
Matching ring binders with paper dividers: I have one ring binder for my financials, one for my medical, one for each child, one for Organised Joy papers (including relevant course materials) and so on. These are further subdivided and within a sub-division, newest goes on top. You can either hole punch papers or use plastic folders in your ring binders or a mix. My husband has (less good-looking) files for his own papers but that’s ok. Each to their own.
Set of clear document folders with button closures
Concertina expanding file holder
Clearly label the outside of your files so everything is quickly accessible
Consider your security requirements - you may wish to keep your passports and certain important documents in a safe or fireproof, waterproof lockable box
Ta-da!
Finally, sit back and admire the fruits of your labour! Please let me know how you get on at tanya@organisedjoy.com or instagram. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, why not take advantage of the free 30 minute video consultation I offer. If you already know you want more support, please contact me and let’s talk about what we can achieve together.