Fast Filing Method. Welcome to the Fast Filing Method: How To Put Away Or Locate Any Paper Document In 30 Seconds Or Less.

Transcription

1 Fast Filing Method Welcome to the Fast Filing Method: How To Put Away Or Locate Any Paper Document In 30 Seconds Or Less. Please see the four free bonus features at the end of this book. Your bonus feature #1: What To Do With Minor Purchase Receipts. Your bonus feature #2: An Easy Way To Save Coupons, So You Always Have Them With You When You Need Them. Your bonus feature #3: Organizing Greeting Cards And Stationary. Your bonus feature #4: Income Taxes Made Easy. Congratulations! You ve taken the first step in transforming your view of managing papers in your home. After a simple setup and an accurate implementation of this filing method, you ll be able to put away or locate any paper in your home in 30 seconds or less. My name is Heidi DeCoux. I m an in-home professional organizer, specializing in home office and file system organization. I have helped over 1,000 clients set up a filing method for all of their papers, bills, mail, coupons, articles, magazines, etc. Several clients have reported an increase in their overall energy after implementing this method in their home. There s a freedom in knowing the location of all of your important papers and in knowing that you can find any particular one in a matter of seconds. I have studied and implemented dozens of different filing systems. The method I m going to teach you today is based primarily on a method called Success File, developed by Mary Ann Leslie and Catherine Anderson in the mid-90 s. Fast-Filing Method Audio CD TRANSCRIPT.doc Page 1 of 25

2 Oftentimes, when I am helping people with their papers, I find they have created hundreds of files. They have insurance files, auto files, policy files, and they are unable to find anything quickly. The reason for this is two-fold: #1) they have created too many files and there s too much overlap between the files. If you are looking for your car insurance policy, do you look in the insurance or the auto or the Honda file? There are several different places that information could exist, which make the system cumbersome and ineffective. I have people say to me, I m scared to file anything, because I may never find it again, which is a very valid fear given the system that they have in place. The method that I m going to share with you today is easy to use, efficient, flexible, and covers all types of papers in your home. With this method, you will never have to redo your file system again. As your life and your papers change, this system will continue to work for you. I have clients who I ve implemented this system for 5 years ago. During the last 5 years, they ve had children, gotten a divorce, changed careers, and yet their filing system has not changed. It still works for them today. I m going to walk you through, step by step, as you create your file system. First, stop the CD and collect up the supplies you will need, which are outlined on Handout Page 1. You can access all of the handouts at: You probably already own most of the supplies you need, just spend a few minutes getting them set-up, so that organizing your paperwork will be relatively fast and easy. Great! Now you should be sitting in a comfortable chair, next to either your desk or a table, and you should be able to reach all of your supplies from the chair that you re sitting in. Fast-Filing Method Audio CD TRANSCRIPT.doc Page 2 of 25

3 Your first step is to pause this CD, go around your house, and collect up every pile of paper in your home, every file, every loose piece of paper. Place all of the papers and files on your table or desk, which you need to be able to reach from the chair you are sitting in. Once you have done that, start this CD again. All right, let s get started. You re probably now looking at what appears to be a mountain of paper that you have collected up, and you may be feeling overwhelmed. So, I have something inspiring to share with you. Real Simple magazine did a study in 2003, and found that American women, on average, spent 55.2 minutes, every single day, looking for things. Yikes! The number one thing we look for is information, usually in the form of paper minutes a day equals 14 days per year! That s 2 weeks every year! Is there anything else you d rather do for those 2 weeks every year? As difficult as it may be for you to set up this filing method and go through every piece of paper in your home, you are freeing up a significant amount of time in your life that you can spend doing whatever makes you happy and inspires you. For most of us, searching for paper is not fun and energizing. Once you complete the setup and implementation of this new filing method, you ll be able to spend your valuable time doing things you love, that leave you energized and full of vitality. On that note, let s get you in a place where you have complete control on all of the papers in your home. Right now, I want you to sit back in your comfortable chair and listen as I explain to you the new filing method you re going to be setting up. Fast-Filing Method Audio CD TRANSCRIPT.doc Page 3 of 25

