Another Backwards WFMW - Paperwork Help Please?!

Posted by: Amber | March 4, 2008

Another Backwards WFMW - Paperwork Help Please?!

Paperwork, paperwork, paperwork! The thorn in my side. I’m about to tackle my desk and filing cabinet and I have really got to develop a system that I can stick to.

What I currently have is a place to tuck my mail after I toss my junk mail. Which I am really good at. But it might sit there for up to two weeks before I open it! And no, opening it as soon as I get home (we get ours from the post office) is not realistic, because we often get home and go right into meal preparation. I’m thinking I should pick a specific time of day or specific days of the week to open and file mail, but haven’t settled on a specific plan of attack.

I have a home management binder, located near the mail sorter, with a section for bills that need to be paid. I did this for a little bit, but haven’t for a while. I pay most of my bills over the phone or online so I don’t really need the paper bill, and if I haven’t opened it yet, I just call about the time the bill is due and ask how much it is. Yeah, I know that is awful. Please don’t lecture me on that point.

I have an expanding folder in the top drawer of my desk that I’m supposed to file the bill in once I have paid the bill, with the date of payment and confirmation number. When I set that up, I figured I’d collect all the bills for the calendar year and then at the end of the year when preparing taxes, file away whatever I need to keep in the filing cabinet and throw the rest away. But since I pay my bills online, and since my bank statements show record of those, I haven’t decided if I really need to keep the bills after I pay them?

And last but not least, I have a file cabinet. I’m supposed to file away each calendar’s year’s worth of stuff along with tax papers at the end of the year. But I’m not sure if I need to keep more than bank statements and tax returns - do I?

And while we’re at it, I’m trying to keep records for homeschool, too. The state does not require me to do that, but I attempt to keep some sort of record for “just in case.” So, other homeschooling moms who may be reading this… I want to know what you keep? I know I need to keep a log of grades, but what about all the assignments, should I find a way to store all this stuff? I have a lot of workbooks and papers and things that are quickly becoming a pile of clutter.. any tips?

I’m open to any suggestions and advice, I have really got to get a handle on paperwork!!

(Backwards) Works For Me Wednesday is hosted by Shannon at Rocks In My Dryer.

Posted in WFMW

Responses

A couple of miscellaneous ideas:

1 - I often deal with my mail in the bathroom. I bring in the mail as I get home, and since I usually need to take a little trip to the bathroom, I just open and sort there. That might be really weird, but I swear, it works for me. There’s more empty envelopes in my bathroom trash can than anywhere else.

2 - I keep twelve folders in the front of the top drawer of my file cabinet, labeled January through December. I file bills according to the month I receive them, and each new month, shred the old bills from the previous year. I’ve tried a ton of different approaches, and this is by far the one that works the best for me.

3 - I pay all of my bills online, and as much as possible, request paperless statements from the companies I pay regularly.

4 - I use this as my guideline for what kinds of documents I need to keep, and for how long:
http://www.suzeorman.com/igsbase/igstemplate.cfm?SRC=MD012&SRCN=aoedetails&GnavID=84&SnavID=20&TnavID=&AreasofExpertiseID=17

By: Kristy on March 5, 2008
at 1:30 am

Oh yeah! I forgot about that! I do have one bill that is paperless and two more that I did request as paperless, but for some reason I still get the paper bill. I guess I need to try to request that again.

By: proverbs31 on March 5, 2008
at 9:52 am

Ok, here are my thoughts:

I immediately recycle junk mail and open the “fun” stuff. So right away, most of the paper goes away. I immediately put bills in a special stack and on the 1st and 15th of the month, I pay bills.

I keep one copy of each type of bill around, so that I have my account number and the contact info for the company handy. I recycle the rest.

I keep stuff I need for taxes in one filing folder in a filing cabinet. One copy of each type of bill in another filing folder in that cabinet. That’s it.

By: beanland on March 5, 2008
at 10:25 am

Every year, I get smarter about paying bills. I do most of them over the phone, too. To me, it’s worth the little extra I have to pay to keep my credit score in line and to not have a $35 late charge! I have one of those expanding files, too, and just file bills by the month. A year later, I shred old bills that don’t have any real purpose (I don’t need them for tax purposes, for example). So in January of this year, I shredded the bills from last January. February got shredded and now I’m working on March. (I throw everything I want to shred in a big bag and just do a handful at a time when I have a moment.)
I keep a record of my bills in a black-and-white notebook rather than a check register. It’s all in one place and easier for me to read. I listed all my bills in one column, followed by twelve more blank columns (one for each month). As a bill is paid, I check off next to it under the particular month. Then I can see at a glance what’s been paid. But what I did this year was to write the date of the month around which the bills will be due. Discover Card, for example, is always due on the 25th. I check this list every few days and pay what’s coming up.
I posted this someplace else, but the best thing I ever learned about paperwork is to remember this: RAFT. That’s Read, Act, File, Toss. If you make yourself up four baskets with these words on them, it will be all you need to sort through your mail each day. Any paperwork you get will fall into one of those categories: something you have to read, something to act on (like a bill to be paid), something to file away…and something to toss right into the trash!
Good luck with your papers!

By: mom2fur on March 5, 2008
at 2:39 pm

“Getting Things Done” recommends a system called 43 Folders.

Twelve folders are used to represent each month and an additional 31 folders are used to represent each day. The folders are arranged to help remind you of activities to be done that day.

Each day you open to the numbered folder representing today’s date. You take all the items out of the folder and put the empty folder into the next month.

This sort of management allows you to file hardcopy reminders to yourself. For instance, if you had a concert on the 12th of the month, you would store the tickets in the 12th folder, and when the 12th came around, they would be there waiting for you.

Google “43 Folders” to find tons of people and sites dedicated to 43 Folders.

By: Robin @ Heart at Home on March 5, 2008
at 3:57 pm

4. Tax/Bills - if you need it for taxes, keep one folder for it. Mark the folder “2008″ and put everything (receipts, paid bills, letter from the church, etc.) in there. When it’s tax season, you will have it in one place and it truly won’t take too much time to go through.

5. Binders: Get one binder, good sized, that is pretty to carry around. Inside, keep the papers & info you have to keep on hand. Here are my sections: First, “Info” folder that has a phone list in case I lose my cell phone, photocopy of every card in my wallet (front & back - so if it’s stolen you can call & cancel things if it’s stolen), health insurance, etc. Second, a section for meal plans/grocery lists, with coupons and take-out menus (again, use online whenever you can). Third, a section for your homeschool plans & document it quarterly in your file system. Next, a “future” section with travel tickets receipts, community calendars of events, etc. Finally, include a section for “Others” where you jot down gift ideas, stash wedding invites, and keep a couple thank-you notes handy. Keep this binder very, very handy.

5. Finally, if a piece of storage/filing equipment isn’t working for you, give it away. Do not keep failures around in your home. You are way too wonderful & far more organized for that.

By: MamaToo on March 5, 2008
at 5:10 pm

Thanks for all the comments! I’ve got some really good ideas. I’ll tackle that for next Tuesday and then let y’all know how it goes.