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How to Track, Lower, or Cancel Your Recurring Subscription-Based Bills

Posted on: August 18th, 2025 by Julie Bestry | 8 Comments

Subscriptions aren’t just for magazines anymore. Financially speaking, a subscription is anything for which you have an ongoing expense for a non-essential service. And I bet you have a bunch of them.

According to a recent study by CNET, American adults spend an average of $90 per month on subscriptions. Additionally, another study found almost one-half (48%) of those surveyed registered for at least one free trial and then forgot or neglected to cancel.

Photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash

WHAT IS A SUBSCRIPTION MANAGER?

A subscription manager is an app or platform that centralizes information to help users gain better control over their finances and make more informed spending decisions. Most track, organize, and manage recurring payments for subscriptions by:

scanning bank and credit card information to identify subscriptions
listing all subscriptions in one place
tracking expense increases over time to help analyze spending patterns and identify opportunities to reduce costs
organizing and sorting by subscription name, cost, billing cycle, or due date
identifying redundancies (like a standalone subscription for a streaming service as well as one acquired through an Amazon Prime 7-day trial)
setting up payment reminders before renewals or payment due dates (to help avoid late fees or unintended renewals of free trials or forgotten subscriptions)

Additionally, some subscription management tools and apps can negotiate costs or assist in canceling subscriptions, making it easier to terminate services you no longer need.

CONSIDERATIONS FOR CHOOSING A SUBSCRIPTION TRACKER

Price

Look for free options, or free tiers (or trials) on platforms that offer multiple levels. You can always upgrade if a premium tier offers a feature you find beneficial once you’ve mastered the free plan. Too often, we sign up for paid software-as-a-service plans and don’t them; a tracker will reverse that habit, so don’t go to all the effort to get rid of your other recurring payments only to end up with one for a tracker you don’t need!

Remember: platforms with services to negotiate a discount or rebate for a forgotten/unused subscription will take a portion — like a finder’s fee — of what they’ve saved you for the coming year. There’s no such thing as a free lunch; in return for picking up your lunch tab (that is, negotiating the refund after cancelation or price reduction) the app gets your pickle or a handful of your fries!

Security

In order to track your expenses to find recurring costs, these platforms must access your bank accounts and credit cards. Thus, protect your online safety by verifying that whatever platform you choose uses:

bank-level security
end-to-end encryption
two-factor authentication

Once you find a service that passes those tests, dig into their boilerplate security and privacy language to make sure the app doesn’t sell or share any of your personal information.

Features and Functions

A subscription tracker will analyze the data in your bank and credit card statements to identify recurring charges and create reminders about them.

More advanced trackers should be able to cancel subscriptions with minimal input from you, negotiate lower bills on your behalf, and if part of a larger financial dashboard suite, help you quickly and easily create a budget.

Ease of Use

The point of a subscription expense tracker is to make your life easier. You want an app that’s intuitive so you’ll be able to add, delete, or change information or navigate your way around without much study. If an app is has so many bells and whistles that you have to consult Google or Chat GPT for instructions so managing the software becomes a second job, you won’t use it.

Read reviews to make sure it will be relatively easy to:

set up and sync the app with the information in bank and credit card accounts
identify recurring payments and set reminders to pay them
navigate the app
negotiate billing with relatively little input on your part
cancel accounts with minimal effort

DO I REALLY NEED AN APP TO TRACK, LOWER OR CANCEL SUBSCRIPTION COSTS?

Short answer? No, you don’t.

I call SiriusXM every year to lower my costs, and help clients do the same. I can’t fathom why anyone would actually spend the exorbitant full price, but the “negotiated” lower cost feels reasonable.

How to DIY Your Subscription Management

Canceling a subscription-based service (unless it’s a gym membership) is also fairly straightforward, but not fun.

If you’re organized, patient, and diligent, especially if you don’t have a lot of subscriptions, you can handle the process yourself:

1) Create a spreadsheet with columns for the subscribed service or license, how you pay for it, when it renews (monthly, quarterly, annually), and the cost.

