Organizing Your Files Week

Spring is out with the old and the useless things we don’t need and since this is Organize your files week, let’s talk about the best ways to get rid of your junk files.

According to the book Organizing for Dummies by Eileen Roth, there are several ways to check list your files and make a positive decision on what to keep and what to discard.

Personally, I am not a fan of hard copies, so I am more likely to save files on my hard drive, than to kill a tree.

Hard copies are also hard to forward to someone, or if you have to copy and paste something.

We have a few people in the office that are still living in the 1990’s and I am constantly busting on them for living in the past and not embracing more modern methods in the workplace.

I can’t speak for Eileen Roth’s book, but I can be a dummy once in a while when it comes to organizing things.

I always create folders on my hard drive that have a specified time line, like ‘January 2015’ or ‘Spring Pics 2012’ it’s easier to find things when you have a rough timeline.

I always put these types of folders in main folders like Pictures, Events, Promotions, or whatever types of projects that require you to keep files.

I always ask myself will I ever need this again? That is usually enough to make a decision as to whether I delete it, or save it in an archive folder.

I also downsize and sort items like old promotions by year to specific holidays or times of year.

Any old receipts that you were already reimbursed, or things that you would never need for tax information you can toss too.

One thing I did find useful in Eileen Roth’s Book Organizing for Dummies is the suggestion to keep clutter off your desk to reduce distractions.

Happy Spring File Cleaning and while you’re at it, give your office a little touch up.

[via Organizing for Dummies]