Since the pandemic, many more Americans have discovered the joy of working from home. While ditching the commute is fantastic, it does have some downsides, like all the paperwork that is now in your home office.
For many people, carving out the extra space to have a place to work was hard enough. Now they want you to store those records, too. If you’re new to having a home office, or if your office just needs a little organizing help, we’re here to help you find a system that works for you and doesn’t mean you have even less living space.
How Do I Set Up a Home Filing System?
The first step in setting up a home filing system is determining what papers you need to keep and how to categorize them. For many people, the first step in figuring out a filing system is collecting all the things that need to be filed.
Depending on the nature of your job, there may or may not be one or more files that need to be devoted to working. This can be everything from client notes to a tickler file of things that you need to reevaluate at some later date. Determining how often you can purge the files and organizing them to correspond to your workflow is best for work-related files.
For instance, in sales, you might want weekly files with clients you are selling that week and monthly files that record all your sales data for that period. These can be especially useful to reference a year later to see if they offer new leads and to ensure that your commissions are tracked accurately.
Other professions, like lawyers, might want to organize their files by the client or case number.
Once you have identified the files you need for your job, it’s time to address all the paperwork that comes with the full-time position of running a family or your life. Easy categories can be files for bills, financial information, medical care, your car, the house, including maintenance and upkeep, pets, warranties, and even vacations.
Sort the various paperwork you collected and choose the appropriate category. If you find something that doesn’t fit a class, decide if you need another file or if that is paperwork you don’t need to keep.
Where Do I Store Paperwork at Home?
Once you have decided on the files you need, it’s time to devise a storage solution. The volume of paperwork you need to store will be your first consideration.
Have a year’s worth of sales receipts and tax documents? Your filing system might be more complex than just a banker’s box full of files. Deciding between a filing cabinet and a desktop hanging file can be a matter of personal preference, work style, and space. A desktop hanging file is often suitable for ongoing projects and things that need regular attention, like bills or medical files.
For many families, a small hanging file for current home paperwork is plenty. At least once a year, those files can be purged, shredded, or moved to a storage box outside your work area.
Another thing to consider when creating a filing system for your home or office is whether digital storage would be more convenient and cost-effective. Not sure? Talk to our digital storage experts.
Storage Quarters Is Your Resource for Document Storage, Shredding, and Digitizing
Talk with your employer about adding your records to the company's digital record storage. Consider contacting Storage Quarters. to set up a digital repository for your documents. Storage Quarters can help you and your employer securely destroys records you no longer need and provide safe, cost-effective digital storage for the ones you do. Call (516) 794-7300 today for a free quote.