4 Don t worry about any of the details right now. I just want you to understand how your new filing system is going to work on a conceptual level. Alright, there are 2 parts to this file system: active papers and mail file system. Your active papers are your incoming day-to-day papers, which include the mail, bills, kids school work, papers you need to take action on, forms you need to fill out, things you need to call on, that sort of thing. Your main file system are your long-term papers: homeowner s insurance, vehicle and healthcare insurance, warranties and manuals, and all of those types of papers. You will have 2 separate systems, active and main, but they will work together. Your active system will be very small compared to your main file system. All of your current active papers will be able to fit in a standard-sized portable file box. On your handout titled Active File System, you can see a photo of a file box with an active file system set up in it. Once your active file system is set up, I recommend keeping it in a very convenient place preferably wherever you go through your mail and bills maybe your kitchen counter. You may be thinking to yourself, I don t want an ugly plastic file box on my kitchen counter. What is this girl talking about? Well, here are my thoughts on that. The nice thing about a portable box is that it s portable. So, you can easily put it in a cupboard or a closet when company comes over, much more easily than you can piles of paper. Also, you can get a pretty wooden box that matches the décor of your kitchen. And whatever the box you use looks like, it will certainly be more aesthetically pleasing than piles of papers. Fast-Filing Method Audio CD TRANSCRIPT.doc Page 4 of 25

5 If you ever go through a kitchen remodel or build a new home, I recommend putting a file drawer in your kitchen, next to a pull-out cabinet that contains a bin for paper recycling and a paper shredder. Then you have everything you need to quickly deal with all of your day-to-day incoming papers, conveniently located and hidden away. Your main file system, you ll be accessing once or twice a week. So, that can be located in a file cabinet in your home office, basement or spare bedroom. Both your active file system and your main file system are set up in similar fashions. You have hanging file folders, which are your categories, and then you have manila file folders, which are subjects within the categories. To make it possible so you can find any piece of paper within a few seconds, we will be using tab placement. All of your categories, which are the hanging file folders, will have tabs placed on the left side front flap of the folder. You can see a picture of this on your handout titled Examples. All of the categories are quite general. In your active file system, you ll have between 3 and 6 categories (hanging file folders). And in your main file system, you ll have between 10 and 20 categories. The subjects, which are in the manila file folders, will either be in a left-, middle- or right-hand tabbed folder, based upon the type of information in the folder. So, when you are looking for a particular piece of paper, you only have to scan a dozen or so categories, which only takes a few seconds, and then you can easily identify which category will have the paper you are looking for. Once you identify the category based on the type of information you re looking for, you will know if you need to be looking for a left-, middle- or right-hand folder. Fast-Filing Method Audio CD TRANSCRIPT.doc Page 5 of 25

6 A right-hand tab manila folder contains permanent documentation. You will have the most amounts of these types of folders; for example, health insurance policy, homeowner s insurance policy, medical records, those types of papers. Don t get caught up in the word permanent. Nothing in our world is truly permanent. Permanent until it changes. Your health insurance policy is your policy until you get a new policy. At such time, you ll simply replace the documents. So, that s what I mean by permanent. Now, the middle tab of folder contains active information: information that moves or that is temporary. For example, current year statements, current year personal tax deduction, current year medical expenses, remodeling plans, current job search, those types of papers; papers that are moving or temporary. Left tab. These folders you ll use the least of. I have some clients that have no left-tab folders in their system. The left tab is general or resource information about the category. For example, under income and banking, you may have a left-tab folder, which contains general information about your bank and/or personal banker. Let me give you an example of how this system works when it s completed. Some of your basic categories, which are hanging file folders, will include housing, transportation, healthcare, income and banking, and investments. Let s say you are looking for your homeowner s insurance policy because you need to report a claim. Given your categories, it would make sense that you would find that under housing. It certainly wouldn t be under transportation or healthcare. Now, within housing, you may have about a dozen subject folders, which are the manila folders. Fast-Filing Method Audio CD TRANSCRIPT.doc Page 6 of 25