2) Pull up the past year of bank and credit card statements.

Why a year? Although many subscription-based transactions are monthly, some are paid quarterly or annually. Streaming services generally charge monthly, but I have a marketing-based service for my business that, until last year, charged me quarterly. And once a year, I pay Apple for ongoing Applecare and an online service to protect this blog from the thousands of attempted comment spams. These subscriptions are easy to forget!

3) List your recurring expenses, starting with your most recent statement.

Run your fingers down the transactions, and each time you spot a new one, log the key elements.

4) Work your way through a statement until you’ve captured every recurring expense until you’ve reviewed a year’s worth of statements and aren’t finding previously un-logged subscriptions. You will find more than you realized.

5) Repeat the process with every bank account and credit card statement.

6) Group the recurring expenses in an appropriate category. For example:

Entertainment — streaming video and audio, paid podcasts, Patreon memberships
Utilities — telephone, cable, internet, security systems
Fitness — gym, online workout classes, premium apps for devices like Fitbit or Peleton
Health — supplement subscriptions, concierge medical services
Food — meal prep services, food delivery services
Professional expenses at the paid tier — Zoom Pro, Evernote, AI tools, Microsoft 365

7) Evaluate each item by category.

Are there duplicates, like an ad-supported Hulu subscription offered through your cable company as well as a paid bundle for Disney+ and Hulu?
Do you have unnecessary subscriptions, like a membership to a gym where you no longer live?
Do you have subscriptions that you never use? Are the apps are no longer appealing? Does something make them difficult to use? Do you just need someone to guide you until you master it and take advantage of what it has to offer?

8) Contact each vendor to negotiate costs or cancel services you don’t want to accept as-is.

Whew. There are several disadvantages to this process.

It takes time. If you call, you may have to navigate a complex phone tree, repeatedly hearing how important your call is, and sit on hold for eons.

They may give you a hard sell or push you to upgrade, convincing you that your cable and internet costs will decrease if you add cell service through them, but then you’d have to port your number from your original cell company, which you may like, lose your legacy status, and have to deal with those annoyances, and may find your rates going up a year hence. Be strong!

Recently, I worked with a client with cognitive decline; they sign up for services the don’t need; we call, they authorize me to speak on their behalf, and usually, we accomplish our goals fairly easily.

However, one company that keeps calling and tricking her has a habit of asking invasive and unnecessary questions, over and over, about why we wants to cancel and attempts to scare us into what will happen without this expensive auto part protection on the 11-year-old car that’s almost never used.

Having more moxy than Chandler Bing, I just keep insisting that we does not want the service anymore, and by law we have the right to cancel. (Occasionally, I have to invoke the possibility of calling the Attorney General of the state in which they’re headquartered.)

It involves talking to other people. If you’re an introvert (or a young millennial or GenZ), the idea of having to talk to someone on the phone may nauseate you.

It’s frustrating to talk to a bot (or an online agent typing from a bot-like script).

You’ll still have to monitor your bill to make sure that your charges are reduced or stopped.

You’ll have to schedule reminders to prompt you to cancel free trials before you get charged.

Can you pause subscriptions instead of canceling them?

Maybe you’d rather temporarily stop paying for a subscription while you can’t use the service. For example, when my car was stolen [Organize to Prevent (or Recover From) a Car Theft], I didn’t want to pay for Sirius XM for the two months my Kia was being repaired. I paused my subscription, but they sent me a notice after four weeks that they were going to start charging again, and I had to call to re-pause it.

There are a few reasons you might want to pause instead of cancel:

Maintain your viewing or listening history — Got a busy few months at work and won’t be able to watch your favorite shows? Maybe you’ll be traveling in the Australian Outback and won’t have cell signal to listen to streaming music and podcasts? When you’re ready again, you want your apps to show you what episodes you left off at and what’s on your to-be-watched lists.

Avoid the re-subscription process — If you can pause your subscription, returning to the service will be much easier and you won’t lose any of your preferences settings.

