Saving important documents to disk can be a good way to back up the original documents, however you will want to make sure these disks or memory sticks are stored in a safe place – and if possible in a different place to where the originals are kept.
This is to safeguard you if, for example, a fire destroyed the originals.
To save hard documents to file you will have to scan them onto your computer first to be able to save them. This may take quite a lot of time if you have a lot of documents to get through – so it might be easier to do this as and when you receive them.
Saving documents to a disk can be really helpful when it comes to looking up a particular document as it will be easier to search through them – you simply type in the name of the document and the computer does the hard work for you.
The classic filing cabinet will probably always be here to stay – as it is a good filing and archiving accessory that makes it easy to file away documents safely and also be able to find them again.
If you have lots of documents to file away then a filing cabinet is a good option. It can store many folders and can come in many different sizes with the ability to add to it if and when you acquire more documents.
You can get labels to stick on the front of each drawer so you know which one holds which documents – or you label and archive papers alphabetically if this makes more sense.
The drawers in a filing cabinet open quite far out so you can view all the inside files at once and flick through them easily – so make sure these are labelled correctly too otherwise it will be hard to find anything.
A box is not necessarily the most organised way of archiving documents, but put together with a few labels and it can sometimes work just as well.
A box, or a number of storage boxes can store more paper than any other filing option and they are easily stacked. You can organise a box with dividers if you want to be able to find certain documents more easily and then tape them up for secure storage.
A lever arch folder is another easy way to quickly compile your documents into an organised form for safe keeping.
You can buy plastic folders to keep the documents from tearing and to prevent them from getting wet and damaged, and also dividers to help you archive accordingly.
A lever arch can be stored easily in any room of your house or in any business store cupboard – you could even stack them up in a filing cabinet.
Why not scan your documents first to save onto disk or onto a hard drive before filing them away in a lever arch folder for extra security?
These special expansion wallets are great if you want to be able to add to a folder as they expand depending on how much paper is in them.
They are less robust than lever arch folders, but require less organising as you do not need to hole-punch the paper before inserting them.
You can simply slip a piece of paper into an expansion wallet when you receive it – so if you want to stay organised but do not have the time to fiddle around with dividers and plastic wallets these could be a good choice.
They also fit easily into filing cabinets to provide extra security to important pieces of paper.
In conclusion, as this article highlights, there are numerous forms of document storage and office storage solutions available to those who wish to safeguard their important documents.
Whatever option you take it is down to you to then organise them as you see fit – no filing method will help you stay organised without a bit of planning and label sticking. If you take the time to do this first of all though, it will certainly make your life easier further down the line when you come to retrieve a document you require.
These special expansion wallets are great if you want to be able to add to a folder as they expand depending on how much paper is in them.
They are less robust than lever arch folders, but require less organising as you do not need to hole-punch the paper before inserting them.
You can simply slip a piece of paper into an expansion wallet when you receive it – so if you want to stay organised but do not have the time to fiddle around with dividers and plastic wallets these could be a good choice.
They also fit easily into filing cabinets to provide extra security to important pieces of paper.
In conclusion, as this article highlights, there are numerous forms of document storage and office storage solutions available to those who wish to safeguard their important documents.
Whatever option you take it is down to you to then organise them as you see fit – no filing method will help you stay organised without a bit of planning and label sticking. If you take the time to do this first of all though, it will certainly make your life easier further down the line when you come to retrieve a document you require.
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