7 Given you were looking for a policy, you know that would be in a right-hand tab, because it s permanent documentation. You probably have a total of 6 or 8 right-hand tabs in the housing category, so it will only take a few seconds to scan the subjects and locate the one labeled Homeowner s Insurance Policy. Some of your file categories will be larger than others and will require subcategories. A subcategory is a hanging file folder with a tab in the middle. The main categories have tabs on the left-hand side. Subcategories have tabs in the middle. There s a photo of this on your handout titled Examples. You can see that healthcare is a category, and medical record is a subcategory of healthcare. Then, you can see that within healthcare and medical records, there are subjects. Take a moment to look at the subjects and the tab placement. This should give you a very clear picture of how this system works. We are now going to set up files in your temporary file boxes. Are you excited? Alright. One of the forms that you downloaded is titled Active System. Please pause the CD and take a moment and create your active system as it is described and pictured on this form. If you do not have a portable file box, simply use one of your cardboard file boxes. Follow the steps exactly as they are laid out on your additive system form that you printed out. We will customize it a little later. Once you have completed this step, start the CD again. Great! Now, I m going to explain how your active file system works. Your first category folder should be called Action. The tab should be placed on the left-hand front flap of the folder. Within that, you should have set up 4 manila folders, and then you may be adding a couple more folders later, once you customize this system. The first one is called Hot Action This Week. The papers that go in this folder are papers that you absolutely need to take action on in the next 7 days. This does not Fast-Filing Method Audio CD TRANSCRIPT.doc Page 7 of 25

8 mean something you re interested in reading, something you re interested in doing, something you maybe will call on someday. It s not this type of paperwork. These are papers that you absolutely have to take action on, and you need to do it in the next 7 days. It s a permission slip that you need to return to your child s school. It s an insurance form that needs to get filled out and submitted. It s something that you need to call on to get corrected on you bill or your statement, or with your account. So, it s something that you have to take action on, and you have to do it this week. Your hot action folder, you should be in and out of on a daily basis. Set aside 5 minutes each day to deal with hot action items. So, either 5 minutes at the beginning or at the end of your day, where you re dealing with hot action items. If I were to come visit you after a 12-month after you put this system together, your hot action folder would be like tattered and prints on it, and like ragged around the edges, because you re going to be in this folder every single day. This folder is for the things that you absolutely do not want to get forgotten, lost or looked-over. These are hot action items. The next folder is called Warm Action: This Month. These are things that you have to take action on, but they re not urgent. You simply need to take action within the next month. I recommend setting aside 10 minutes per week to deal with warm action items. Pick 10 minutes during your week that you re the least likely to get interrupted and that you re the most focused. So, maybe that s Saturday morning at 10:00 or Friday afternoons, or something like that, where you deal with warm action items. The next subject is called To Read. Obviously, you don t put books in here, but things like articles that you get in the mail, that you re interested in reading. Or maybe somebody ed you an article that you printed off from work and that you just don t have time to read it now but you re interested in reading it. That would go in your To Read folder. Fast-Filing Method Audio CD TRANSCRIPT.doc Page 8 of 25

9 The rule of thumb is when the folder is full, you have to either discard things that are in it in order to add more into it, or you need to actually sit down and read what s in there. So, you re allocating yourself one folder. Now, if you re somebody that does a lot of reading and you pull a lot of articles out so, at any given time, you have quite a bit of reading on-hand to do, and you actually do a lot of reading, you could upgrade this from a manila file folder to a hanging file folder, and just put that right behind your action file folder. That would be an option for you. The key to organization and paper control and clutter, any type of organization, is dedicating a certain amount of space and a certain amount of time in your life for each thing that s important to you. For example, I ve got clients that have a one-car garage that s completely full, and they can t park any cars in it. Well, the reason is they didn t dedicate a certain amount of space to their stuff, and so their stuff just completely filled their garage. Now, I have clients that have 3-car garages that they can t park a car in because it s full, because, again, they didn t dedicate a certain amount of space, so it just filled their entire garage. I just about guarantee you that the clients with the one-car garage that s full, if they had a 3-car garage, that would be full as well. So, the key really is to just dedicate a certain amount of space in your life for each thing, and then that s how much space you get. Magazines that come in the mail, I recommend setting aside a basket or a bin, and then that s it. That s how much space you get for magazines. Once it s full, you have to discard the magazines that are in there in order to add more in. So, you re dedicating that amount of space in your home to magazines. Okay, the next subject is called To File. You just get one hanging manila folder. Fast-Filing Method Audio CD TRANSCRIPT.doc Page 9 of 25

