Fadmin and organisation with My Big Nutshell

Don't you love my filing on the mantle? Not.

As a stay at home mother (who keeps telling my public service job to extend my leave), I am incredibly aware of the importance of being on top of fadmin. You know, all the family administration that some how ends up as 'mums' work? If you're not on top of it, things go missing and can result in financial penalties or wearing the wrong outfit on *red nose day* (cough). Being on top of your fadmin frees you up to spend your time doing things you love, like blogging. It also saves arguments as everyone knows where certain documents and items live.

I am in love with the stationery store Kikki-k. I love it because the concept of the store brings together elements to create a great home office (shame I don't have an office though). Kikki-k founder and entrepreneur Kristina Karlsson understands stationery at such an intimate level, especially the benefits of using stationery as an organisational tool. I am into researching anything which may help me to be more efficient in my organisation. I like to enjoy the benefits of having my fadmin well oiled, it gives me free time to do other stuff...like blogging (addicted much).

A while ago I bought the Kikki-k recipe organiser. This organiser is part of the 'my series organisers'. I covet it like my tweezers. Top shelf! The only drawback is that the recipe organiser is $39.95. So if I was to buy the same Kikki-k folders for all the fadmin I do, it would be really expensive. It got me thinking about how I could replicate this wonderful concept. I didn't want the big price tag and I wanted more flexibility in the way I organise my fadmin.

So, I'm sharing with you my faux Kikki-k folders.

Totally faux and don't I know it

I did a quick random survey on my Facebook page and the ladies said they'd like a squizz at my *rip offs*. Now the caveat is that they are nowhere near as luxe as the stunning ones from Kikki-k, but they will certainly do the job with a much smaller outlay. If you are so inclined you can always add your flare! I do however recommend you check out the Kikk-k website and pop into a store to feel the love and simply gorgeous quality. If you've been a good girl buy an organiser anyway!

Faux Folders by My Big Nutshell

The folder elements were purchased at OfficeWorks

 Price breakdown of folders

Marbig Colour Hide Binder 2D ring 25mm	$2.99
Marbig 5 Tab Extra Wide Insertable Tab Dividers	$3.38
Marbig Copy Safe Sheet Protectors Packet of 20	$0.99
TOTAL	$7.36 per unit
Extras
Kenji Sorted Magazine file	$7.71
Marbig Copy Safe Sheet Protectors Box 100	$4.00

 
Depending on how you wish to categorise your fadmin, simply label the tabs and you are on your way.

Tabs in action using Brother P-touch label maker

Folder themes
Now we are getting into the details of the theme of each of the folders and the corresponding tab labels. If you're interested in making up your own, I'd make them up in a sequence to the way you group things in your brain. Then it will be super easy to know what fits where.

Banking and Finance folders

Banking folder tabs include:

• Mortgage
• Bank
• Credit card

Finance folder tabs include:

• Tax records
• Tax receipts
• Warranties
• Superannuation

Home and Health & Lifestyle folders

Home folder tabs include:

• Utilities (then sleeves for water, rates, gas and electricity)
• Internet and phone (then sleeves for mobile, house and internet)
• Insurance (then sleeves for car and home insurance)
• Car
• Home improvements (then sleeves for quotes, receipts and business cards)

Health and Lifestyle tabs include:

• Medicare and health fund
• Daycare and Kindy
• One for each member of the family (we each have sleeves for prescriptions and anything relating to us at work or home that needs to be kept)

Certificates and Ideas folders

Certificates folder tabs include:

• One tab for each of us (then the sleeves are for marriage and birth and baptism certificates and copies, immunisation records, school reports, workplace contracts and other important work related items)

Ideas folder tabs include:

• Party ideas (I went through all my old shop4kids mags, I don't buy them any longer as I don't have time to look at them, and I tore out all the party inspiration I liked)
• Bedroom ideas (not a karma sutra idea OK, ideas for kids rooms)
• Storage ideas (anything I come across on paper I rip out and put in here, this was before Pinterest, but I still use it)
• Kitchen ideas (you know I hate my kitchen right?)
• Handy ideas (speeches I have given as an MC for weddings, ideas from realestate.com.au, pull outs from our local paper with new restaurants).

Other uses
I have a smaller folder on top of my fridge that carries take away menus and pizza vouchers. So when a new one arrives, I chuck out the old one and insert the new. The menus are rarely used, in date pizza vouchers save sanity and money!

The beauty of this system is that you can adjust it to suit your needs.

Other uses can be for:

• keeping work history and resumes
• lengthy medical records
• planning events or life events
• organising your bills and budgeting
• recipes
• pre-scrapbooking photos and planning
• children's artwork
• school organisation and notes
• they can be used in any way you see fit (just make sure you plan before you buy the folders, then you will ensure you have enough and not need another trip = time wasting).

Everytime there is any movement in interest rates and the offensive letter from the bank arrives, I am able to file it with the mortgage section. This system has enabled us to see at a glance what is happening and where we are at. When Mr Nutshell and I have a discussion about affordability of whatever, the discussion can be focused because all the material is at hand and in date sequence.

Clipboards for bills to pay and for action

For action and bills to pay clips and clipboards

I use a clear clipboard system to order bills to be paid by the month. When they come in I staple together relevant paperwork and sequence them by date. Then it is Mr Nutshell's responsibility to follow through with the payment, of course after I give a reminder.

He then pays via the internet and writes down the reference number. When the bills are paid for that month I pop them all into their appropriate folders and plastic sleeves. Everything is in date order because you simply add it to the top. Easy, peasy, lemon squeezy!

Moving on
Every quarter, six months or a year, depending on the folder contents I remove outdated bank statements, phone records and similar items and file them in a larger filing cabinet. This keeps everything compact, relevant and secure.

Important things to note

• If you know you are not going to cull documents regularly I would suggest you get a 4 ring binder to keep it extra secure. Then you can cram heaps in without anything snapping off. 

• During the pursuit of nice white magazine files I have discovered that the Ikea and Typo brands are not long enough by about 4cm. The fabric covered ones at OfficeWorks are about $18 each and they are also not long enough. They will fit magazines but not folders. 

• The extra wide tabs are important if you want to be able to use the plastic sleeves. If using plastic sleeves and the standard tabs you will not get the extension over the sleeve and you can't see the label. That being said if using the Kenji Sorted magazine files, you will need to gently place them in the file as the overhang may get caught a little bit. I have not yet uncovered any reasonably price magazine file that will achieve this as well as the Kenji Sorted brand.

More to come
Watch this space in the near future as I show you how I keep on top of fadmin for school/kindy and also meal planning. Cause it is all about making time for *blogging*.

How do you organise your fadmin? 
What are your favourite home office organisation tips?