April's Project | File!

Guys, I can hardly believe it's April, but I'm pretty thrilled because I'm loving these warmer temps and lighter evenings.  My monthly project for April is seriously so lame (but so needed!) but I'll share incase any of you are following along with monthly projects of your own.  My goal for April is to get things properly filed and organized.  This is different from January's giant purge, this is where every important document in my home is filed away neatly, exactly where I know how to find out.  Sounds so nice! :)

So here's my plan, I'm not a sentimental person and try not to keep much, so I'm narrowing down everything that needs to be filed/saved into one small file box - maybe two if everything doesn't fit in one! 

This one Household File is going to have the following internal files:

Bills/Financials 

Life Insurance Information

Our Will

Retirement/Investment Accounts Information

a record of paint samples/misc items from home renovations

Charitable Donations and Write Offs

Medical Information

Health Spending Account Information

 

In addition to my one Household File, I plan to keep one (and only one!!!) file container per child.  So Virginia gets her own file box, and any other future children get their own.  All art projects, sentimal items, school pictures, etc. get filed into this one box.  I'm borrowing this idea from The Happiness Project.  I love this idea.  It's easy to get carried away saving every little thing from your child, but I'm keeping it to one file box, with internal files by year. 

Anyone else have any foolproof systems that keep them organized?  The plan with incoming paper is to "touch it once" - right when something comes in the door, it immediately gets filed into it's spot.   Any other suggestions are welcome!

 

Past Monthly Projects:  January's Project | Total Purge, February's Project | Organize Photos, March's Project | Frame

~Mary Keller

P.S.  I actually achieved March's Project - yea!

I've had this pretty, organized desk saved in my files forever - pre-Pinterest days.  If anyone knows the source please let me know!