10 The reason I like having a To File is on a regular basis you get things in the mail, things that come home kids school, or whatever, that need to go into your main file system. I think it s much more time-efficient if, as that stuff comes in, you just put them in this manila folder. And then when the folder s full, which sometimes is once a week, sometimes is once every 2 weeks, you can just take the whole folder over to wherever your main files are kept, maybe in your office or your basement or something, spare bedroom, and then quickly file them all away. So, instead of having to run to that main file system every time you have a piece of paper that needs to go into it, you can just collect them all in one folder and make that trip once a week, once every 2 weeks, and then quickly file those things away. So, I think it s a time-saver. The next category within your active file system is called Reference. The first subject in Reference is Waiting For Response. Waiting For Response is things that you have already taken action on, and now you re waiting for somebody to get back to you. A great example of this is rebates. Let s say that you went and bought yourself a new Macbook last weekend, and it came with a mail-in rebate. You filled out your mailin rebate, you sent it in, and now you re waiting to get a check in the mail. And you know that could take like 8 weeks. You put a copy of the paperwork that proves you filled out the rebate and you re waiting for a response. I would recommend checking your Waiting For Response once a week, when you do your warm action items. So, during those 10 minutes that you set aside each week for warm action, I would go ahead and look through the Waiting For Response file and see if there s anything that you need to follow-up on. Maybe you closed an account and you put the closing paperwork in there, because you want to verify that Fast-Filing Method Audio CD TRANSCRIPT.doc Page 10 of 25

11 they actually closed your account or that they stopped billing you for a subscription that you cancelled or a membership that you cancelled. So when you check your Waiting For Response, you can look through, it will remind you to check on that and make sure that they did, in fact, stop billing you or the account is, in fact, closed, something of that nature. The next subject within Reference is called Upcoming Events. Now, this is not events that you re just thinking you maybe want to attend. These are events that you actually are going to be going to. They re confirmed events. So, for example, your tickets to a sporting event would go in here. Tickets to the opera or the symphony. A great use for this file is baby shower, bridal shower, and wedding invitation. For example, let s say in tomorrow s mail you get a wedding invitation. The first thing is that actually goes in your warm action folder, because you have to take an action on that. You need to decide whether you re going to go or not. Let s say that you decided you are going to go. You sent back your RSVP confirming you re going to go. Now, it s still an action item because you ve got a gift to buy, directions to print out, maybe a hotel to book, a few other details to take care of. Once all of those details have been taken care of, that then moves into your Upcoming Events folder. Now, you re just waiting for the event to occur. So, your Upcoming Events folder is stuff that requires no more action. You re just waiting for the event to actually occur. What s great about this folder is you never have to worry about losing tickets or directions or hotel confirmations or anything again. Say it s Friday night, and the wedding is tomorrow, Saturday. You could just go to your upcoming events folder and Fast-Filing Method Audio CD TRANSCRIPT.doc Page 11 of 25

12 you ve got the invitation, you ve got directions, you ve got your hotel confirmation. Everything is right there and ready for you. The last subject within Reference, not including any custom subjects that you have, is called Last Month s Bills Paid. Last Month s Bills Paid. I don t advocate any one particular bill paying system. It really depends on you, your personality, how often you pay bills, do you pay bills manually or electronically, what types of bills do you pay, how many bills do you pay a month. There are a lot of variables there. So, I always custom-make a bill pay system for my clients, based upon answers to all of those questions. Now, the one thing is that the subject Last Month s Bills Paid really does relate to everybody, regardless of how you pay your bills. Here s how: most of your bills, you can t write off on your taxes. Most people can t write off utilities and things like that. So, you really only need to keep the last month s bill, because there s no reason to keep it after that. All you need to do with the bill is verify that they received your payment and that they applied it correctly. Once they ve done that, if you re not writing it off on your taxes, you can go ahead and shred it. So, for the majority of your bills, you just need one month s worth. So, let s say you ve got the last month s electrical bill in here. You paid it. You get the new electrical bill in the mail. You cross-check it, make sure they applied your payment correctly, and then you can go ahead and shred the old one and put the new one in this file. So, Last Month s Bills Paid works for just about everybody, regardless of how you pay your bills. Now, another category, which not everybody needs but I find that a lot of people find it helpful, is called supplies. And within supplies, you could have a subject with Fast-Filing Method Audio CD TRANSCRIPT.doc Page 12 of 25

