There's Only One Way to File...Isn't There?

 For years, I've filed my paperwork traditionally. Each company with whom I do business gets its own file folder and any paperwork associated with that company goes into that folder.

Easy peasy.

Except it's not. I hate to file so, for years, I've accumulated stacks of paper to be distributed among these disparate, albeit appropriate folders. Normally, my I need to see it personal style runs the show but, when it comes to filing, my drop and run organizational style is the one that takes over. I finish paying bills, for example, drop all the statements into a pile, and run to the next (more interesting) task. Months later, I get disgusted enough with the burgeoning pile to do a filing session that takes five times as long as it would have taken if I'd just done all the filing in the first place. And, to make matters worse, I end up with a fat file folder full of old paperwork that needs to be culled so there's enough room for the new additions.

Just me?

You'd think the advent of paperlessness would save me but, alas, this is where my I need to see it personal style pushes herself right back to the front of the line. She thrives on hard copies. 

And so the cycle continues.

Years ago, I bought a set of file folders decorated with the months of the year. I no longer remember what I intended to do with them -- maybe it was to try the tickler file system a colleague raved about (alas, also not fit for me) -- but that no longer matters. These lovely file folders are now the foundation of a system that satisfies both my I need to see it personal style and my drop and run organizational style.

Each month, I put all my paperwork for the month into the appropriate folder. One month, one pile, one folder. Filing is simple because everything gets dropped into one place, which makes organizing my papers a one-step process, pleasing even to my drop and run organizational style. Each file is clearly decorated with the name of the month, which satisfies my I need to see it personal style, who thrives on labels.

Retrieval might be a bit more complicated -- this remains to be seen -- but since the folders are all in one place and the number of files I have to sort through is limited to twelve, I'm not too worried.

As for annual maintenance (which -- let's be real -- wasn't taking place annually anyway), it's simple. Each year, I pull out the previous year's stash, keep what's important, and ditch the rest -- one month at a time. I haven't yet decided if I'm going to create an annual folder for all the old (previous years') stuff or keep it in the monthly file. I'll know this better when I see how much I actually want to hang onto.

Are there exceptions? A few. The paperwork for my car, for example, goes into a dedicated file. Why? Not because there's any hard-and-fast rule -- simply because it makes more sense to me.

I'm inordinately excited about this change and, since paper clutter is my biggest nemesis, I'm left with only one question.

Why did it take me so long to figure this out?

Sigh. It's a process. 

Credits: 

Top graphic: Image by Jan from Pixabay

Monthly file folders from currentcatalog.com