5 Simple Filing Solutions

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Filing! Everyone hates filing! However, you can make filing less painful with a few simple solutions.

  • The easiest way to file is to have one box for a one year’s worth of paper. Have an easy to access, attractive box to drop in paper as it arrives. You can find what you need by going through the paper in chronological order. It saves time and energy to have just one box for all papers.
  • Have big categories for your files. Remember that filing is for retrieval! Having categories that include important areas can help you file quickly. Categories include home and auto, financial, personal and work. This filing is best accomplished with hanging files. But don’t just file everything. Be sure to keep just what you will want to retrieve. 
  • Make a list of your files. Often we are not sure where a paper goes, so we don’t file it. With a list, you have choices of where to file and what the options are.
  • File for fun! (Really!) Add music, your favorite tv show, with a friend, or with an adult beverage to add fun to your filing.
  • Use filing products you love. I recently found the filertek dry erase hanging file tabs. Having dry erase tabs means you can add names to your files easily. Also having lots of colored hanging files or beautiful file folders makes your work lovely to look at. Companies like www.officecandy, www.seejanework.com and www.containerstore.com make fabulous products for you to love and use.

I love to share my personal filing secret! I file 4 times a year and when I file I watch foodtv. What is your personal filing secret?

Going Paperless

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It seems like an impossibility – going paperless! But it can be done!  With the wonderful new digital technology we have, having less paper can happen.

Start with an investment in technology. The Fujitsu ScanSnap ( http://scansnapcommunity.com/) or the Neat Desk (www.neat.com)   are both incredible machines!  Learn which will work best with your existing operating system and computer.

  • Knowing what to keep is important, regardles of whether is in a paper or electronic form.  I love to refer to Julie Morgenstern’s ABCs of Important Papers (http://www.oprah.com/home/The-ABCs-of-Important-Papers/)  Remember, just because you have more opportunity to keep documents digitally does not mean you should keep everything! Be discerning about what you scan and know that to keep.
  • Set up a retrieval system that will work for you.  Keeping documents digitally means you can keep these in categories that work for you.  Outline what your categories will be, create these digitally, and then you are ready to scan and move documents into your categories.
  • Routinely scan and shred.  Have a plan about your scanning.  Establish a spot for papers that are to be scanned and a time to do the scanning.  Having a back up in place is also mandatory. Carbonite automatically backs up your computer.

With your new paperless office, you will feel accomplished!  And think about the s’mores you can make after you burn the paper!   

Ready to make the jump to paperless? Here are some more resources.

http://www.documentsnap.com/

http://www.lifehack.org/articles/productivity/how-to-go-paperless-bury-the-paper-before-it-buries-you.html

5 Ways to Eliminate Paper Clutter ASAP

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paper management

 

Lots of small scraps, receipts, and business cards clutter our desks, wallets, and drawers.  Creating systems and routines for these small pieces of paper can make a difference for you.

1. Receipts seem to multiply!  Start by having one spot to collect all of these for one month, such as a basket, a ziploc in  your purse, or a file in your command center.  Decide what receipts you need for returns, taxes or major purchases and eliminate the rest.

2. Coupons can save us money, but only clip and keep coupons you will use in the next month.  Keep  your coupons together in your car in a small accordian file, labelled by categories you will use.  Your coupons will be with you when you arrive at your destination.

3. Collect contacts like business cards and addresses in your command center. Set aside a few minutes to consolidate these into a paper address book or onto your computer in Outlook, Gmail or another electronic system.   Having these electronically, you can search for what you need.  Also,  you can add these in categories such as home repair, plumber and the name of the service provider for easy access.

4. Drop all your paid bills into one box labelled for the current year.   Having an easy to “file” method for the most frequently accumulated papers helps gets paper put away.  Keeping filing especially simple makes a difference.

5. Recycle paper as soon as you pick up your mail.  Before you enter your home, place a recycle bin at the door.  Be brutal and drop paper in before it can accumulate.

What do you do to eliminate paper clutter?

ADDA-SR Sunday Seminar: Successful Student Strategies for ADD Families

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Families struggle with getting homework started and completed, getting papers turned in and seeing academic success.  In this workshop, Certified Professional Organizer Ellen Delap will share strategies for time management, paper work flow, and study skills.  Parents and their middle and high school students are invited to attend this interactive and engaging presentation.  

 Join us to:

  • Discuss time management strategies that lead to academic success. Parents and students will learn why and how to use time management tools like paper and electronic planners and task lists. Participants will complete a time grid to establish work, homework and other routines in their week. 
  • Identify paper management strategies that will streamline school papers for both parents and students. Parents will be introduced to the command center for papers and students will discuss various tools for paper such as homework folders, notebooks and files.
  • Establish study skills and study spaces that work best for their learning style.  Parents and students will discuss where students study in their homes and what tools will empower their learning. 

Sunday, September 30 from 2 – 4:30 pm

St. Andrews’s Presbyterian Church Family Center

5308 Buffalo Speedway

Houston, TX

Register at www.ADDA-SR.org

Fees depend on membership and number attending

ABC13 Back to School

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Thanks to ABC13 for the opportunity to make a difference this fall for Back To School.

Healthy Breakfasts on a Budget

http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/video?id=8783092

Best Lunch Boxes for your Money

http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/education&id=8775038

Back to School Family Organizing

http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/video?id=8762205&pid=null

Back to School Tips: Tips on Organizing Kids’ School Papers

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The school year is about to start and that means a massive influx of papers! Here are some ideas that moms are using to keep up with the paper flow.