13 ATM deposit envelopes, if you do a lot of transactions at the ATM and you like to prepare them ahead of time. I know it s frustrating to get to the ATM and realize they re out of envelopes. So, it s nice to have them on hand and prepare them ahead of time. Also, you could have one with stamps and address labels. That way, you re able to pay your bills right from here, if you do it manually, or you re able to send thank you cards, that type of thing. So, that s just an option. Not everybody needs Supplies as a category in their system, but it s a custom category that a lot of people do take advantage of. So, that right there is your active file system. Now, we re going to create your main file system. One of the forms that you downloaded is titled Basic File Categories And Subjects. Please pause the CD and set up all of the basic file categories and basic subjects within those categories, just like you did with the active file system. Even if you have empty file cabinet space, just use the cardboard file boxes for now, to set up your basic file categories and basic subjects. You will be able to relocate the files into cabinets later, but the temporary boxes will make it much easier and faster for you to complete the setup of your new file system. When you re done with this step, then start the CD again. Great! Now, before we start putting your papers into your new systems, I want to talk to you for a moment about what papers you can feel safe in simply shredding and recycling. Most of the time, I find that clients keep way more papers than they need to. More than likely, you will eliminate at least 50% of your papers during this process. So, look over at that mound of papers and files sitting on the table or desk, that I had you collect up from all over your house. More than likely, at least 50% of those will get shredded or recycled and will not ever make it into your new file system. Fast-Filing Method Audio CD TRANSCRIPT.doc Page 13 of 25

14 You have a handout titled Keep It Or Shred It, which I m going to review with you now. To start with, your ATM withdrawal and deposit slips only need to be kept for one month. Once you balance them against your monthly statement, you can shred them. If you keep them because you think you re going to balance them and, in reality, you never get to it, then don t get the slips. You can opt not to receive an ATM receipt. Receipts from the 8-billion ATM transactions each year in the United States create a lot of waste. You can view all of your transactions on your bank s website, and some stores, such as Apple, will send you an e-receipt to your . Also, misplaced receipts can help identity thieves steal your information. I have actually had the bank make a mistake before on a deposit that I made in the ATM, and they did not even care to see my ATM receipt. Now, as far as receipts for minor purchases such as a new shirt or a pair of shoes, most stores have a 90-day or less return policy. I actually have a great self-cleansing system for minor purchase receipts. It s detailed in the bonus feature, which I included for you when you purchased this CD. As far as your monthly statements go, once you get a year-end statement, you can just balance it against your monthly statements and then go ahead and shred your monthly statements, and you only need to keep your year-end statement. Tax returns and the guts of your tax return. The guts of your tax return are essentially the documentation that makes up your tax return; your W-2 s, W-4 s, 1099 s, receipts for things that you ve written off, year-end statements that show interest earned and different things like that, that make up your tax return. That s your guts. I go over, in depth, what to do with your tax related documents in my Income Taxes Made Easy bonus feature, which I included for you when you purchased this CD. Fast-Filing Method Audio CD TRANSCRIPT.doc Page 14 of 25

