Bye slip management! With the 5-minute rule, paper stuff will be sorted child's play

I suffer from form phobia. As soon as post from the tax office, the bank, the city or another "official" position, my pulse accelerates. The letters mostly end up on the kitchen counter, where they form a handsome stack over time.

At some point I give myself a jerk and open the letters. Only to put the papers onto the next stack.

And then comes the day when I am looking for a very special letter (at the latest when the tax return is due). But instead of the bill that I need, I discover a shopping list from 2017, a postcard from Aunt Traudel and a to-do list, the paper of which almost disintegrates.

I have a paper management problem and it is time to do it. I share professional tricks with you with which you can sort paper stuff and keep order permanently. Spoiler: Have you made it once, enough 5 minutes to keep an overview.

Step 1: view papers and muck out

If you also have a shelf of hell or a chaotic paper stuff drawer, then the first step is to sift and sort the slip economy.

Share letters, forms, notes & Co. in three categories: 1. Can get away immediately. 2. Keeping. 3. Keep paper and scan.

Because division cannot be so easy, I give you examples of the paper stuff categories:

Can get away immediately:

• Advertising, flyers and unused coupons
• Shopping lists and old notes
• Expired guarantee leg (provided the product is no longer relevant)
• Old account statements (older than 10 years, if not required for tax evidence)
• Insurance documents that are no longer required (if policies have already been replaced by newer ones)

Keeping:

• Tax documents (at least 10 years, including tax notices and income tax certificates)
• Important contracts (rental agreement, employment contract, loan contracts)
• Retirement and pension documents
• Notarized documents (e.g. testament, land register extracts)
• Important medical documents and health insurance documents

Keep and scan:

• Important contracts (e.g. rental contract, employment contract, insurance)
• Tax notices and relevant evidence (e.g. income tax certificate, donation receipts)
• Certificates and certificates
• Invoices for high -priced purchases (e.g. electronics, furniture)
• Credit and loan contracts
• Important medical documents and health insurance documents

Step 2: Sort paper stuff

If the existing paper stuff is sorted and everything you no longer need away is gone, then you have achieved a stage victory. Congratulations!

Now it is about keeping the order permanently and not falling into old patterns again as soon as new letters come in.

My self -tried tip: put one or more sorting folders with compartments. You can categorize them. I recommend you one"Do it immediately" category"And one„An Tag X abheften“-Category.

Practical:Organizer for paperwork

In addition to the sorting folders, there are other practical organizers who help you to bring order to the paper industry permanently. These include:

• Standing folder or fast booklet:Perfect for invoices, reminders and documents that you still have to edit.
• Drawer boxes:Practical for loose documents, receipts or to-do documents that you can work on at solid intervals.
• Folder: All papers are filed here that you have to cancel.

These organizers are practical and look good*

Step 3: Create folder

Many celebrate the mistake in the paperwork craze and immediately issue everything in a folder. However, this creates more work in the long term because the folder in turn loses its order.

It is better to create several folders with a clear structure. So you find what you are looking for much faster. The following folder categories have proven themselves:

• Folder for Finance:Contains z. B. account statements, tax documents, insurance, loans, etc.
• Folder for Reside:Contains z. B. rental contract, electricity contract, additional cost statements, repairs, etc.
• Folder for Work, training or training:Contains z. B. employment contract, salary statements, certificates, enrollment certificate, etc.
• Folder for Tax return:Wage tax certificates, receipts for the tax return, tax office correspondence, tax consultancy letters, etc.
• Folder for Health:Medical reports, health insurance documents, vaccination pass etc.

5-minute ruleAgainst paper chaos

Paper stuff grows quickly if it is not processed regularly. A simple rule helps me not to let the slip economy outline: take five minutes a day to sort new documents directly and to throw away irrelevant. If you generally get less mail, 5 minutes a week are enough.

In addition, I set a “sorting date” on the calendar once a month (sorting date ”to put the papers in the right place for 30 minutes.

With this procedure I got my slip management under control and my form phobia also improved. I hope that the tips will help you to get more order in your paperwork.