Paperwork- how do you keep on top of it?

[Thandeka]

DH and I have a chest of drawers by the kitchen table with a tray on it. Basically most paperwork gets dumped there (even the cleaner knows to chuck it on the pile!). Then every 6 months or so (or once the pile starts to topple!) we (I mean I!) have a big blitz and sort it out and can chuck most of it (plus in meantime if we need to find a bill or letter or whatever the most obvious place to start is the pile rather than anywhere else.)

Anyhow I am going to start working from home and need to get properly on top of paperwork and am thinking leaving it to every 6 months isn't terribly good - we just purchased a filing cabinet so need to work out a system for keeping on top of paperwork.
Any advice.

We ended up with a filing cabinet too. CAn't say I'm always on top of it but I try to open the envelopes at the cabinet and drop anything to be filed right away into the right folder and then pile the rest in the 'to do' file box - you know the upright kind - can't think of the name (magazine file?).

Then I sit back and wait for a fairy godmother to come and do that paperwork. She never turns up which is why i'm writing cheques and looking at mumsnet today

I do try to spend a few minutes doing this each week though - have nearly drowned in paper in past.
Good luck!

I love my filing cabinet. Have a set of trays next to it and sort things into 'to be dealt with' and 'to file' as they come in.

Though I'm really behind at the moment, and the trays broke in the move, so everything is in a giant pile on the desk. I should really get up there today and sort it out.

Thandeka - as me and DW work from home we have to be absolutely ruthless with paperwork otherwise it would drown us.

When mail comes in we immediatley open it and sort it. Any junk mail is shredded along with any envelopes with labels on so our identity is protected.

Any bills that come we set up an online banking payment that day and these plus the rest of the paperwork is then filed in a vegetable rack on top one of our filing cabinets.

On Friday we then go through the vegetable rack together and file away things like bank stamements, dividend slips, utility bills etc that we do not need to write a reply to.

Any letters that needs a reply, we then also reply to on Friday and file the reply plus the original letter in one of our filing cabinets.

Finally, anything like tax returns that are not possible to reply to immediately we file away and write a note on out calender setting a date aside to complete them.

This way nothing builds up on us and becomes too overwhelming to deal with. We also do not miss important deadlines like utility bill payments and tax return deadlines.

Investing in one or more good 4 drawer filing cabinet with hanging files and plastic wallets to put inside the hanging files is a good idea. A set of vegetable racks to put on top for loose mail as it arrives is also a good idea.

Wow you sound frightfully well organised EvenBetadad!

Well I just organised my crap files into my brand new filing cabinet. Already have a huge pile for recycling and for the shredder. Now for the giant box of paper (probably with a scary number of unopened envelopes! (but we know whats in em and it aint interesting!)

Sounds like a good job for a wet Saturday night and a glass of wine.

I am like Evenbetadad. I deal with all the post every day. In fact I do it usually when it arrives. I virtually never go to bed without filing or dealing with it. I pay bills on the date of receipt. I have filing cabinets with everything in date order and I do it with my business admin too - only way to manage working full time as a single parent supporting 5 children.

My sister is like the original poster. I think people just differ but I could not live like she does. If I say well get out the details of XYZ if you are not sure about that thing and she will say it would be impossbile to find whereas I can find most things instantly. I had loads of p ost today. I spent about 60 minutes dealing with it. Nothing is left to be filed or posted or dealt with. If you let things build up then they are much worse