15 If you are deciding whether to put something in the shredder or recycling bin, by all means shred it. When in doubt, always shred. Identity theft has become the number one crime, above drug trafficking. 68% of all identity theft comes as a result of papers containing personal information stolen from recycling bins and trash bins. If you don t currently have a shredder at home, you absolutely need one. Get a good, durable, crosscut home office paper shredder. Be sure that it s crosscut. My favorite shredder s available at They are inexpensive, durable, esthetically pleasing, has a patented safety guard, and do not require lubricant sheets, like many paper shredders. If you have college-aged children or grandchildren, please consider getting them a shredder. A rising number of college kids are getting their identity stolen because they are the least likely demographic to shred sensitive information. Many of them get lots of credit card applications in the mail which, if not shred, could easily end up in the hands of identity thieves, costing the parents of these kids quite a lot of time and hassle. Once you ve completed the setup of your new file system, you will probably have a significant amount of papers to be shredded. You probably don t want to sit in front of your shredder for hours and hours, shredding. So, I recommend you find a drop-off site in your area. You can bring in boxes of papers, and they will shred them for you on the spot, for a minimal charge. This service is offered by 2 major shredding companies. One of them is Pioneer Secure Shred, and the other one is Shred It. They have all sorts of locations across the country. Many UPS stores have drop-off sites right in their stores. To find a location near you, visit ShredIt.com or PioneerSecureShred.com. If you live in the Midwest, Pioneer Secure Shred has the most locations. If you live somewhere else in the country, Shred It probably has more convenient locations for you. Fast-Filing Method Audio CD TRANSCRIPT.doc Page 15 of 25

16 For links and more information on the best way to get your papers shredded refer to my Special Report Which Papers to Keep & Which to Shred located at You now have an easy-to-use, efficient file system set up. Your final step is to go through each and every piece of paper in your home, which hopefully, right now, is located on the table or desk next to you. You re going to need a minimum of 2 to 3 hours of uninterrupted time, and I recommend putting on your favorite music CD. Sit in your comfortable chair and go through each and every piece of paper. Each piece of paper goes into the to-beshredded box or the recycling box, or into your new file system. If you have a question on what to do with a particular piece of paper, reference your handouts, the forms that you downloaded. Don t spend too much time figuring out where a particular piece of paper goes. Simply set it aside in a file-later pile. Once you ve gone through all of your papers, go back to your file-later pile. Most likely, you will only have 10 to 15 papers in that pile, and you will then know what to do with them. If you re still stuck, then I recommend getting a copy of the full success file manual called File Anything And Find It Again. It s a thick manual that details this entire system and offers additional custom categories and subjects that we did not go over here today. Also, there are preprinted file labels in the manual for all of the basic categories and some of the custom categories. If you come across any piece of paper that you are unsure what to do with, I recommend picking up a copy of File Anything And Find It Again manual. It s an inexpensive manual, and it details pretty much every type of paper. It s laid out in a clear, organized fashion, and will clarify for you anything that you are still unclear about. Click here for more info or to purchase the manual. Fast-Filing Method Audio CD TRANSCRIPT.doc Page 16 of 25

17 As an organizer, I deal a lot with space. So, one thing that you get to decide on is how much space and how much time, and how much money you re going to allocate to everything in your life. So, if you say, You know what? I m going to allocate this much space to things I want to read in my life, then that s how much space that will take up. I go into houses and I see people with 3-car garages, and they re not able to park any cars in the garage because they re completely full. That s not that uncommon. And I m guessing a few of you here are in that situation. Now, here s the kicker: I also go to people with one-car garages that are full. Now, I guarantee you that if those people had a 3-car garage, that would be full as well. So, if you dedicate a certain amount of space to an item, and that s how much space you are allocating for that, then that s how much space you ll use. And if you don t dedicate a certain amount, then it will grow and it will grow and it will grow, until you ve filled your house. And then, that becomes the amount of space that you ve dedicated. And then maybe fill the yard, and that becomes the amount of space. So, just make a decision on how much space you re going to allocate in your life and your home for that particular thing. Maybe you collect Martha Stewart magazines. I love Martha Stewart magazines. You know what? I ve got this much space on my bookshelf for Martha Stewart magazines. And when it s full, then I have to get rid of a couple of those in order to add a few. So then, what I ll do is I ll take 5 of them and I ll bring them to the health club with me, so that other people can have an opportunity to enjoy them. And then, I can add 5 more months worth in there. So, just allocating a certain amount of space in your home and in your life for things, then you can create a life that you love. Fast-Filing Method Audio CD TRANSCRIPT.doc Page 17 of 25

