Home and Financial Document Organization

This week, Jackie was joined by Effy Terry – A Trained Professional Organizer, Certified KonMari Consultant. They discussed home and financial document organization. If you struggle with finance organization then you have come to the right place.

Why do people find getting organized so challenging?

Organization requires discipline, time management, decision making skills. For many people it is a lot of information to process at the same time and that can be daunting. What’s important is to try to chunk it down to smaller organization tasks and then start to deal with them one by one. Be sure to not procrastinate and declutter as often as possible! When it comes to your finances, do not be afraid to put down your financial situation on paper as that is the only way you can start to confront your situation- similar story when it comes to organizing your paperwork. The more you let it linger the more cluttered it gets and harder it may feel to tackle.

Top tips you have around financial organization

It is important to build a simple system that works for you. Be sure that it is straightforward and easy for you to maintain month-month. If you struggle to keep it all together, look for financial organizers who can come in and help you with some of the cumbersome tasks. It can be hard to let go of certain things but it is important to cultivate a healthy mindset that lets you stay on-top organizing all your documents on a routine basis.

Effy uses a simple binder with color tabs and a pocket that lets her keep all receipts and stay organized. When you have all of this sorted be sure to hire an experienced accountant to keep you on track with reporting your income and expenses if you own a business. The shoebox method might not be the best approach when it comes to organizing but as long as you keep track of where those receipts are going then you can make a system out of how your brain works.

Reward Yourself For Staying Organized!

Consider spring cleaning once a month as it will help you stay organized and motivated. The process of spring cleaning does not have to be boring! Make it fun by rewarding yourself! You can get a nice drink, great music and set up great lighting while doing it.

Give Your Documents a Home

Make sure find a home for documents you must stay on top of- for many it is easy to have paperwork you need to keep track of in more than one place which will make it even more challenging to stay on top of.

Get Support from a Friend

If you are someone who gets distracted easily – consider calling a friend when you are getting your paperwork together. It’s called body doubling and a very powerful support strategy.

Common Organizing Mistakes and how to Fix Them

We find that at first, people are not really sure what they need and do not have a clear system on how they organize their finances. Most clients need to declutter first before they begin the organization process where we work them through what they need and what they don’t need. As an organizer, Effy uses the Marie Kondo method of organizing; she starts with clothing-> books -> paper -> miscellaneous (everything else except for sentimental items) -> sentimental items. This helps the her clients to get used to letting go of things they don’t need before she drills down to the sentimental which can be harder to let go of.

Give Yourself Permission to Let Go Of Clutter

People are often looking for permission to let go when it comes to decluttering but the truth is you will feel so much better after decluttering, less overwhelming and in-control of your finances. Being tidy is not a moral imperative but important as opposed to being stuck on impulsive spending in a bid to feed that dopamine that eventually fades away.

Most people need a reset every once in a while because we all go through different phases of life and we must always give ourselves grace. Be sure to confront your finances and guilt clutter at every stage. It is not as difficult if you decide to start and get support from a professional, family member or friends who you trust. Reward yourself for small wins and steps you take while going through the journey and give yourself some grace.

Effy can be found at https://organizethat.ca and she also offers a 30-minute free session to help you get organized this season. If you are not ready to start with your finances, consider starting somewhere else – that would set you in the right mindset for when you are ready to make the big financial organization commitment. Feeling overwhelmed about spring clearing? Reach out to our team with your burning questions and you can take advantage of our free 30-minute strategy session. Reach out to jody.euloth@askjackie.ca to book a session today