It is a constant battle for me to stay organized with this kind of stuff -- bills, insurance policies, correspondence. I have a filing cabinet in the hall closet and more filing up in an extra bedroom, but stuff piles up before I get it filed. Most of the time I end up sitting on the couch with a big pile next to me and writing out bills from there.

We just ordered the desk pictured below and I'm going to put it in our sitting room and try to be more organized. One drawer is a file drawer so I'll put the things I use the most often in there, and also store stamps, envelopes, cards etc.

What do you use? Do you have a desk for this kind of stuff (separate from your computer desk?) If so, what room do you keep it in? Pictures welcome.

I pay 90% of our bills online so there's no need for writing. The few that I have to write checks for usually get done at the kitchen table or while I'm at work.

As for storage, when the bill comes in I put it in a folder until I pay it then it usually gets filed in the file drawer in our computer desk. Right now I've had to condense my paid files in to a three ring notebook with pocket files because our desk in storage until we find a bigger place to live.

Dawn

we have a desk. dh keeps current bills in the 'mail' type slots on the desk.

all important 'stuff' gets filed in the built in file cabinet in the desk, and the standalone. really important documents go in the safe deposit box.

i let dh handle all the bills....i could do it, but prefer not too :)

Right now I write my bills out on the couch, and then throw them into a box with a note at the top telling me which file to file them in. At some point, when I'm feeling like it, I file whatever's in the box. If I wrote all the checks at one or two times in the month, I'd probably file them at that point. It would be a nice habit to get into!

Right now the box is nearly full. I'll probably file it sometime this month. I won't itemize on my taxes so I don't need to worry about having copies of anything for deductions this year. I know I need to change it, but for now this works for me.

We have a combo computer/other desk with cubbies. Dh and I each have separate cubbies for whatever, mostly bank statements and bills for our separate credit cards. There is one cubby where all the bills go right away, and I make sure to stick them up there by due date. The other cubby is for tax stuff this time of year and medical stuff that needs to be filed with our healthcare account.

About once a week I sit down at the desk and pay all the bills due in the next week, and mark them off in money. Then they go the filing drawer at my feet filed by the month that it was paid in. Yes, we're anal.

We pay 99% of our bills online (i think daycare is the only expense we write a check for). As the bills come, they go into the bill basket. Once every other week, DH sits down and pays the bills using our credit union's website and then enters all bills and reciepts into MS Money. Then he files the crap away into a freestanding file cabinet. Typically he does it at the desk in the rec room, since that is where the file cabinet it. But we do have laptops, so it really could be done anywhere.

I have to come up with a new system. I used to keep all the paid bills in a tub and then when it got full, I'd weed them out. Ridiculous system. Very shortly we will not have a computer room on the main floor so I have to figure out something else. I was thinking about a roll top type desk so I could hide some of my crap and wouldn't have clutter everywhere.

I pile the bills on my desk and pay them every week, mostly on-line. I have a filing box that I keep the important stuff in.

Dennis

All bills go in the top drawer of my desk, along with the checkbook, stubs for his truck payment, stamps and address labels. Every Thursday I pay bills, and up until this year, I would mark on the bill the date and check# that I sent, then those would get filed by month for the full year. OMG...the paperwork was incredible!! :help: Starting this year, I created separate file folders for the following categories: Bank Statements, Student Loan, Credit Card, Mortgage, and Monthly Bills. Only credit card and mortgage statements will be kept; the Monthly Bills file only reflects the current bills that have been paid (utilities/cell/newspaper etc), when the new statement comes in, I shred the previous month's. Our bank statements were overflowing with debit card receipts, so now as soon as I verify online that something has been paid, the receipt is shredded (such as gas, groceries, restaurants, etc)...only receipts for clothes or things that may need to be returned are kept, as well as deposit receipts.

We've bought a new computer desk http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b4df11b3127cce87f4599d905b0000001510

and as soon as we have rooms moved around and are using it, I'm planning to get a nice bill organizer to put behind the tall door on the right. I love paying bills at the computer desk, since I can check deposits and withdrawals online. By the end of the year I'd like to be paying all bills online....DH is a bit reluctant, but we are in the process of refinancing, and that will be automatically debited, so it's a start.

Insurance policies/other paperwork: DH loves my organization on this, so I thought I'd share it since you also mentioned that. I have a file folder labeled Insurance policies (auto & home); each time we get a new declarations page from State Farm, I shred the old and drop in the new after verifying amounts/discounts/etc are all correct.