18 Also, it s a great way to bring honor to memorabilia-type items that come in your house, is dedicating a certain amount of space to memorabilia. If we just kind of keep everything because it has sentimental value, I m just going to keep and keep and keep, what happens is you don t bring honor to the stuff that you have because you have so much of it that it ends up just stuffed in closets and dusty. Then there was a pipe that leaked and it got ruined. So oftentimes, I m organizing people and we re coming across stuff that they valued and that was precious, and was important to them, and it s ruined, and it s actually been ruined for a couple of years, but they didn t even know it because it s so stuffed away. So, allocating a certain amount of space and saying, You know what? Maybe you like to collect dolls or whatever, hunting guns or something, and you allocate a certain amount of space to that. And you ve got a beautiful case where you put all of those. And then when it s full, you re done. You need to get rid of some in order to add new. Then, you re really bringing honor to the things that you have. You now have everything you need to get all of the papers in your home in order and keep them in order. If you implement and use this filing method correctly, it will continue to work for you year after year. Thank you for purchasing this audio program. I hope that I have not only educated you, but also inspired you. If you would like to take your new filing method to the next level, consider purchasing my Going Paperless audio program. The filing method that you just learned must be fully implemented prior to completing my Going Paperless program, which will be available soon. Fast-Filing Method Audio CD TRANSCRIPT.doc Page 18 of 25

19 We are always improving our audio programming and coming out with new audio programming. If you have any suggestions or feedback for us, we would love to hear from you. Send us an to To purchase the manual File Anything And Find It Again, click here, or go to: and scroll to the bottom of the page. Also, if you re interested in information on organizing your home office, feng shuiing your home office or other great organizing tips such as how to reduce your junk mail by up to 90%, and what to do with broken electronics, your old ink cartridges, and how to save 75% on new ink cartridges for your home office, visit our website at ClearSimpleLiving.com and click on Free Tips & Articles. It s your full home & life organization resource. I invite you to sign up for my free bi-monthly e-magazine, Life Made Simple. Just log onto my website at HeidiDeCoux.com. Check out the 4 Bonus Features below and the additional bonus features located at (scroll to the bottom of the page): Fast-Filing Method Audio CD TRANSCRIPT.doc Page 19 of 25

20 Bonus Feature #1: What To Do With Your Minor Purchase Receipts You bought a new pair of shoes. Now, what do you with the receipt? I have a simple solution for you. Pick up a small, envelope-sized file divider with 12 separate slots in it. There s one pictured on your examples handout. Label the slots January through December. Each time that you make a minor purchase, place the receipt in the slot of the month that you purchased the item. If today is November 18 th and you purchased a new pair of shoes, then you would put your receipt in the November slot. Do this for an entire year. Next year, when November comes around, simply remove all of the receipts in the November slot and toss them in your recycling bin. Most stores have a 90-day or less return policy. After one year, it is generally quite safe to toss receipts. You don t need to go through them or individually shred them. You can simply toss them in your recycling bin and start putting your new receipts in. It is now illegal for stores to print your full credit card number on receipts, so it s usually safe to simply toss them. If you need to return an item, all you have to do is remember what month you purchased it in, then look in that slot for the receipt. You will probably only have a handful of receipts to look through, so you can easily and quickly find the one you need. No more looking through random piles on your desk and countertops and in drawers for a particular receipt. They are all nicely organized in a virtually self-cleansing system. Remember, all of your major purchase receipts, such as appliance and furniture, should be kept in your main file system with the Household Belongs category. Major purchase receipts need to be kept significantly longer than minor purchase receipts, so your main file system is the perfect place for them. Fast-Filing Method Audio CD TRANSCRIPT.doc Page 20 of 25

21 Bonus Feature #2: An Easy Way To Save Coupons, So You Always Have Them When You Need Them I recommend keeping all of your coupons in a small, zippered or velcroed pouch of some kind, and keeping that pouch in the glove box of your car. Usually when you need your coupons is when you re out and about, running errands, or have a few minutes in between appointments. By having them with you, you are increasing the chances that you will actually use them. If they are at home, in a pile somewhere on your kitchen countertop, there s almost no chance they will get used unless you plan ahead and remember to locate and pack them. Since I m all about saving time and simplifying your life, I recommend just keeping them with you, either in your purse or the glove box of your car. When you re at the gas station, pumping gas into your car, that is a great time to look through your pouch of coupons and toss the ones that are expired. answer. Now, how are you going to easily and efficiently get them to your car? Here s the I recommend that you place a basket, bin or box near the door of your home that you use the most. Call that basket the get out of my house basket. Everything in your home that needs to leave your home should be placed in that basket. Say you borrowed a book from your sister or you need to bring a package to the post office, or bring a particular file to work with you. Simply place those items in your get out of my house basket. On your way out the door each morning, get in the habit of looking in your get out of my house basket and take with you the items that you can deal with that day. If the book you borrowed from your sister is in there and you will not be seeing her until Saturday, then you could simply leave it in the basket until Saturday. Fast-Filing Method Audio CD TRANSCRIPT.doc Page 21 of 25

