When asked what you find at the end of a rainbow, many people will say a pot of gold. However, if you are the hosts of Netflix’s Get Organised with The Home Edit, you’d say The Rainbow Method.
No, this has nothing to do with tasting the rainbow (sorry to all readers expecting Skittles) and everything to do with getting organized.
The Rainbow Method refers to organizing your items by the colours of the rainbow – red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet (ROYGBIV). According to the show’s founders, Clea and Joanna, it’s a pattern our brain recognizes and, not to mention, it’s pleasing to the eye.
Get that paper clutter in order!
While many of us will want to apply the Rainbow method to areas of our home like the pantry, closet, and playroom, why not use it for your filing system?
Anyone who has to deal with paper (which is all of us) knows how quickly piles of paper can, well, pile up! Whether it’s junk mail, bills, invitations, report cards, you name it, the Rainbow Method sounds like just the thing to keep you organized.
Here’s how we’d organize all that paper:
Red: To be shred (more on this below)
Orange: Flyers/junk mail
Yellow: Invitations
Green: Bills to be paid
Blue: School (permission slips and report cards)
Indigo: Birthday, holiday, and thank you cards
Violet: Personal Docs
The best part (besides keeping organized) is that it’s kid-friendly! The bestest part (let’s pretend that’s a word) is that it requires no labels.
Red for Shred.
It’s very tempting to toss the paper into the trash or recycling bin. However, that isn’t your best or safest option. When it comes to documents containing personal information, you’ll want to shred them.
Remember that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow? Well, placing personal information at the curb is gold to identity thieves. Since trash becomes public property as soon as you put it by the curb, it’s up to you to do your due diligence in keeping you and your family safe.
But wait – that doesn’t just include “important” documents like bills and taxes. Personal information is found almost everywhere. Packing and medication labels, envelopes, expired identification or bank cards, you name it all have personal information on them.
Think of it this way: if it has your name on it, shred it! Anything more than that (address, date of birth, account numbers, etc.) is the cherry on top. Keep prying eyes away from your personal information by keeping it out of sight and shredded.