Here are the current file folders I have in my file drawer:
Retirement (quarterly statements for DH's 401K, only year end are kept long term)
Emily's 529 (same as retirement but for her college plan)
Auto Titles (title to my car)
Birth Certificates & SS Cards (need a safe/fire proof box for this--our marriage certificate is also in this file)
Amy-Misc (any thing I print out or papers I leave laying around he can drop in here for me to deal with)
Darrell-misc (same for DH)
Auto Repair (receipts for big ticket auto repair, like new brakes, etc... service)
2004 FSA (flex spending account receipts and claim forms)
Credit Reports (we get copies of our credit reports yearly, as well as letters confirming closed credit accounts)
Income Taxes (copies of the prior year's tax returns & W2's, plus donation receipts throughout the year for Goodwill, etc; disk with saved returns and a place to stash w2's and other paperwork as it comes in during January)

I'm trying to cut down each year on the amount of paper we save, and will likely pare back even more after this year.

I usually pay my bills at the office....this seems to be the only place I can actually sit down for a bit and get it all done. I have a filing cabinet that I use there and when it gets full I bring it home and transfer it to Roger's filing cabinet here at the house :)

Amy - you are way too organized!

Dennis

I have a file folder that I keep the next 8 weeks bills in along with the budget for that week. DH gets paid on 2 & 4th weeks, I get paid 1 &3rd weeks. Hopefully next month I will be able to do this only once every other week since we are working to pay of some debt and all. I am working on a system for the paid bills to go ( I put the date paid and check number on the stubs).

Amy, you have some great ideas! I am definitely going to use the idea of each having your own misc file that the other person can put things in for them to deal with.

Thanks Becky...that's one of my favorite things, and was born of desperation!! My husband is a paper junkie, and he is FOREVER printing stuff off the internet and leaving it lay around. I got sick of dealing with it, and created the file to stuff it all into. He loves it...if he can't remember what he did with something, he'll check there first.

Dennis, I may be organized, but DH loves it because if he can't find something, I usually can within a minute or two. Plus, his mom literally uses a tackle box to keep all important papers in...we dread going through it after his parents die. This way I know that if something happens to me, he can find anything and everything he needs.

Amy, where did you get that computer armoire? We're in the market for one but we're having a tough time finding one that doesn't cost an arm and a leg.

Sarah, we found it originally on WalMart's website for $350. It says it's not available in stores, but you could have it shipped for $80 S&H. We went to Sauder.com, and pulled it up, then typed in our zip code, and it referred us to Furniture Outfitters here in Indy. We got it there for $359 + tax. Their website (Sauder's) is very very cool, and gives you all kinds of options for computer desks and armoires, plus all the dimensions. They do show an 'average retail price' for the stuff, which scared us off this model at first...their website quotes $509!!

I will warn you...it comes in two boxes weighing 125 lbs each....and it takes FOREVER to put together...but it's gorgeous!!

Thanks for the tip--we'll take a look at that website!

All of our bills are paid online with the except for our rent. When rent is due I write out 6 months worth of post dated checks at a time at my desk and give them to my landlord. All of my current bills are organized in a pile on my desk according to the date they have to be paid. Once they are paid they get tossed in a shoe box of all places!

We each have our own desks with our computers and filing cabinets. DH pays most of our bills online & then gives me the printed reciept along with the bills so I can file them in that month. I keep a Paid *whatever month it is* + the year for each month. That way if I ever need to look up a discrepancy in a bill I just look by month/year in which the bill was due/paid & I have the reciept showing it was paid. Which happened in one instance 3 1/2 years later!! We had the proof to show we paid & it took no time at all to show it was their mistake.

In DH's desk we have two folders for bills (one for the 1-15th) and one for (16th-31st) & when we get bills I put them in there by due date. DH pays the bills so I think he checks it at least a couple times a week maybe more & I know he sets them up by due date to automatically go out. He might even do that whenever we get a bill in, I don't know. It's so much easier on the computer.

As far as keeping up with paperwork, I try to sit down & file at least once a week to keep up with it. I usually take care of the bills right away (put them in dh's desk) & the rest I put in pile next to my desk to be filed. I only keep the files we use most often in my desk file drawer. Then in my filing cabinet, in the bottom drawer I keep all the files that I don't need but might need in the future. For Instance I have a VA claim that I have been working on for the past few years (it doesn't go in my everyday files but I keep it near when I do need it). The top drawer of the filing cabinet, I keep a rubbermaid box of office supplies (such as staples, small pads, extra pens, etc). I also keep all my big office supplies in the top "drawer" (the door swings open & it doesn't slide out) of my desk such as folders, notebooks, envelopes, etc. For files we are done with, we buy the commercial file storage boxes & periodically empty our files & put them in these boxes to be stored in the attic. We recently got some at Costco.

