Mistakes people make with their filing system

To kick off the year, I’ve been running a filing series. So far we’ve looked at:

• Why Willy-Nilly Filing Systems Suck – Plan Ahead for the Best Filing System
• What you should include in your filing system outline

Mistakes when making a filing system are common, especially if you’ve never set one up before. Here are some mistakes that will sink the typical filing system (which is why it’s good to plan).

Too few categories – such as putting bills, stocks, and employment info all together because they have money in common. You need to split categories up into more manageable chunks that make sense.

Too many categories – obsure categories will make scanning your files difficult. You don’t need to divide your dental file up into bills / work done / x-rays / and more. Just stick all your dental stuff together. If you split the files per person in the household, it’ll be fine.

Useless categories – having files for funny comics you collect is not necessary, takes up space, and makes the necessary stuff harder to locate. Keep it simple and useful is a good rule of thumb.

Tiny writing on your files – if you label your file folder with tiny text, it’ll frustrate you.

You picked a system that makes no sense to you – Some people can use purely alphabetical categories like; bills, couch warranty, dental, finances, and so on. However, for most people I’ve met, a broken down system works better. I.E make broad categories like “household appliances” then alphabetize the items in that category; blender, DVD player, ice cream maker, TV, and so on. Make sure you pick a system that makes sense to you AND that you label categories in a way you’ll remember.

Are you starting a file system this year?