Do you maintain a reasonably efficient filing system to store your bills, important documents, certificates and agreements?? Or do you just pile up your paid bills somewhere in the store room of your home?? Do you need to sit and recall the last place you kept your certificates or your car insurance policies every time you need to attend an interview or you need to make an insurance claim??
It is so simple to establish your personal filing system at home. All it takes is some basic stationeries which you can purchase from any local book or stationery stores, and a very efficient approach.
Before further elaboration.... it is important for you to understand the two fundamental types of files; the permanent files and the temporary or current files. Permanent files generally are those files into which more permanent natured documents are filed into (e.g. sale and purchase agreements, birth certificates, education certificates, insurance policies, bank saving books and etc). Temporary files on the other hand holds documents which are temporarily needed and often replaceable (e.g your paid utility bills, bank deposit slips, copies of your CVs or salary slips etc).
There are thousands of approaches out there which you can use in establishing your filing system. However, I always prefer to follow the simplest approach available...a 4 step approach which is unambiguous and easy.
STEP 1 : CATEGORISE
The first step in establishing an efficient filing system is to clearly determine and write down the categories of your files..i.e what are the labels of your files. The categorisation of your files should reflect your lifestyle and your needs. Some would only want to file in their most important documents such as certificates and legal agreements; others would want to file in receipts of payments and their utility bills. You can easily obtain these categories from your budget listings or any budget templates available from the net.
STEP 2: ASSIGN
Once you have determined the categories of the files, assign each to be either a permanent or temporary natured. Some categories might have both versions for e.g assume one of your category is "BANK"....now you might want to have a permanent bank file (to file in fixed deposit certificates or overdraft facility agreement) as well as a temporary bank file which only stores monthly bank in slips. Just indicate whether each of your categories are P(permanent), T(temporary) of P&T(both permanent and temporary).
STEP 3: PURCHASE
Now...since you have clearly defined the category and type of your files, you will be able to determine the number of files that you'll need to purchase. Visit any bookshop or my online store and purchase the following:-
Start labelling your arch files. If you purchased a label maker, use it to produce and print out the labels. If not, label your files using the black marker pen. Decide which colour sticker will represent a permanent file and which one will represent the temporary files, e.g let's assume you bought green and yellow stickers...thus decide whether you want to use green for permanent files and yellow for temporary files or vice versa. Finally, file in the documents according to its dates. Remember to use the colour indexes for each type of document within a particular file, as required. I'll illustrate this using my previous example in Step 2....you've decided that you need to set up a "BANK" permanent and temporary file. You've labelled two individual arch files which you purchased with "BANK". Stick on the green sticker above this label on one file and on another, stick on the yellow one. Green sticker means permanent and yellow sticker indicates it is a temporary file. Next is to start filing in the relevant documents into the relevant files. If you come across a bank in slip...file it in the temporary "BANK" file. If you find another group of document which should be filed in the temporary "BANK" file (e.g bank interest payment slips) ...file it in too. Use the colour indexes to separate the two types of documents within the temporary "BANK" file. Simple!!! All it needs is some practice!!
STEP 2: ASSIGN
Once you have determined the categories of the files, assign each to be either a permanent or temporary natured. Some categories might have both versions for e.g assume one of your category is "BANK"....now you might want to have a permanent bank file (to file in fixed deposit certificates or overdraft facility agreement) as well as a temporary bank file which only stores monthly bank in slips. Just indicate whether each of your categories are P(permanent), T(temporary) of P&T(both permanent and temporary).
STEP 3: PURCHASE
Now...since you have clearly defined the category and type of your files, you will be able to determine the number of files that you'll need to purchase. Visit any bookshop or my online store and purchase the following:-
- Coloured Indexes
- 2 Different Coloured Stickers
- Label Maker or Black Marker Pen (optional)
- Arch Files
Start labelling your arch files. If you purchased a label maker, use it to produce and print out the labels. If not, label your files using the black marker pen. Decide which colour sticker will represent a permanent file and which one will represent the temporary files, e.g let's assume you bought green and yellow stickers...thus decide whether you want to use green for permanent files and yellow for temporary files or vice versa. Finally, file in the documents according to its dates. Remember to use the colour indexes for each type of document within a particular file, as required. I'll illustrate this using my previous example in Step 2....you've decided that you need to set up a "BANK" permanent and temporary file. You've labelled two individual arch files which you purchased with "BANK". Stick on the green sticker above this label on one file and on another, stick on the yellow one. Green sticker means permanent and yellow sticker indicates it is a temporary file. Next is to start filing in the relevant documents into the relevant files. If you come across a bank in slip...file it in the temporary "BANK" file. If you find another group of document which should be filed in the temporary "BANK" file (e.g bank interest payment slips) ...file it in too. Use the colour indexes to separate the two types of documents within the temporary "BANK" file. Simple!!! All it needs is some practice!!
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