Oh, Goody! It’s National Clean Out Your Files Month!

October is National Clean Out Your Files Month. I know, I know… it's so wonderful, but PLEASE, contain yourself!

I typically recommend two times of the year to clean out your files. You can either do it now during its "appropriate" month, or you can do it in April right after you have done your income tax return. I prefer April, and I do it once a year only. April feels really good because you know you can safely archive things from the immediately previous calendar year. If you want to do it twice a year, you can do your major archiving of financial paperwork in April and go through the content of files on other topics in October. These two recommended times are six months apart, so that works out well.

Here are some of my favorite file management tips to motivate you and inspire you, should you decide that this celebration merits some appropriate filing festivities:

• Invest in good quality filing cabinets and supplies. This does NOT mean spending a lot of money. If your city has a used office furniture liquidator, you can get killer deals on scratch-and-dent filing cabinets there (along with shelving, desks, and even sticky notes and markers sometimes!). You can also check thrift stores. Test the drawers before buying to make sure they work smoothly. I believe in using hanging file folders, and I do pay a little extra for the better quality ones so that the metal pieces don't come unglued and fall out easily.
• Don't stuff your file drawers too full. How many of you are avoiding filing because you can't stand plunging your hand into the tight drawer, getting paper cuts, and fighting to get the papers into the folders? Adjust your drawer space so that you can easily get the folders in and out and leave some room to grow, too. If you are running out of space, guess what? It's National Clean Out Your Files Month! Go for it! You can also archive older files to another location to free up some space.
• You have my permission to NOT use manila interior folders inside the hanging folders…unless you want to! But if you're just filing reference material that may not be accessed for a long time, you really don't need to use an interior folder. Use the manila folders if you'll be accessing the information frequently or taking it with you away from the office.
• Box-bottom folders can be just the right solution if you have some thick files. I like the 2-inch capacity size. These are specialty hanging folders that have a creased edge on the bottom to expand and hold a big chunky pile of paper. That is, if you must keep it that way.
• Always ask yourself, "Can I get this electronically instead?" If the answer is yes, and you have a great backup system, please shred and/or recycle that file!

So break out the champagne, or at least order a pizza, and get those files in order. What's your approach to your filing system? Do you have files, piles, stacks, or boxes? Share in the comments!

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