In this post: Staying on top of organizing paperwork at home can be a real feat. So many papers flowing in. School, bills, and more. Here’s some tips for your house!

My first grader kills several trees every month.  Holy. cow. there is a lot of papers.  It’s overwhelming when you get a first full of treasured masterpieces.  Within all the stamped “great job” and then there’s even a few things you actually have to return.

Then there’s the mail.

And I have TWO OTHER CHILDREN to hand me crap.  And a husband, and my own life.

Seriously, I even get my own papers.  Who knew? #iammyownperson ?

Here’s some tips to help you learn how to keep papers organized in your home:

Organizing Paperwork

Get out the recycling bin.

Sure, you might want to do it when your child isn’t looking, but no one can keep ALL these worksheets, or pictures of rainbows.  I somehow find 1st grade to be the worst offender in the tree killing process. Well, that and junk mail. 🙂

Have an inbox.

It’s so helpful to have all the important papers in ONE area.  My inbox is right by my computer, I see it almost every time I sit down and I see if there’s anything new and important.  Otherwise, I go through it once a week (on Mondays) and handle anything necessary.

Find Your Favorites

Take your favorite kid papers and either

a) Take a picture of them and the piece of art or

b) Put it in a storage bin for posterity.  You can read all about my school paper storage here.

Get a filing system.

A family filing system keeps the REALLY IMPORTANT stuff.  Things like immunization records, birth certificates, stuff for taxes.  These important documents need to be in an area that I am not rifling through all the time.  Be sure to check out my post that shows you how to make a filing system.  It’s worth your time if you’re wanting to start one!

Separate Serious Stuff

I have a separate area for JUST bills, and I pay them through my bank’s online bill pay weekly.  I’m a stickler for NOT paying late fees (or having that ding on my credit report) so that is important to me.  This post about how to organize bills is super helpful!

Those are my 4 tips for papers at your house.  I must say the {smartest} one, I think is the inbox.  Mainly that the kids know about the inbox and are trained to put important papers in there.  Gotta love inbox trained kids. 🙂

Do you have any tips for papers at your house?  Share them on my facebook page or in the comments below!

**{Smart} Moms is a relative term.  I had to give it a name, but I am the first one to say I’m not smart all the time.  Papers still sometimes take over my life, I just find it easier when I stick to this plan.  This series is just a list of things I’ve found to make life easier — not to say — WOOT WOOT, I’m SOooooOOOO smart! {said like Steve Martin}

Looking for more home organization posts?  Check out this page about Organized Home.  Tons of family organization information!

Check out all my other {smart} moms posts:[pt_view id=”4256a9870e”]