WHAT TYPE OF RECORD-KEEPER ARE YOU?
As a CPA I spend lots of time going through other people’s records and paperwork. Over the course of many years, I have seen all kinds. Organized, precise, half-missing, thrown in a box, I have seen them all. In my own personal life, I have been on a journey with paperwork. My current status with that is that I want it all to disappear and go PAPERLESS. But believe me when I tell you, that is a journey in itself. Paper comes into your home daily via mail, school papers, and all kinds of things. My goal is to encourage you to improve your record-keeping skills and become more organized. Organized personal record-keeping is a must with today’s busy families!
THERE ARE A COUPLE OF IMPORTANT THINGS TO UNDERSTAND WHEN ORGANIZING YOUR FILE SYSTEM
The two things that will help you with organized personal record-keeping are what to keep, and what not to keep. I can’t stress the importance of this enough! It is a must to understand how to quickly sort and group your papers and documents as they come in. Sometimes people like to focus on the organization of files (which sometimes results in organizing junk). But if you get rid of what you don’t need, you will not need to organize as much. It is very important to be able to determine what can go just as it comes into your home so that you can keep the most important items. Let’s expand on that.
PERSONAL RECORD-KEEPING FILES TO KEEP
There are many types of records that you need to keep. There are personal records such as birth certificates, social security information, health records, automobile records, and things like this. You will also want to keep wills, trusts, medical directives, and any type of documents that someone might need should you become incapacitated. There are also passwords, banking and credit card information, tax returns, home purchase, and improvement records, and things of this nature. And very important, keep your tax records throughout the year. These are all files that need to be kept and easily accessed so they should be organized and coordinated. Here is an infographic that may be helpful to you in deciding your records to keep. This is just a guideline, but I thought it may be helpful at a glance when deciding what records to keep.
PERSONAL RECORD-KEEPING RECORDS NOT TO KEEP
This is the area where people can run into problems, including me. When I became an adult and started keeping my own records, I kept EVERYTHING. For years. I was methodical about keeping every bill paid, receipts, basically everything other than junk mail. I purchased two large file cabinets and was so proud with my label maker and many folders. Fast forward through twenty years and you guessed it, those file cabinets were bursting at the seams. It was then that I started to change and learn to decide on the fly what records could go immediately. Those include junk mail, bill copies once they are paid (or better yet, sign up to receive them electronically), and a controversial one for parents, the dreaded school papers.
When I had my first child, for five years I kept every single school paper. I purchased the cute little art holders and many more folders. Again, fast forward five years, and my second child was born. By the time my second child went to school, I learned my lesson with this. You don’t need most of those papers. Ever. Archive the most beautiful and sentimental items and let the rest go as soon as it comes in the door. Organized personal record-keeping includes those sentimental items. The trick really is taking the time upfront to decide what to keep.
I found a video that is helpful in know what to keep, and what to toss. Check that out here:
IN PERSONAL RECORD-KEEPING, HANDLE IT ONCE
The handle it once the concept is one that I learned as I grew in my jobs as an adult. In the workplace, I learned to try and deal with items as they come (AKA DON’T PROCRASTINATE DECIDING) and keep things efficient. This is really a difficult habit to break if you are a habitual procrastinator. It really is quite freeing once you embrace this mentality. And over time, this will reduce the paperwork in your home drastically. Learn the rule and put it in motion – handle it once as it comes in the door. Put it in the trash, shredder, or keep category.
WAYS TO KEEP RECORDS PHYSICALLY
When you decide what records to keep, you have completed the first step. The next step in that process is to decide how to keep those records. I suggest keeping your most important documents such as birth certificates, social security cards, wills, trusts, and medical directives off-site in a safe deposit box. When you do that, let a trusted person in your life know that those documents are there should anything ever happen. For the other records that are keepers, there are many neat and tidy organization products out there that would be suitable to keep these files. The main thing to remember here is to have a good and easy to use system. This will ensure that you can pull the items when you need them. For your tax records, I personally make a folder for each year and drop items in that folder as they are received. There are many different ways to assist with personal record-keeping orderly.
WAYS TO KEEP RECORDS DIGITALLY
This is something that I have come to love on my journey to keep your necessary documentation but become paperless. There are many ways to keep documents digitally. Scanners are very economical and can be a godsend while organizing files. There are many cloud options for backing up your digital records. The main thing to remember here is to set up a good file structure, keeping the same type of files in digital folders so that you can find them. This is really great for some types of records such as repairs on homes or automobiles. If you ever want to remember when you replaced the tires on your car, for instance, you can quickly click on it on your computer and find your receipt. It is amazing!
WHATEVER WAY YOU DO IT, ANY PROGRESS IN PERSONAL RECORD-KEEPING IS GOOD PROGRESS!
If you need a visual on how all of these ideas work together, Better Homes and Gardens has a good article on how to organize all of your files. You can see that here:
https://www.bhg.com/decorating/storage/organization-basics/how-to-organize-files/
Keeping organized personal records is a constant challenge, but it can be done. Make decisions as paperwork comes into your home as to whether you should keep it or not. Invest in an inexpensive shredder for the items with sensitive information. Whatever you don’t need, dispose of or shred it immediately. When you have what you now know are your important records, then decide how you want to keep those…physically or digitally and put them in their place. These steps will give you a wonderfully organized streamlined system to manage your records.
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ONCE YOU MAKE A DECISION TO TIDY UP THOSE PERSONAL RECORDS, YOU WILL ENJOY BEING ABLE TO FIND THOSE RECORDS WHEN YOU NEED THEM AND HAVE LESS CLUTTER IN YOUR HOME! GET STARTED TODAY!
Mrs. Accountable
Aditi Jain says
I love organizing and keeping tracks of everything. Thanks for sharing this.