Personal Record Organization
Keeping together your information that you need for your personal records, from birth certificates to financial documentation that you need to keep, can become a sea of paperwork and understanding what goes where can be a challenge in itself.
Personal organization
Sorting out personal information and keeping it in some form of order can be difficult and time-consuming. What is important to realise is how difficult it can be and to give yourself time and permission to tackle the job slowly and carefully. Often good intentions can be ruined through boredom and fatigue; understanding this and breaking the sessions into short bursts is the best option for you.
Sort your paperwork into piles and this can make going through the information easier, pull out the information that you don’t need to keep but organize the keep pile into some order, for bills I like date order with the newest bill at the front.
However, it is important that you have the basic information to hand so you don’t have to search through paperwork to find out basic information. If you store items in poly pockets you can write the information on the front of the pocket; alternatively, you can have a front sheet with all the information you need at a glance, saving you time when you need just the basic details like the cost of a policy or who the policy is with.
Store like items together, there is no need to have individual files for every different company; similar items can be stored together but it is important to label them.
Fire safety: it is important to protect the information that you have from damage. House insurance is essential but if your home becomes engulfed with fire how do you claim on the household insurance? Where are your household policies documents kept? Whilst you don’t need to keep all information in fire-proof filing cabinets, it is important that you keep some of the basic information safe like the current provider and the policy number in case you need to make a claim.
Having a file that is kept in a secure fireproof container is important. It will mean that you remember your current insurance provider, their details and even your own policy number.
What to keep safe from fire or damage
- Birth certificates
- Marriage and divorce papers
- Current providers for your insurance
- Where you store your latest will
- Documentation for your vehicles, proof of ownership, even just a copy is important and proving your ownership
- Passports if you have them
Keeping the amount of documents safe from fire is important if you want to contact insurance companies if there is ever a problem.
Organizing your personal files are important, it can reduce the amount of paper that you have about your home, whilst keeping your files in order in case you need to access one for information or just to go on holiday.
Therefore, it is important that you take the time and get your personal records in order.