Eliminate guilt over paying for services you don’t use — Whether it’s a gym membership you can’t use while healing from a knee replacement or a streaming service you won’t watch while traveling or working, this can be a pause that refreshes.

Use a pause to “churn” streaming television services. When you’ve watched everything you want to see on Netflix, pause your subscription for six months and binge all the streaming Star Trek Paramount+ has to offer. (Strange New Worlds is fabulous!)

Hulu lets you pause for up to 12 weeks.
Amazon Prime Video lets you pause indefinitely during the cancellation process. Note: you must pause all of your Prime benefits.
Netflix has no official pause feature, but canceling your subscription provides a 10-month grace period for your account and viewing history.
Disney+ is rolling out the ability to pause subscriptions
Sling TV, Fubo, and YouTube TV all have pause features.

Be creative! Call any service you’re paying for but underusing, and ask whether you can pause instead of cancel. You never know which companies will be eager to keep you on with hopes and expectations you’ll return.

Call any service you're paying for but underusing, and ask whether you can pause instead of cancel. You never know which companies will be eager to keep you on with hopes and expectations you'll return. Share on X

Pause Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

Does this DIY approach give you a headache?

Reduce pain points by dealign with the subscriptions on one credit card at a time, or make one call a week. Or change all recurring expenses so that they go to just one credit card on which you otherwise never charge anything, making it easier to manually track expenses going forward.

But you’ll still have to call and negotiate on your own.

YOUR SUBSCRIPTION MANAGEMENT OPTIONS

If you just want someone to cancel your subscriptions but your mom isn’t willing to do it for you, try:

Billshark

Billshark — will cancel or negotiate internet, wireless, streaming TV and satellite radio, and audiobook subscriptions. They even handle Dollar Shave Club and StitchFix! It costs $9 per canceled subscription, and 40% of your total negotiated savings, capped at two years (so check the value of what you’re canceling against the costs of using the service as a personal expense hitman).

Billshark doesn’t track expenses; rather, you upload a bill and they negotiate on your behalf; for cancellations, they try to negotiate credits or refunds. They claim a 90% success rate and take no fee if they don’t succeed in saving you money. They also track your savings’ expirations and automatically restart negotiations to keep you at the best rate.

Billshark may uncover better rates if you change plans, but seeks your authorization to make changes, and will never lower your service level, though sometimes, they can “expand services (higher speed, more channels, etc…).”

If you want it all — an entire financial suite for tracking your recurring expenses (and more) but also want help negotiating or cancelling services, try:

Rocket Money

Rocket Money (iOS, Android, web browser) — Previously called TrueBill, RocketMoney is one of the biggest names in this realm. Rocket Money’s basic plan is free; the Premium tiers are $6-$12/month with a 7-day free trial.

The basic level links bank and credit cards to the app, identifies recurring payments, and sends alerts if your checking balance goes below, or your credit card spending exceeds, a pre-arranged amount.

Rocket Money Premium include negotiating bills, canceling unwanted subscriptions, and tracking net worth and credit scores (VantageScore 3.0 credit score and Experian credit report), as well providing auto savings, customizable savings categories, and unlimited budgets.

Rocket Money retains 35% to 60% of the savings earned on bills it negotiates.

In terms of security, Rocket Money uses an encrypted token to access transaction data and uses Plaid API (so login credentials aren’t stored in the Rocket Money system). It hosts its servers at Amazon Web Services and provides bank-level 256-bit encryption.

(This video, from when Rocket Money was still called TrueBill, illustrates the cancelation process.)

Hiatus

Hiatus (iOS, Android, web browsers) — The basic Hiatus plan is free, while Hiatus Premium costs $9.99/month or $35.99/year. Unlike many of the other apps, Hiatus does not take a percentage of the saving you get from its bill negotiation services.

Hiatus is designed primarily as an app for budgeting, letting you set limits on spending for streaming services and displaying spending over the prior week/month/year. However, its free tier includes a subscription tool for tracking streaming services; you can manually input anything not pre-set in the app.

