How to Categorize Your Home Filing System to Make it Easy to File Your Piles

The whole family should be able to easily file and retrieve information from your household filing system. Filing your papers and personal information under consistent simple categories will help anyone quickly locate what they need.

Keep your system simple by...

01. Limiting your main categories to five or six.

Choose categories carefully by making sure they are broad enough to cover multiple subjects. Too many categories will complicate the system and too few categories will create confusion.

02. Choosing a color or graphic to represent each category.

Studies have shown that colors and graphics are recognized quicker than words, so consider using them in your system.

03. Keeping categories consistent in all containers.

Consistency allows for quick filing and retrieval of all papers.

04. Eliminating the need to reference an index to file.

Indexes create an extra time consuming step. It is more likely a system will fail when more steps are required.

05. Eliminating the need to use a computer to access your information.

Computers cannot file papers and computers may be difficult, if not impossible to access, in an emergency situation.

See How JOYS Simple and Colorful Categorizing System Organizes Your Stuff. It is a unique but effective approach.