I have just moved and ended up with five dish drainers. (Don't ask.) So, I was gathering them up to donate and thought of a way to keep a second one in the bedroom's office.
You can use the separations for binders (1 inch is best), large envelopes, or portfolios. The slant is perfect, and you can keep different sizes with the larger in back.
You can also keep cookbooks, owners manuals, index cards, tablets or envelopes in there, too. N-JOY!
By Sandi/Poor But Proud from Salem, OR
This page contains the following solutions.
I have a 3 ring binder for each of us (my husband and I) to organize our financial information and I also have a binder for joint financial information.
Protect your important documents (insurance info, car titles, warranties, etc.) by placing them is a zip lock bag in your freezer. Should a fire occur, they will not be burned.
If you have access to a scanner, scan and file on disk all your important papers, such as birth certificates and medical documents that you would be hard pressed to reproduce in a short time.
When I find binders at thrift stores, I pick them up. I find that putting the clear pages in that I have split the long way and sealed with tape over the tops, makes a nice filing system.
Turn the pages over (top to bottom) and then staple at the Top-Right corner. Now when you are going through stacks of multipage packets, you will not cut your fingertips on the curved edges of the staple.
For the vintage little girl in all of us, use your old, err I mean, vintage open backed multi-storied doll house as a paper organizer on your desk. Looks cute and each "room" can be labeled or decorated accordingly.
Both my hubby and I once worked at the Post Office as youngsters. We learned a method there that we still use in everyday life when we have to alphabetize any group of items.
If you are involved in many different kinds of organizations or work committees, sometimes it is helpful to have a different briefcase for each function.
With all the trouble we are having with weather created disasters, we need to make sure we have records of importance in a few safe places. Security boxes and locked freezers work well.
Grab yourself a pretty and cute 3-ring binder, add some dividers, and start tracking your finances.
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
I can't find a file labeling system that works for me. I can't find my important papers when needed. Does anyone have any filing system ideas for me?
First of all, try to really determine what "important" is. I think all of us keep a lot more than we really need. For insurance papers (i.e. doctor visits and follow-up insurance statements) I have a folder for each person in the family. We don't go that often, but if there is a problem or discrepancy on a statement, I have each particular illness or check-up filed together.
Trudy Powell
Label your folders like the Yellow Pages: Insurance, Auto; Insurance, Home; Insurance, Medical; etc. that way all the insurance files are together, all the credit card statements, and utilities are filed by each other.
I use 3-ring binders for filing instead of file folders. It's too easy to take a folder out and forget to put it back! I have a binder for each of my 3 teenagers (for school information, driver's training, etc.) I also have one for insurance, pets, banking, automobiles, bill paying, and medical records. I use tabs to label sections within the binder; e.g., one tab for each car, etc.
I file our household papers the same way I file the company books. Bills that are reacuring always have their own folder and are labeled accordingly ei. Phone, gas, power ect. Have a file at the back for misc. bills that you still need to keep but don't have a place for them. All the monthly bills are at the front of the filing cabinet and I have the income tax, paystubs, ROE's at the back(because they are important).
My 6 year old DD thinks she needs to keep every scrap of paper that the school sends home. How can I get her to realize that this is way too much to keep and help her minimize her paper stack? I have explained to her that it is way too much to collect, and we just don't have the room. We live in a small 2 bedroom apartment on an extremely tight budget and cannot afford to buy storage containers for her to keep the stuff in. I did give her a big wicker basket to put papers in and this is starting to overflow. Sorry this is so long.
My son is the same way. I keep an accordion folder with the months of the year on my desk. I put ALL of his papers in it by month. At the end of the semester, I go through them with him and we decide which ones to keep longer.
I have a lot of papers and they are driving me crazy! I am looking for a system where I can scan old bills, papers, etc. into, that would organize as well. Any suggestions? I am looking for the least expensive method. My husband said that our scanner would take way too long.
Thank you!
By Deirdre from Colorado Springs, CO
Tips for storing important papers. Post your ideas.
Need a place to store important papers? Take a binder and put in page protectors. Just slide your papers into the page protectors. You can get dividers and have separate sections for certain items.
ie: bills, pay stubs etc.
By Tori