To use the subscription cancelation and/or bill negotiation service, upgrade to the Premium.

Hiatus protects user financial data with 256-bit SSL encryption.

Trim

Trim (web browser) — is free, but it isn’t a traditional app. Instead, you access your account via the web and communicate with Trim agents via SMS text messages or Facebook Messenger.

Trim links to all of your credit and bank accounts and then locates and cancels unwanted subscriptions (including phone, internet, cable, streaming services, and gym memberships) and will negotiate bills with a service fee equivalent to 33% of any savings recouped.

For a separate fee, Trim will identify less expensive auto insurance rates and negotiate bills. There’s also a Trim Simple Savings high-yield savings account with a 4% annualized bonus on the first $2,000 you save.

Trim employs 256-bit SSL encryption and two-factor authentication.

Trim has an intriguing approach, but I advise against using Facebook Messenger to communicate about your finances!

This the least informative but most adorable of all the subscription tracker videos.

Albert

Albert (iOS, Android, web browser) — In addition to budgeting and investing services, Albert has bill negotiation and cancelation services. It automatically scan bills found in checking or credit card accounts for extra savings, or you can submit a bill for the expert negotiators to process. Albert costs $14.99/month after a 30-day free trial for a Basic plan, $19.99 for a Standard plan including data protection, credit score monitoring and more; a $39.99/month Albert Genius plan is required for subscription negotiation and canceling.

If you really want a subscription tracker to keep you focused on how much you’re being charged, for what, and when, but don’t need help with canceling or negotiating, subscriptions there are a variety of options:

Pocketguard

Pocketguard (iOS and Android) — PocketGuard has a free 7-day trial and a free version that’s kind of hard to find (see video below); for unlimited categories and bank connections, rollover budgeting, subscription tracking, and customized financial goals, upgrade to PocketGuard Plus for $12.99/month or $74.99/year.

Pocketguard is primarily a budgeting app, picking up where the late, lamented Mint left off. It links to your various accounts to track income, ongoing expenses, and savings goals and provide guidance on suggested daily spending limits in the “Leftover” section. It tracks expenses and categorizes them (though you can customize the categories). Pocketguard also alerts you to approaching billing due dates and potential fraud situations.

Pocketguard partners with Billshark to negotiate lower bills and takes an undefined cut of the savings.

PocketGuard uses bank-level encryption, and limits access through both PINs and biometric methods like FaceID and TouchID. Users can automatically connect and import data from their accounts to Pocketguard using Plaid or Finicity. At the Plus tier, add cash accounts manually and track them, and get a debt payoff plan.

The guidance page for how you log and mark Pocketguard’s bills makes it seem possibly more laborious than my DIY model. Your mileage may vary. For more, financial coach Brittany Flammer has a great updated review.

Track My Subs

Track My Subs (web browsers) — This Australian app lets you track up to ten subscriptions on the free plan; paid plans range from $10/month for unlimited subscriptions to $30/month for enterprise-level plans for multiple users.

Track My Subs is marketed for small business use, but the website can can be used by individual consumers, making it an interesting option for solopreneurs. There’s no mobile app; instead, it’s browser-based, and you do the labor: enter your subscriptions, periodic costs, and due dates. It supports multiple foreign currencies, and your own bills can be converted to a “home” currency.

Categorize subscriptions however you like, and use the color-code calendar view to track payment dates and the generated graphs of subscription expenses to analyze your costs. You’ll have to do your own negotiations and canceling. One of my favorite tech guys, Steve Dotto of Dottotech, explains why he likes Track My Subs:

Pocketsmith

Pocketsmith (web browsers; mobile apps are not fully-functional) — Not to be confused with Pocketguard, Pocketsmith has a free level with six months of projections for two accounts and twelve budgets, and you must manually import expenses. For $9.99/month, on the Foundation level, you can automatically import transactions, and have unlimited accounts and budgets. There’s also Flourish ($16.99) and Fortune ($26.66) levels for finding and organizing transactions, as well as budgeting, projecting, cash-flow forecasting, and reporting. If you miss Mint, this finance-management option is robust and has bank-level security with 2-factor authentication.

