So, you have your main file categories set up. In review, they are:
Auto/Vehicles
Employment
Financial
Home
Medical
Personal Documents
School
Now on to using manilla folders INSIDE of these hanging folders if your lifestyle and responsibilities require more careful organization. Simply write on the tab of the manilla folders. With ADHD, you don't need to try to mess with a label-maker. Just write clearly in dark pen.
Auto/Vehicles: Use one manilla folder for all documents pertaining to ONE car. So, if you are a two car family, you will need two manilla folders in the Auto/Vehicles hanging folder. For example, one folder might read "2018 Chevy" and the next folder "2014 Toyota." Pretty simple.
Employment: Make one folder for resumes and CV's. Another folder for your current employment. Another for all past employment (just lump all the misc. documents from all past employment in one manilla folder).
If you are self-employed, make sub-folders for the current tax year, business expenses, business license(s), marketing, etc. per need. This is really broad information here; you WILL want to discuss your small business with a CPA and or attorney to get targeted information on exactly what papers to retain and how to store them.
Financial: One folder per bank you use for basic checking, savings, CD's. One folder for each retirement account you have. One folder for each loan you have (home mortgage, boat loan, car loan, personal loan, student loan). Don't complicate your life. You don't have to break it down much further than this.
Home: Make one folder for your rent lease or home mortgage, one folder for general utilities, one for home maintenance and repair if needed. Keep receipts for major appliance purchases and home renovations here too.
Medical: Be super simple here. One folder for your family's health insurance policy. One folder per person. Done.
If you or a family member have higher medical needs (and thus more paperwork to keep!), you may want to start an entirely separate hanging folder just for that one person, and use manilla folders titled descriptively. For example: "Primary Care Provider," "Chiropractor," "Counseling," "Occupation Therapy," "Internal Medicine," etc.
Personal Documents: Create one manilla folder for each person or pet you have. Store vital documents (birth certificate, Social Security Card, DD-214, etc.) for each person in their own folder. For marriage certificates, you can make a separate folder just for that or pick a partner's folder in which to store the original. For each pet, make one folder each and store immunization/rabies tags in their folder. If your only pets are goldfish, you can skip this step.
School: One folder per student per school. Save only semester report cards and any remarkable awards or special creations, not multiple choice math tests and random worksheets. Once a student graduates, then recycle or shred as many of their old papers as you can, store the diploma in a frame on the wall, and condense all school years' golden papers into one file folder per person (or add those papers to a scrapbook). Simple!
I hope this helps you understand how to use manilla sub-folders as you begin to keep your diverse papers organized.
Remember, keep folders visible and edited (recycle often!) and you will be more likely to actually USE this filing system.
