This is the “after” picture of the files. As you can see, we broke the files down into sections using colored hanging folders, and we even put the filing tabs in a straight row for each section. This makes locating and returning files much quicker, and eventually without much thought at all.

The sections that we made are based on this person’s files and the different categories or groups of files that went together such as billing, office use, etc.

When working with any client, we look at every single file and discuss what’s in it, what it’s used for and if they really need it. In most cases we find duplicate files and many outdated files (aka file clutter). At least 1/3 of this client’s files were not needed. This is quite common.

When is the last time you took a good look at your files?