ORGANIZE YOUR LIFE
If you're like most people, doing paperwork isn't at the top of your to-do list. But it's a necessary evil. Bills must be paid, records maintained, and utilities kept on. How can you make this dreadful task as easy as possible? Accepting the fact that you must do it and devising a system to keep things organized is half the battle. Get it together with these tips from professional organizer Ramona Creel of OnlineOrganizing.com.

1. Escape the Paper Chase
Let's face it: You don't want to come home from work every day, and organize mail. Instead, you want to unwind, pour a drink…or two…and take it easy on the couch. The happy medium? Simply set a box filled with hanging file folders on a desk or counter. Assign each folder an activity: To call, To file, To discuss, To read, To pay, etc. Dump each piece of mail in its appropriate folder, and come back to it once a week or so when you have time to address everything. A few minutes now saves you a mountain of paperwork later. (Hint: Do all this before you have the drinks.)

2. Make Your File Cabinet Your Friend
Whether you buy one, are given one, or steal one from work, every home needs at least one filing cabinet. There's no right way to organize it, but both you and your spouse must understand the setup so that either one of you can find whatever you need when the other isn't around. One effective method to use is a categorical, color-coded, alphabetical system. First create major categories (utilities, credit card bills, insurance, etc.). Then assign sub-categories (gas bills, water bills, electric bills, etc.). Assign a color to each major category, and make each subcategory folder that color. Finally, alphabetize everything. You can easily add categories and subcategories as needed.

Here's a list of the must-save documents. Keep a year's worth on file.
[   ] Electric bill
[   ] Heating bill
[    ] Gas bill
[    ] Water bill
[    ] Home phone bill
[   ] Cell phone bills
[   ] Cable bill
[   ] Internet bill
[   ] Credit cards bills
[   ] Bank statements
[   ] Manuals
[   ] Warrantees
[   ] Receipts
[   ] Investments (Monthly/quarterly statements, to be shredded and replaced by end-of-year statement.
[   ] Mortgage or lease papers
[   ] Renovation and repair bills
[   ] Service agreements
[   ] Car titles, loan agreements, maintenance records, and emissions tests
[   ] Health, homeowner's, life, and auto insurance
[   ] Medical records

3. Create an E-File Cabinet
While some people prefer the reassurance of reading a piece of paper to find out they owe money, others value the ease of reading a computer screen to find out they owe money. (And you thought your computer was only good for browsing your favorite Web site, TheNest.com!)

In about an hour, you can arrange it so that the majority of your bills are emailed to you. Keep your paper statements and your checkbook handy to speed up the process. The next step? Sign up for online banking. It's easy and, unlike your monthly statements, always up-to-date. Now you're all set to pay your bills while you check your email.

You should still save at least one month's paper copy of a utility bill (often required to prove residence) and download credit card and bank statements every month, but by going the cyber route, you'll lose a lot of paperwork and save some cash on stamps.

4. Have a Backup Plan
A typical filing cabinet will keep papers safe, but it won't keep them from going up in flames. You may not have plans to burn down your house -- however, you'd be all set now that your insurance records are filed! -- but if disaster does strike, you'll want very important documents stored in a fireproof location. A safety deposit box at a bank ensures their safety, but your access to them is greatly restricted.

Buy a fireproof safe and store it in a closet. You'll have peace of mind, and the ability to threaten to tear up your marriage certificate during even the most mundane spat. Back up your electronic cabinet every six months in case your computer crashes.

What other documents require safe keeping?
[   ] Household inventory (videotape/photos/lists for insurance purposes)
[   ] Social security cards
[   ] Birth certificates
[   ] Marriage license
[   ] Passports
[   ] Estate documents like wills and powers of attorney
[   ] Copies of credit cards numbers and phone numbers, bank account numbers, etc.
[   ] Backup disks for electronic records
[   ] Contracts
[   ] Tax returns for the previous six years

5. Purge Your System
Even a well-organized filing system can consume you if it gets too massive. So you'll have to regularly remove unneeded documents in order to keep the stuff you do need close at hand. Do a major clean up every year at tax time, since you'll be pulling out much of the paperwork anyway.

Re-evaluate your categories, and remove anything obsolete. Store the past six years' worth of tax-related documents in banker boxes labeled by year. Keep everything else boxed up for about one year. You can also scan non-tax-related documents into your computer and store them that way. Just remember: Before you throw out any paper, shred it.

-- The Nest Editors

See More: Cleaning & Organizing