Ok, enough with the time wasters. Here’s something I hope you’ll find a little more, well, useful.

Real Simple has a pretty good article about how to simplify and organize your record-keeping systems for important stuff like bills and bank statements. It tells you what you should really throw away and what you need to keep for a while (like your tax documents).

I know we aren’t all as organized as we’d like to be, but if you’re going to take the time to get organized — this is the best place to start. Who’s missed a bill payment because the bill was stuck somewhere in a pile and you forgot about it? Or couldn’t find the receipt for something that needed returning? The amazing thing is, once you set up a system for managing your paperwork and stick with it for a while, it really becomes second nature and these problems go away. The key is to make sure your organization system makes sense for you.

Now, The Modern Gal is off to take care of her own stack of bills.