subject: Organizing Home Office Files [print this page] Trying to figure out what to do with all of that paperwork in a home office can be challenging. How do you organize it? Where should all of it go? What kinds of files do you need to create?
Let's tackle the question of where it all needs to go. If you are going to take on the task of organizing home office files, you will need to have somewhere to put them. Where you put them really depends on how much paper you have. If you keep very limited paper files, a small bin or even a filing stand on your desk should work fine. If you keep a lot of paper like I do, you will need a filing cabinet. There are two drawer and four drawer ones. Be sure that you get one that allows your files to grow some. It is better to have a little too much space than not enough.
What about the types of files that you need. This will depend on your situation but there are some general areas that will likely need files: House/Apartment, Medical, Car, Monthly Bills, Important Documents. Depending on your situation, you may need a lot of different files for these areas or maybe just one. I have separate medical files for every member of my family so that I can easily get things like immunization records for one child if I need it. Part of organizing home office files is just discovering what files you need. And that is usually simply a matter of going through all of your papers and seeing what items fit together.
