The trouble with being an untidy slob with OCD
tendencies is that I tend to be inconsistent when it comes to my filing
system. Or perhaps I should say, 'systems'. I currently have at
least four.
Several years ago my daughter gave me a lovely set
of 3 lever-arch files, complete with covers. I use one for paid bills,
one for my pay slips and employment records and one for anything to do with
income tax returns. I filed every document straight away, into plastic
pockets in the relevant file. After a while though, the 'bills' file was
full to bursting, so I removed a whole load of the older papers, stuffed them
in a carrier bag in my wardrobe and started again. It has now reached
that stage once more; the 'bills' file is too fat to go back in its cover...
....but my wardrobe is full.
My second filing system is what I like to call my
'open archive'. This consists of all types of documents, filed in date
order of when they were received. It also incorporates documents relating
to my family history research, and notes about current writing projects.
It actually works quite well, as I can usually remember more or less when I've
dealt with particular things, and it has the added bonus that I can easily keep
current items on top. This is a very flexible, easily accessible system,
that I highly recommend. Its superficial resemblance to 'a pile of old
papers' is merely coincidence.
An extension of the open archive, which has become
a sort of micro-system, is a black leather briefcase that I bought for 1 Euro
at a French boot fair last year. It sits on the floor next to my desk,
and contains any papers relating to my day job. These, I have to admit,
are not in any particular order but, since I never have to look at them, it
doesn't really matter.
I have now, though, discovered what I believe may
be the ultimate filing system. It's neat, unobtrusive, easily accessible
and ordered. It has all the advantages of both the files and the
piles. Everything goes in on the day it's finished with, and I can satisfy
my inner control freak with a thorough review and re-filing of the contents
once a year. Readers, I give you....... The Box!
