Paper Organization Solutions for Ewww…Tax Season

How is it that tax day always sneaks up? We start to collect tax documents in January, and then bam! it’s March, or worse April 14th….

While I am not an accountant, I am an organizer. And organization is one of the most important things you can do to stay on top of your taxes. I’m offering both 3 paper organizing tips and 5 organization products to make managing paperwork easier.

3 Tips To Organize Paperwork

1. Open all mail immediately, and sort into to-do, file, shred folders.

2. Create file folders and file them with the most frequently accessed in the front compartment of a filing cabinet

3. Revisit your files once per year; purge papers that have expired. January or February is the ideal time for this! The graphic above provides a guide to how long to keep documents.

5 Top Products to Organize Papers

1. Wall Mounted Paper Organizer: Having a simple day-to-day organizer to file away papers as they come in is a solution everyone should have. I love this gold paper organizer, it’s not only super cute but can be either wall mounted or stand on your desk. Store your to-do, file, shred papers here.

2. Fun File Folders: If you’re going to have a cute paper organizer, pair it will cute file folders. There are so many options — floral, striped, polka dot and more. I love these.

3. Oversized Filing Box: I love this oversized file box for papers because it’s air tight. It’s great for transporting or storing papers in basements or attics. I personally love it for filing away my kids school papers from each grade year.

4. Magazine File Folders: Magazine file folders are great for easy access to papers or literature. I store printer paper, envelope labels and reference literature in mine.

5. Compact Cross Cut Shredder: Shredders are a necessity, especially to keep your personal information safe. This simple shredder from Amazon Basics is a top value solution for every day mail and can be stored easily underneath your desk.

And now you’re off to sort, file, purge, shred! Wishing you a painless and refund-filled tax season.