Luckily, getting things in order in every room of the home doesn't have to be as tiresome and overwhelming as it might seem. Even meal prep can quickly go awry when you find yourself searching high and low for a roasting pan or container of spices you swore you still had. Mornings may mean time spent searching for soccer cleats and missing socks instead of sharing breakfast as a family. You may find yourself scrambling to find keys and wallets before rushing out the door. And not just because it's easier to find what you need. In fact, research has shown that cluttered spaces can cause more unnecessary stress than you think. You’ll thank me later.It's a truth universally acknowledged: An organized home is a happy home. It will work fast - without you having to babysit it. If you decide to tackle a mass scanning, I strongly suggest using one with an automatic document feeder. But if you do, also keep a physical backup of it in your possession somewhere.ħ) There are great desktop scanners out there. My wife is constantly astounded by how fast I can locate old documents she needs.Ħ) Use cloud storage systems, if you’re comfortable storing your personal papers online. Or look for the receipt for that couch you bought at Ikea back in the early 2000s. And because most computers let you search files by name, you can easily find your March 2003 Citibank checking account statement if you ever needed to, within seconds. One is named “Checking Accounts” and within that there are sub-folders for each checking account I had back then. So within my “2010” folder are sub-folders. For example, my folders are denoted by year, then by like topics. You never know when a portable storage disk will get corrupted, so this is key.ĥ) Keep everything well organized and consistently named, and you will be able to locate any file quickly forever. And once a year, I back up that disk onto a USB stick that I keep at a safe location away from the house. Every few months, I fold its contents into another disk in the house that’s a compilation of every document I’ve ever scanned.

In fact, I keep one current-year disk at my desk that constantly gets updated.

How to organize your bills at home