Every new computer, accessory, peripheral or other piece of technology comes with a CD-ROM, owner's manual, product warranty. Organize these better to ensure they're handy if - or when - you need them.

I have been storing my owner's manuals and product warranties in a big cardboard box for years. At least they were all in one place, but I still had to drag the box out of the closet and dig through it every time I need to find a warranty or manual.

I recently organized my entire home office and purchased a number of clear plastic file boxes to get myself and my paperwork organized. I purchased a file box specifically for my warranties and owner's manuals.

Before I started organizing, I also purchased a Dymo electronic labeler to make labels for my files and file boxes. You can pick these up at Wal-Mart and Target for about $20. They are great!
They print out a variety of labels in seconds.

The first thing I did was divide my warranties and owner's manuals into categories:

• Appliances
• Computers
• Electronics
• Household
• Kids' Stuff
• Seasonal
• Tools
•  Vehicles

I couldn't believe how much paperwork I had, from how to assemble our artificial Christmas tree, to assembling our boys' bunk beds, to the owner's manual for our RV!

I created labels for all of the categories, placed the folders in the file box, and then sorted through all the paperwork and filed everything. This is also a good opportunity to toss paperwork for items that you no longer own.

Organizing all of my owner's manuals and warranties has already been a huge benefit to me. Whenever I run across another piece of paperwork, I just go place it in the correct file. When I am looking for the owner's manual for something, I can find it in a matter of seconds.

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Rachel Paxton is a freelance writer and mom who is the author of What's for Dinner?, an e-cookbook containing more than 250 quick easy dinner ideas. For more recipes, organizing tips, home decorating, crafts, holiday hints, and more, visit Creative Homemaking at www.creativehomemaking.com.