House Paperwork Organization

After we bought our first home, we were immediately overwhelmed by the amount of stuff that comes along with owning a home.  We had to keep track of our mortgage paperwork, home insurance, warranty paperwork for appliances, pest control, and tons more.

At first I used a filing cabinet to organize these items, but then the filing cabinet quickly became overstuffed and quite disheveled.

So I spent about an hour one day making a Home Paperwork Binder, and I am so, so proud of it!

First, I took all the paperwork and separated  it into piles by similarity.  For example, all kitchen appliance paperwork went in one pile, all pest control paperwork in another.  Once I saw what I had in each pile, I separated that into further piles (dishwasher, refrigerator, washer/dryer, etc).  Then I got to work printing labels and organizing the bones of the binder.

After that, it was easy to put the paperwork in the pocket for the divider it goes with.  I could also put each document behind the divider but I like this method better where everything is in one place.  If I were using the binder on a daily or weekly basis, I would definitely use page protectors to store all papers individually.  This way you don't have to hole punch your documents, but can still find things quickly when needed.

Voila! Now everything is neatly organized and easy to get to when needed.

How do you keep your house paperwork organized?