.If you are starting from scratch and have a great deal of papers to file, perform a pre-sorting:

1. Sit in a comfortable chair.
2. Label the three cardboard boxes clearly:

• Bills
• To File
• To Deal With Soon
• Very Important Papers—Not to Lose

3. Put the four boxes and a generous sized trashcan in front of you, in a position that you can easily reach. 
4. Place all your papers beside you, and sort each paper into either one of the boxes or the trash.
5. When you are done, put each of your VIP papers into red folders, label them with key words, and using the Index Sorter, sort into alphabetical order.  Place these on top of the box of “To File” box.
6. Put each bill into a manila and label it, and using the Index Sorter, sort the bills into alphabetical order.  Place these on top of the red folders.
7. Put your “To Deal With” papers into your In-box on your desk.
8. Empty the trash.
9. Set a time for main filing, when you will be mostly uninterrupted.