How to Clean Out Your Filing Cabinets

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In celebration of National Clean Out Your Files Month (yes, it IS a legitimate holiday!), I thought I’d share with you just how you should tackle this dreaded chore.  While it’s a good time to also think about cleaning your electronic files, I’ll focus this article on just on your physical, paper files.

First, WHY should you clean out your filing cabinets – it’s scary in there!  So, why bother?  Your filing cabinets are just sitting there, not doing anything, but that’s the issue – they’re not doing anything!  Your filing cabinets should be used for active document retrieval, not as a black hole!  

Like most things, it all comes down to money:

• Wasted Space – Did you know that 80% of the documents stored in your filing cabinet are never referenced again?  What better uses would you have for the space filing cabinets require?  You’re paying for the real estate the cabinet sits on, but is it contributing to your bottom line?
• Save Time – The fewer the number of items in your filing cabinet, the less likely new documents are to be misplaced.  Plus, the easier your access is to the files you need, the less time it will take to you retrieve the file.

How to Purge the System:  The best way to start the cleaning process is to set a date.  Deadlines will give you a definitive goal (After November 1^st, this task will be over, etc).  Setting a date will give you time to notify all the individuals who use the cabinet and to notify building management of additional trash/ shredding service requirements. 

So, you’re looking at your files – where do you begin?  Go through each file and remember this mnemonic: 

• OUT – These are the files that need to be thrown away or shredded.  Refer to your document retention policy for guidelines.  Consider removing outdated reference materials, draft documents, information that can easily be found on the web, etc.
• ROUTE – These are the files that belong elsewhere.  The strangest items make their way into filing cabinets – get them to their rightful owner!  Did you find documents that need to go into the company archives? 
• DOUBT – These are files that you’re unsure of where they go – you’re hesitant to throw them out until you talk to right person.  Remember; this is a temporary pile!  The idea is this pile is empty when the cleaning process is over – it doesn’t become the new black hole!
• SPROUT – These are the good files, the documents that are required for your business to grow! 

How to Put it Back:  There are many ways to organize a filing cabinet, but here are some generic principles which work well for many situations:

• Create a Document Retention Policy - Check with your CPA and company guidelines to establish some basic rules, or update your existing policy.
• Use Color – But use it wisely!  It won’t do any good to separate A’s with blue, B’s with yellow, etc.  The bigger the group, the more impact color will have.  Consider having ALL of your client files blue, ALL of your active files red. 
• Fill Drawers ¾ Full – But wait, aren’t we trying to maximize the space in our filing cabinets?  Yes, but more importantly we’re making your filing cabinet an active document retrieval vessel.  By leaving a few inches in each drawer, you’re giving yourself some wiggle room to reach the files you need, and creating space to add new documents.  You’re giving yourself room to grow.

Don’t forget to schedule your next filing system clean out!  It is a big task but you’ll be amazed at how much more efficient you and your team are when it’s done!

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