Tame the Paper Monster

For many Americans, the scene is the same
every April: you’re sitting on the floor surrounded by scores –
sometimes hundreds – of pieces of paper. Receipts, bills, deeds,
and other important documents that you may need to file with that
year’s tax return. As you look around the room, only one emotion
comes to mind: overwhelming fear. Where do you start?

But you can avoid all that in April, if you take a few steps
now. Whether you pay a preparer to do your return for you, or you
do it yourself, you’ll want to keep that personal paperwork
organized and easy to find.

Take a moment to think about how you expect to file next
season’s return. Do you itemize? Do you own your own home? Got kids
in college? Or do you expect to file a straight-forward return with
no deductions?

Once we know how we expect to file, we can organize our
paperwork to fit that. One easy way is to first use a document box
– available at most large discount stores – as the overall
repository for all those little, but very important, pieces of
paper.

Now it’s time to think inside the box. Just dumping receipts
inside isn’t the best strategy. It’ll take way too much time
looking for just that right piece of paper to make that practical.
What you want is a general filing system. Think categories here:
house, charity, child care, auto, and so forth.

Buy some large “barrel” type clips and label each one with the
names of each of your categories. Then, it will take just seconds
to put your receipts away every month and clip them where they
belong. You are now instantly organized, and April isn’t looking
nearly as scary.

Of course, if you have a different system that works, that’s
fine too. Some people like file folders, but slips of paper can
fall out of folders, so file pockets might be a better choice for
that type of system.

The point here is to get those wayward bits of paper organized
early, a little bit at a time, into manageable bundles. That way,
when you’re looking for that special record – say, the gas receipts
for the Scout troop – you’ll know right where to find it.

Whatever system you decide to use, remember to use it – don’t
let the receipts and other paperwork pile up; otherwise, you’re
right where you started, sifting through a pile of stuff. Set aside
a time every month to put your receipts and important papers away.
You’ll find tax time a lot less taxing – and you’ll never miss
another deduction because you couldn’t find the receipts!