  • I keep a basket by the door and the kiddos drop all their work in there daily. I look through for 5 minutes to see what needs to be returned and get it back in their backpacks right away. The rest stays in the basket about a month and then we review it together.  My kids love to send papers off to their grandparents in other states and I write a small note on them that they dictate before I send them.
  • I love having a small box on my desk for each child’s work. This way I have them drop their papers into the box. Once a week I go through it with them, just to review their work. I have found that sometimes I need to refer back to it, so I keep a larger box in their closets to keep the papers for a while.  At the end of the year I go through and use boxes from IKEA to keep them in a manageable amount.  It saves time to see the papers all together to know what to keep.
  • Ellen encouraged me to have a command center with a hanging file for each child.  This way I can drop papers in when they come home from school and not lose them.  I have them ready to sign when I need to also.   My kids are high schoolers so they have their papers together in their notebooks and we just check grades weekly and print these out.
  • The way that I’m able to control the huge amounts of school papers that come home is to deal with it swiftly!  Often a week’s worth of school work comes home all at once and my daughter’s backpack is jammed full – some are treasures and some are just plain old worksheets that no one will miss.  We go through the stack with Daddy because she loves to show off her work to him and he enjoys keeping up with what she’s learning.  As we look through her work, I set aside anything that seems extra special.  Everything else gets tossed*.  The keepers go in a large portfolio case in her closet and are alligator clipped by grade.  * It’s best to get rid of the excess schoolwork when kiddos aren’t watching!  Out of sight, out of mind – but if they happen to see it get thrown away, sometimes they get sad, especially my toddler!
  • Still have last year’s papers?  Take time now to knock this out!

What’s your best paper strategy?

Woodlands Home and Garden Show Fall 2012: Simple Solutions for an Efficient Home Office

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Simple Solutions for an Efficient Home Office

Are you avoiding your home office because it is cluttered with paper, extra junk, set up poorly or overwhelming?  Busy lives demand efficient ways to work productively in your home office. Join Certified Professional Organizer and Family Manager Coach Ellen Delap to learn tools and techniques for organizing your files, establishing productive processes and arranging your space for maximum effectively.  Ellen will also share products that will make a difference.  Leave with a plan for your home!

Saturday August 25 at 1:15 pm

Woodlands Marriott Conference and Resort

www.woodlandsshows.com

Back to School Tips Featured on ABC13

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I am thrilled to share Back To School Success Strategies with our Houston community!

http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/video?id=8762205

Back To School: Tips to Organize Your Home

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Back to school time brings backpacks by the back door, papers flying in from kids, and upcoming activities, back to school night and more.  Create a command center and landing strip that helps you control the information and stuff.

  • Establish a command center with a slot of your kids’ papers and the mail.  The slots can be a wall pocket, basket or cube, labelled with their names and your name.  If you use a desk, the command center can be a desktop sorter with hanging files also labelled with names.
  • Choose a spot for your kids’ backpacks.  Hooks should hold up to 40 pounds since backpacks are heavy! One hook per backpack please, also labelled with their names.  Baskets and bins are also great options.  Keeping items corralled is the key. 
  • Post your family calendar, a dry erase board and a bulletin board in this area.   The calendar is to keep all the upcoming dates.  The bulletin board and dry erase boards are for reminders, invitations, and appointments.  Chalkboards are popular too.  Don’t forget a pencil attached by a string just so it is handy too. 
  • Your family chore chart can be added too. 
  • Host a family meeting and talk about where the backpacks and papers go each day.  Empty the papers out and put in the mom or dad’s slot, hang backpack back after homework, parent replaces paper each evening, and everyone is ready for the next day.

Do you have a family command center idea to share? What works for you? 

Need more ideas?  Visit my pinterest board Back to School.  http://pinterest.com/EllenDelap/back-to-school/

Back to School: Tips for Morning Routines

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Back to school! Its that time of year that makes moms happy and sad; happy to start new routines and sad about the energy and organization it can take to get your family going. Throughout the month of August we are featuring organized moms who will help get you started back to school with the toughest tasks.

Moms are challenged to get everyone out the door on time with a smile.  These ideas can get everyone’s day started off right. 

 

Morning school routine

 The most important thing I do to make school mornings run smoothly is to do ALMOST everything the night before.  My goal is for everything to be done except for obviously breakfast, getting dressed, and brushing teeth.  Here are some of the things I do the night before that make our mornings more manageable:

* Unload the dishwasher – I loathe spending extra time in the kitchen late at night when it feels like I’ve been in there ALL DAY, but it’s so worth it to start the morning with a clean kitchen.  The breakfast dishes are a quick rinse and load and then I’ve got a clean kitchen again.

* Pack lunches, fruit break, water bottles – another kitchen chore that I despise doing at night, BUT it’s even worse to deal with the next morning, so I make myself get it done!

* Set out backpacks, shoes, and any other items that are going to school that day

* Lay school clothes out as I’m tucking kids in at night

When I slack off and don’t do one or more of these chores the night before, the result is a scattered, hectic morning – not a good start to the day!

Another trick that works for me is to require that the kids eat, dress, put on shoes, and brush teeth and hair before they watch any cartoons.  They are motivated to get these small chores done and they enjoy having 10 minutes or so of TV time before we head to school.

Meredith Delap is a stay at home mom of three.  She enjoys reading, the beach, and peace and quiet.