Office Organization 101

Before we get to the organizational tips ~ I have a couple of updates and a prize to give away!!

First, Andrew has been back to the ophthamologist and the cornea has healed 40%. He goes back to the doctor today and we are believing God to hear that there will be NO permanent damage.

Second, Mark continues to be unemployed but we are continuing to believe that God works all things out for HIS Glory!!

Third, 'Never Say Diet' book giveaway!

And the winner is.......

Cindy from LettersFromMidLife

Congratulations!

Please email me and give me your address so I can get the books in the mail right away!

NOW, I am really excited:)

From the response I received through comments and emails ~ my first organizational post was well received. So here is another one.

I thought about how I feel this time of year when I walk into my office/craft room. January is always a messy time in this room. I remove all of my files and create new ones. I have piles everywhere. Therefore, I felt confident that this would be a great place to start.

Here are a couple of pile photos

Everything that needs to be kept or used for tax purposes goes into one box. This includes paystubs, mortgage payments, tithe information, auto insurance and fee statements, bank and financial statements, all utility bills, all medical bills and anything else I may need to refer back to.

After tax season I shred anything that I do not need to keep. This includes most utility bills, my hand written budget pages (except items which are tax deductible), and anything else I felt was important during the year but realized it really isn't. (Why do we keep so much paper?)

After everything has been pulled from the file cabinet I make new files. This year I actually chose to get new hanging files as well but I only do that every 3 or 4 years. Hanging folders are used for categories while regular files are used for subcategories.

IE: Category: Credit Cards

Sub-categories: Wells Fargo, Capital One, Choice, Kohl's Etc.

Whenever a bill comes in, I pay it and file the statement in it's file. At the end of the year everything is right where I need it for taxes.

I do this with all my paper needs.

I also keep one drawer for computer purchases and warranties.

I purchase a clear plastic file for each computer and label it. If I have any warranty issue or need to reboot the computer I just pick up that file and everything is in it.

In that drawe (photo below) I also keep all of our household warranties filed alphabetically.

Each year I go through those and discard anything we no longer own.

Now why do I start there?

I am preparing to organize a friends office next week.

I told her the best place to start is the file cabinet because if the file cabinet is cleaned out then we will have places to put all the paper stuff. After the papers are all put away we can focus on other things.

Getting paperwork in it's place is so helpful. It keeps you organized and prepared for tax season. There is nothing I hate more than having to search for something important when tax season rolls around.

I hope this was helpful to you. Please feel free to comment or email if you have any questions. I absolutely LOVE to talk about this subject. Next Friday I will continue with Office Organization 101.

Considering It All Joy!

Cindy