No, seriously, colored file folders are my very favorite and most basic organizational tools.
Manila folders with neatly typed tabs are great if you work in a lawyer’s or doctor’s office where professional appearance is extremely important. Most solo entrepreneurs work from home specifically to enjoy the freedom that brings.
So why not go colorful and use an ability inherent in everyone who isn’t color blind to help stay organized.
On top of the filing cabinet I have a file sorter with 3 folders. Red for bills to be paid. Yellow for bank and credit card statements to be reconciled and paperwork to be returned to the accountant. Green for items to be filed whenever the folder is too full to hold any more paper.
Inside the file cabinet corporate paperwork gets red folders. Household accounts get green. Medical records are blue. How many times have you filed the business bank statement into your personal banking folder?
Both times you caught up on your filing, didn’t you?