Dear Subscriber,

Last month, in Starting from Scratch: Create A Filing System That Works, I recommended using the FAT system as a sorting technique to get you started as you tossed unnecessary paper and began to set up a personalized set of files.

The letters FAT used to stand for File --> Act --> Toss

But this month I want to talk about that middle category, "Act". I actually believe that the word "Access" better describes what that "A" actually stands for.

The files we worked on setting up last month were what I think of as storage files. Every piece of paper in those files satisfies one of three criteria:

1. Need (you don't need them every day, but may at a moment's notice) -- consisting of medical, insurance, tax and financial records; resumes and professional certifications; personal documents such as your birth certificate, social security card, passport; and so forth.

2. Want (you believe you'll have a future need for them) -- long-term planning for things like travel and retirement, operating instructions for appliances and equipment; materials you're collecting about a project you're interested in, etc.

3. Love (you just want to have them around) -- souvenirs, mementos & photographs

But I'm sure that some of the papers you discovered fell into none of these groups. These are the papers that must have ended up in the "Act" category, just because they were eligible for neither the trash nor the file drawer.

Some, like bills to be paid, need immediate attention. Once you've processed them you'll have receipts that need a home, and to which you may want to refer in the near future. Others, like recipes you enjoy, or travel plans that are in process, would be difficult to work with if they were put away in a file drawer.

These types of papers make up a group that needs to be handy, but doesn't require immediate action. Putting them in your file drawer makes them inconvenient to get to easily, and the whole point of getting organized is convenience -- and Accessibility.

So the question is, how do you give yourself the Access you need? Because we all know: papers become clutter if they don't find a home. The answer is to set up a small, portable file system that can sit on your desktop or a shelf in your home office.

A typical portable file might include:
- receipts for the current year's taxes, and records of charity donations
- home design plans & ideas
- recipes in current circulation
- take-out menus
- this year's garden plans
- upcoming travel plans & documents
- information about significant purchases you are preparing to make, such as a new computer, sports equipment, automobile etc.

There's a huge and attractive selection of portable file boxes out there: start by checking out the Container Store and looking under "desktop accessories". Whatever your home decor, you can find something that suits you: wicker, wood, metal -- and even plastic, if you must!

The boxes hold letter-sized hanging files; you can either use some you already have on hand or buy yourself a small box of new ones in a favorite color. You're going to be looking at your new system, and using it, pretty much every day now, so be sure to make it attractive. Mine, for example, is a black metal mesh file box with red hanging files in it. It adds a nice accent to my home office.

There's no need to create tabs to identify the folders unless you really want to. Because they're so visible, and the subjects so few and diverse, the tabs on the manila folders inside the hanging files will be enough to identify them.

The final trick is -- every few weeks, look over the contents of your box. When something is no longer relevant -- when you've bought that bicycle, or taken that trip -- it's time to remove the folder from the box and put it in your archive files to serve as a long-term reference.

Obviously some of the folders will never be removed: my favorite recipes and takeout menus have a permanent home right at the front of the box, for the easiest Access one could ever want, and no papers cluttering up the kitchen.

Now, FAT = File --> Access --> Toss

Good luck. Please let me know how it goes.

Until next time, Happy Organizing!

Sincerely,

Ann Bingley Gallops
The Organized Life

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ORGANIZING DISCOVERY OF THE MONTH: WORDCOUNT

WordCount is an artistic experiment in the way we use language. It presents the 86,800 most frequently used English words, ranked in order of commonness, and provides various ways to search and get involved. It's really super-, not to say hyper-, organized, and lots of fun.

WordCount was designed and developed by Jonathan Harris of Number27, in conjunction with the FABRICA studio of Italy.

Check it out at http://www.wordcount.org/main.php

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Contacting me I'd love to hear from you. Please drop me a line with comments, questions, or suggestions for future newsletters.

Ann Bingley Gallops
The Organized Life
ann@theorganizedlife.net
www.theorganizedlife.net
646-382-3878

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Copyright 2005, Ann Bingley Gallops

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