Organizing the Most Thorough Home Office Filing System

Hi friends! I hope y’all had a mah-valous weekend. Mine consisted of lots of organizing, which feels amazing in the end, but throughout the process you start to think you’d much rather just throw everything away than deal with sorting it all. (Ya feel me?) After organizing our coat closet though, I really can’t quit! And stop #2 on my list was our office that really was less of an office and more like a landing zone of junk until we could figure out where to put everything. (I really can’t use the excuse of “We just moved in” for much longer.)  So if your home office looks more like a sea of papers that you have to wade through to even reach your desk, I’ve got your back. Many months ago, I told y’all how we found a Pottery Barn Bedford Desk that normally retails for $900 for just $180 on Craigslist. And it has tons of possibilities for organization. We picked up an additional filing cabinet for $10 at Goodwill too. I think the teacher in me is still alive from my lesson plan filing days, because I tackled this thing with a vengeance!

So I gathered up all of the little papers that were floating around our house, stuck in drawers, lying on counters, stuffed into our overflowing fire-proof box, and figured out a filing system that instantly transformed our office into one of the most functional rooms in our house. (It’s about dang time!)

And, of course, to really get into the organizing mood, buy some crisp, new hanging folders, and type up some labels to make your file drawers easy to navigate.

I spaced out the organizing process over the course of a couple of days while our little one napped. Take it from one who attempted it, organizing files with a toddler in your office is impossible. For real, just walk away until they conk out at bedtime.

Home Office Filing System Plan:
(Each sub-header is labeled for the category of each file cabinet drawer.)

Bills/Banking: Billing- Internet Service Billing- Security System Service Billing- Cell Phone Service Billing- Mortgage Billing- Life Insurance Billing- Home Insurance Billing-Electricity Billing-Water Billing-Gas Paid Bills- January Paid Bills- February Paid Bills- March Paid Bills- April Paid Bills- May Paid Bills- June Paid Bills- July Paid Bills- August Paid Bills- September Paid Bills- October Paid Bills- November Paid Bills- December (At the end of the year, paid bills are filed into the our Taxes/Income drawer.) Credit Card Statements Loan- Mortage Information Loans- Paid Off Bank Statements- January Bank Statements- February Bank Statements- March Bank Statements- April Bank Statements- May Bank Statements- June Bank Statements- July Bank Statements- August Bank Statements- September Bank Statements- October Bank Statements- November Bank Statements- December  (Bank statements are filed into the Taxes/Income drawer at the end of the year.) House/Auto/Warranties: Auto Policies Homeowners Association Contractors House Deed Builder’s Warranty (If you have a new home. Ours has a structural warranty of 10 years.) Home Inspection(s) Records- Exterminator Manual- Car #1 Manual- Car #2 Manual- Car Security Systems Warranty- Refrigerator Warranty- Dishwasher Warranty- Garage Door Openers Warranty- Washing Machine Warranty- TV (Add however many warranties you have on hand. Definitely save them in case something breaks or if you want to resale later. Toss after expiration. Update– Reader tip: When you purchase a new appliance, write the date of purchase on the outside of the owner’s manual and staple the receipt to it as well before you file it away. You think you will remember how old that washing machine is but time flies and you don’t realize how long it has been.) Sold Vehice Documents Copies of Wills Wedding Ring Documents (Appraisals/Insurance/Maintenance) Maintenance- Car #1 Maintenance- Car #2 Taxes/Income: (You may need 6 folders for each year date category for six consecutive years in case of an audit. The IRS will generally not go back further than six years.) Tax Donations- Year Date Office Expenses- Year Date Travel Expenses- Year Date Job #1- Year Date Job #2- Year Date Filed Tax Documents- Year Date Retirement Documents Stocks (if applicable) Trust Fund (if applicable) Annuity (if applicable) Other IRS Documents Medical/Education/Work/Military (if applicable): Doctor Bills Paid- Family Member #1 Doctor Bills Paid- Family Member #2 Doctor Bills Paid- Family Member #3 Medical Benefits Summaries Medical Documents- Family Member #1 Medical Documents- Family Member #2 Medical Documents- Family Member #3 Prescriptions Vision Dental Veterans Affairs Vet Education Accolades- Family Member #1 Education Accolades- Family Member #2 Education Accolades- Family Member #3 Military Accolades Work-Related Documents (Contracts, certifications, etc.) Resumes  Portfolios Art/Love Letters/Special Cards/Photos: Artwork- Year- Child’s Name (Make as many folders as needed for years created and children’s names.) Love Letters Special Cards- Birthdays Special Cards- Anniversaries Special Cards- Showers/Birth Special Cards- Wedding (Save envelopes as well to maintain a record of family members’ mailing addresses or log them into a spreadsheet.) Photo CDs/USBs- Year Date (Make as many folders as needed for years taken.) *For birth certificates, marriage license, social security cards, military discharge papers, defined-benefit plan documents, copies of estate-planning documents, copies of life-insurance policies, and the like, keep in a safe deposit box at the bank. (God forbid something should happen to your home.) Take a look at this article from USA.gov for more important information regarding guidelines for safe deposit boxes and emergency kits.

I think this post is going in the record books for the most technical one to-date, but it is amazing what organizing files can do for your peace-of-mind. It’s like doing a yoga marathon! Cleansing breath, people.

Happy organizing!

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