22 When the mail comes in and you are shredding it, recycling it, and filing what s left of it, you can simply pull out the coupons you think you may want to use and place them in your get out of my house basket. The next morning, on your way out the door, grab them and slip them into the pouch in your glove box. It s as simple as that. Fast-Filing Method Audio CD TRANSCRIPT.doc Page 22 of 25

23 Bonus Feature #3: Organizing Greeting Cards And Stationery It s great to purchase greeting cards and stationery in bulk and on sale. When a friend is having a birthday or needs a get well wish, you ll have a card on-hand and ready to go. No need to run all the way to the store just to pick up a card. To easily organize your cards and stationery, I recommend getting a simple file box, similar to the one that you ll be using for your action file system. Sterilite makes a great one. It s clear, it has a cover, and a handle on top, so it s portable, and it s a perfect size. Go to to view them. Place a minimum of 17 hanging file folders in your new box and label them as follows: birthday, anniversary, baby, wedding, congratulations, friendship, get well, sympathy, blank, postcards, stationery, envelopes, stickers, address labels, and stamps. Now, you have a folder for each type of greeting card, your stationery, and you have stamps and address labels ready to go. It will now only take you a few minutes to send out a card to a loved one. I recommend buying postage stamps in sheets versus rolls, so you can easily slide them into the file. They sell sheets of stamps at most cash machines, so you don t even have to run to the post office. I m going to share with you some ideas on how to customize this system. You could have a folder for holidays. Or, if there are certain people in your life that you send cards to often, such as your grandma, you could create a file specifically for her. Another tip is if you purchase a card with a specific person in mind, write the person s name on a sticky note and stick it to the card. Fast-Filing Method Audio CD TRANSCRIPT.doc Page 23 of 25

24 If you only keep a few cards on hand, then consider simply incorporating a file category called Cards and Stationery into your main file system, and making individual subject folders, which are the manila folders, to divide up the different types of cards and stationery. Fast-Filing Method Audio CD TRANSCRIPT.doc Page 24 of 25

25 Bonus Feature #4: Income Taxes Made Easy Would you like to have your tax papers organized in a simple system that can be duplicated every year? If your answer is yes, then here s how you can do just that. In your main file system, you should have a category titled Income Tax. Within the income tax category, your main subjects should be Personal Deductions like donation receipts, General Tax Documents (this is for your W-2 s your 1099 s, and other year-end statements), Current Year Pay Stubs, and one for forms and instructions. If you are a business owner, have a file for business deductions. You may have additional subjects such as rental property deductions & CRP s, if you re a landlord. Each year, collect your information in these files. The fastest way to prepare for your taxes is to batch your deductions. Just collect all of your receipts and paperwork in folders throughout the year. Then at the end of the year, empty your folders, add up your deductions and complete your tax return(s). After you file your taxes, put your tax return along with the guts of your tax return (guts meaning the information that makes up your return) in a cardboard banker s box. An average person can usually fit 7 years worth of returns in one banker s box. Be sure to label the box. This box should be stored in long-term storage, like a basement or an attic. Once the newest return in the box is 7 years old, you can simply pull the actual returns out, which you need to keep permanently, and shred the rest of the contents. Your tax returns, you should keep indefinitely. But the guts of your returns, you only need to keep for a maximum of 7 years. Once you have this system in place, you simply need to toss your tax-related documents and receipts into it as they enter your home, and you ll be all set at tax time next year. Fast-Filing Method Audio CD TRANSCRIPT.doc Page 25 of 25