Being Organized Is a Way of Life – good organization can improve the quality of your life leaving you more time to do the things you enjoy.

Take That First Step – file one stack of papers, organize your desk drawers or clear off your desktop.

If it all seems just too overwhelming, call a professional organizer to help you.... but take that first step!

When our operating systems are working harmoniously, we feel prosperous and fulfilled and are more productive. When they are not, the end result is clutter, chaos, stress and frustration.

When a System Works for You – stick with it! Being organized can become a habit, or second nature. Begin doing things in an organized way without thinking about it. Use a logical system that works for you and maintain it or stay on a maintenance plan

There is no right or wrong way to organize. There are many proven, common sense rules of organizing:

• Don't handle paper more than once.
  
• Keep the things used most frequently closest to where they are used.
  
• It isn’t worth keeping, if you haven't used it in a year, get rid of it or recycle it.

For most people these suggestions make sense, but for others it doesn’t. For people who struggle with organization on a daily basis, this is much easier said than done. Rather than being helpful, organizational hints could become a source of frustration. Rules and approaches must be adapted to fit one's particular needs. A Professional Organizer would be the right choice for them.

A Professional Organizer is Someone Who Provides Information, Products and/or Services to Help People Get Organized.

Professional Organizers assist with many areas of organization including residential, business, time management, paper management, clutter control, chronic disorganization, space planning, filing, wardrobes, closet systems, event planning, errands, personal shopping, financial management, memorabilia/photographs, packing/moving, records management, training, computers, kitchens, home offices, corporate offices, etc.

Creating an Organized Filing System

Not one filing system will work for everyone. The test of a good filing system is being able to find something when you need it.

Whether you file alphabetically or by a numbered system, choose the method that makes the most intuitive sense to you. Make a list of each file and record the drawer and cabinet it is located in. This list will come in handy in many ways. Before you make a new file, check your list. To organize the piles to files follow these simple steps:

• Sort & Discard – Review your papers and discard any papers you no longer need to keep. Sort into piles, boxes or file folders. You can create multiple interior file folders that reside within the hanging file folder, each labeled with the category sub-topic. This makes it easier to search by sub-topic.
  
• Determine Quantity Files Needed – Once you are finished sorting, count and double check the number of files you have to keep. The number of piles equals the number of hanging file folders you will need for your active files.
  
• Identifying / Labeling – Create a set of hanging file folders, label with the associated file folder from each pile and its sub-categories. In order to maintain the transition from active to historic status at the end of each year, the interior files should be labeled by subject and current year (i.e. Life Insurance 2005). This will make it easy to transition files from active to historical status at year end.
  
• Estimate File Cabinet Size – Once you put the appropriate papers in the files, you can get a sense of how many file cabinet drawers you will need.
  
• Maintaining The System Annually – At the end of the year, transfer the past year’s interior files to inactive storage.
  
• Set-Up Pending or Active Folders – For bills to pay, things to file, things to do and pending matters. This serves as a holding place for things you have not had time to get to that week, but that still require action on your part. These files can be placed in the front of the most handy file drawer or in a hot file box on top of your desk.