. How Do I File LDS Church Paperwork?

Could you share your method for organizing all the printed ‘thoughts’ that religious women collect?  I did a ‘sort to the floor’ (which is put everything on the floor, make piles, sort, toss, shred, etc. just this week – much overdue!) and now am faced (again) with how to file and organize every tidbit from adversity, atonement, women’s organization to Zion, and everything in between! Thanks in advance for your tips!  Lisa in UT

This is my best method for topical filing:

1)       I have manila file folders, labeled A-Z, one letter per folder.

2)       I have pendaflex file folders, labeled A-Z, one letter per folder.

3)       I have a box of 1” x 3.5” white labels to facilitate re-labeling (when I misspell, change my  mind, or need to redo a label).

4)       I have a container(s) for holding my files.

5)       I put the appropriate manila file folder in the same lettered pendaflex file folder in my container.

This allows me to remove any manila file folder, go through my materials, and return it to the appropriate place in my pendaflex folders easily.

6)       I sort through the paperwork (in this case religious materials), purging unnecessary, awkward, and irrelevant material.

7)       I put the “want to save for possible Church needs” paperwork topically into the right folder.  An article on the Atonement in the “A” folder, the cute story about babies under “B”, and the doctrinal article about Christ under “C”.

IMPORTANT:  As I file each article, I write the chosen topic name in the upper right corner.  This facilitate refiling the article.

8)       When an article deals with two topics, say Christ’s Atonement and the Resurrection, I file it in the most likely file for retrieval (in this case “R” for Resurrection) and put an 8.5” x 11” sheet of cardstock (or 8.5” x 11” sheet of paper, if you prefer) in the “C” folder with the label:  Christ’s Atonement and Resurrection – see “R”.

9)       When I find that I have numerous articles about the same subject which tend to overwhelm one file folder, I will label a separate manila folder for that topic, say “Charity”, and a separate pendaflex folder labeled “C-Charity” which is then filed behind the “C” pendaflex folder.

This allows my filing system to expand and contract easily with use and need.

10)     I put paperwork regarding a Church position in this filing system in the same way.  Obsolete secretarial paperwork, for instance, goes in a manila folder labeled “Secretary – 2000”.  This manila folder goes into a pendaflex folder labeled “S – Secretary”.  This pendaflex folder goes behind the “S” pendaflex folder.

I hope this system works for you, too.  Buy your supplies, keep it simple, don’t save too much of anything, and finish up the project ASAP so you can start using your files instead of looking at your piles.  Happy filing!

Find more helpful ideas in my House of Order Handbook.