I’m a Fellowes Neat Freak

20150227_17061120150227_172003

This really is a post that should have been written a while ago as weeks ago the lovelies from Fellowes sent me some fabulous Banker Boxes and files after I tested out their “What kind of filer are you?” quiz. It was quite fun, took two minutes and it turns out I’m a neat freak, who knew.
According to the experts at Fellowes this means that…

The ‘Neat Freak’

If someone moves something from your desk, you (and they) will know about it. As a Neat Freak you’re almost obsessive in your desire to make your world uniformed and orderly. You have a place for everything – and everything has its place. You will restore harmony with a swift re-alignment of a stapler and move of a mouse mat. Mess is your biggest enemy. You will never allow it to destroy the minimalism that dominates your busy working environment. You have an enthusiastic approach to maintaining order and you need a storage solution to suit.

They are spot on!

If things aren’t properly tidied in the office I can’t concentrate. I cannot abide a messy office! I’ve always thought of myself (until recently) as a person with a tip top filing system until I had to find certain statements and documents in a hurry. Oh the angst having paperwork you know you have but can’t find causes. After wasting an hour of my life finding it I realised the perfect use for the Banker Boxes I’d so generously been sent. I reorganised my paperwork system, archived tonnes of documents (the curse of the self-employed means we have to keep so many records for a period of time) and shredded anything finished with that needed to be securely disposed of.

Fellowes

What I’m left with is a system that makes it so easy to find what I need as I’m not ploughing through old records first. My archived records are nicely tucked away out of sight however are easy to get to and to find what I need should the occasion arise. This week Roy and I moved my office around so it works better (I couldn’t move for files before!) so it looks neat and tidy and I know at the back of my mind that it truly is organised even in those places you can’t see. All is calm and well in the office.

If you want to check out what your filing style is, to find out more about some fabulous filing solutions (and more) have a nosy at the quiz.

National Identity Fraud Prevention Month & Fellowes

National Identity Fraud Prevention Month & Fellowes

Every other week Roy drags our big black bin and our recycling out the back of the workshop, down the lane and all the way down to the main road so that it may be picked up by the council. He might put it out around 9pm the night before or 6am in the morning before he goes to work. The bins don’t get collected until perhaps 10am or even 11am on our specified day. This means our rubbish could be sat exposed for twelve hours or more.

I shudder when I consider the amount of personal info I was throwing out unprotected. I now take time to learn all about the different fraud preventions I can take, to ensure my personal details are kept safe. One of the most important for me was learning about check fraud prevention best practices,  as I didn’t think it was possible for a check, but it is!

Fellowes and National Identity Fraud Prevention Month

Fellowes is strongly supporting National Fraud Prevention Month and has asked me to spread the word. They’ve sent me what may only be described as a rather gorgeous (and seriously effective) shredder to help me sort my own piles of paper securely. As part of the scheme, Fellowes is challenging parents to give their family home a “Shred Over”, ensuring that the family’s identity information remains secure, even on recycling day.

During half term, Fellowes invite you to take part in the fun #shredoverchallenge – shredding your unnecessary paper properly and perhaps even having a bit of fun in the meantime (shredded paper makes great stuffing for homemade toys, for filling a sensory hide-and-seek box and in my home, snow which may be sprinkled from one side of the house to another).

We emptied the office of unnecessary paperwork, got rid of junk mail and sorted the “home” files. I was rather amazed to find that even shredded into tiny pieces we managed to fill two whole big black bin bags to the top. Had even half of this hit the bin without being properly shredded identity thieves would have had a field day in our names.

Fellowes have provided these handy hints and tips, as well as identity fraud information to get people started and educate us all a little more about staying safe. ID fraud really is something that needs to be considered these days. With households having so many accounts, banks, clubs and so many documents coming in.

Find Out More About National Identity Fraud Prevention Month

For more information on how to combat ID fraud visit www.stop-idfraud.co.uk and to find fabulous Halloween shredded paper inspiration and more visit the  Fellowes Ideas Centre for instructions.

Don’t forget to tweet Fellowes at @FellowesUK and show off your shredded paper crafts or your bags of shame. Our two bags have been collected by the recycling now so I don’t have to think about how much paperwork I’d accumulated and previously not discarded effectively.