As for the files themselves I have each category in one green hanging folder. Then for files that go within that category I use manila folders that I have labeled using computer file labels. I got that idea off a teacher friend of mine who has to be superoraganized with her files! I have found that it really works & does keep me organized. I even do that with DH's files for his business. We have separate desks because DH needed room for a computer & files for his real estate business he does on the side.

On top of my desk (it has slots on it built in) I keep Tina's to do folder, Business waiting to be finished folder (used normally for correspondence we are waiting on such as a response to a letter we sent out or for rebates we are waiting on~I have found this works for me as I would forget about it otherwise, I check it periodically to keep updated on what we are waiting on) and I used to keep the bills folders there before DH took over. On another slot I keep a box of paper clips, stapler & a book of stamps so they are readily handy. I have a pen organizer on my desk for that type of stuff as well as a file slot that I keep stuff that needs to be filed.

I know it sounds complicated & time consuming but it's really not. It just sounds that way in the description. I couldn't imagine life without a desk, I would be so lost. It has made me life so much easier and by being organized I have saved some much time & fustration, not to mention no more late fees!!!!

Tina

Tina, you are so organized! I think what I am really lacking is a desk, it's so much easier to do the filing if you can sit right next to the filing drawer to do it. Hopefully mine will get here soon. I'd love to see a picture of yours, too.

I still currently have a stack I am working on as I write this :blush1: (what I should be working on but slacking :lol:) but it's from when we just moved. I am current with all the stuff coming in just backtracking on paperwork we collected before we got our desks set up. It's nothing fancy at all. I'll get a pic sometime to show you. I don't know what I would do without a desk though, I really would. In the organization department I took a few lessons from my teacher friend as I was going nuts with paperwork. I would have heaps of it everywhere even when I had the desk! It drove me crazy, one day I just couldn't take it anymore, the not finding stuff when we needed it, etc.

Tina

When bills come in, I have a little notebook where I write in the amount of the bill and when it is due..this notebook stays on top of my computer monitor..I take the bill and the envelope to send it back in (if it comes with one) and paper clip them to the calendar that is on our fridge...then I write a note on the calendar for the day that bill is due...

Robb takes care of the bills that we can pay online...when those come in, I just toss them, because he gets the statements online as well, and pays them immediately most of the time

We each have our own desks with our computers in the finished basement. A 2 drawer standing file cabinet stands between them both. One draw is DH's and the other is mine. Anything that is 'ours' I file in my filing drawer (auto policy, mortgage stuff, etc.).

I do the bills so any bill stuff is kept on my desk. On the right side my desk has 3 vertical standing slots. The first slot I keep a "What's Due?" organizer. It has a pocket for every month and I put the bill that's due in the corresponding pocket (in date order so that the bill/s that are due sooner are on top [I write the day it's due right on the outside of the envelope]). In this same slot is the checkbook, calculator, and the statment stubs from the prior checks I sent out. I save these bill stubs until I get the new statement, compare it with the new statement, then chuck the old statement away. :) Paying bills is easy, I just pull out my "What's Due?" book and the checkbook....I either bring it upstairs to do at the kitchen table or do it at the computer desk. Should there be any discrepancies with any bills, I obviously keep all my checks so I would have the proof. I try to minimize any paperwork if at all possible, that's why I choose not to keep the monthly statement of every bill once I get the new statement in (well, I do keep the cc statements and mort. statement but that's it). Just like Ami, I also have a file for auto policy, home mort. insurance policy and life ins. policy. After checking everything over and it all checks out, I throw away the old declarations page and always keep a current one on file. No need to keep extra paper if you don't have to. :)

The 2nd slot I keep a notebook to keep track of things I have to do, buy, who I need to call, etc. I have it broken down into ('To Go', 'To Call/email', 'To buy' & 'Pending'.) I also keep corresponding folders ('Pending') to put any backup documents/info I may have concerning it. Should that be the case, I put a certain symbol (usually a '*') next to what I write in the notebook and that tells me there are backup documents/info for this in such and such folder. This keeps me very organized...as I'm always crossing things off and adding new things when something gets done.

The 3rd slot I have some manilla folders with different things in it (things I printed off the internet, etc.) I need to utilize this 3rd slot better so I'm hoping to 're-organize' my desk soon. I keep things I need to file in a folder....whenever I get around to it I'll go ahead and file it.

I do everything in my office located in my den. We run our own business so I have to keep it all in order. All of the bills are kept there in order by dates they are due. :) If I didn't do that we would be in trouble. We have 9 vehicles to keep up with along with loans and monthly bills. We pay probably 12 bills every three weeks. I hate when I lose one and pay it late. DH gets very upset.