Quicken Simplifi

Quicken Simplifi (iOS and Android) — There’s no free tier or trial, but you can request a refund within first 30 days of your $5.99/month for a month-to-month subscription or $2.99/month for an annual subscription (billed annually at $35.88).

Simplifi is a budgeting app that can track subscription spending; it also offers automatic budgeting, shares spending insights, and tracks goals. Customizable reports track income, savings, and spending, income and your personalized spending plan adjusts in real-time. There’s also an investments dashboard, refund tracker, and credit monitoring function.

Simplifi syncs with bank, credit card, and investment accounts, loans, and financial data from bank servers transmitted using 256-bit encryption.

Monarch Money

Monarch Money (iOS, Android, web browsers — Identifies and tracks recurring bills and subscriptions, and alerts users to upcoming payments. Monarch Money is designed as a comprehensive financial planning tool, with a focus on budgeting, investment and net worth tracking, and long-term financial goals. There’s a 7-day free trial, after which it costs $14.99 per month or $99.99 per year. (There’s a 50% discount for the first year with code MONARCHVIP.)

Other apps and financial dashboards for tracking subscriptions include:

Subtrack (iOS and Mac only) — This privacy-focused app lets you quickly add subscriptions from a pre-existing list of 300+ options or create your own and manage them by tag. Customize themes and icons, get detailed spending insights, drag-and-drop information, and sync with iCloud.

Origin (iOS, Android, MacOS, and web browsers) — This is a full financial dashboard with elements for investing, net worth tracking, forecasting, and estate planning. After a free trial, the monthly plan is $12.99; an annual plan is $99.

Subscriptions (iOS, MacOS) — Focused solely on subscriptions, this app organizes subscriptions using categories, due dates, tags, and payment accounts, and offers comprehensive analytics with summarizing charts. It supports more than160 currencies with daily updated exchange rates, and has a widget for reminders of upcoming payments. It’s $1.99/year, $7.99 for a lifetime license, or $14.99 for a lifetime Family license.

Subby (Android-only; don’t confuse with similarly-named Apple App Store app) —The basic level (with ads) is free; an ad-free tier is $2.99. A customizable interface makes it easy to manually enter an unlimited number of subscriptions, record which account they’re associated with, and get notifications about upcoming payment dates.

Credit Card Subscription Management

Finally, you may find that your credit cards have subscription managers embedded in their mobile apps. For example, Capital One’s app has a full suite of subscription management tools through which you can track or block expenses, and even cancel subscriptions.

How do you manage your subscriptions?

How to Stay Organized When Travel Goes Off the Rails (or Runway)

Posted on: August 4th, 2025 by Julie Bestry | 12 Comments

Summertime is a high travel season. If you’re ceaselessly online, when you hear “travel,” you’re probably stuck on the non-stop loop of “Nothing Beats a Jet 2 Holiday.” (If you just got the jingle out of your head, I’m sorry.)

Otherwise, you’re either traveling, yourself, or comparing travel horror stories. But as you’ll see, a little organization can make these experiences a little easier to stand.

ORGANIZED TRAVEL IN A DISORGANIZED ERA

Trapped on the Tarmac

A few weeks ago, I did my own little version of Planes (No Trains) and Automobiles. The plan was to fly to Buffalo (by way of Atlanta) for my 40th high school reunion, and after a week with Paper Mommy, rent a car to drive to a friend’s combination vow renewal/housewarming/birthday party in Massachusetts, followed by a short drive to an airport in Connecticut and a flight home (again, by way of Atlanta).

Any trip with that many moving parts leaves a traveler open to a few kerfuffles. There was a one-hour delay on the New York State Thruway near the village of Canajoharie when one 18-wheeler sheared off the back of another 18 wheeler that was carrying giant bags of cat food, littering the highway with both bags and actual loose cat food.

On the return trip from Connecticut to Atlanta, the gate agent seemed particularly surly as she informed us that the airline had oversold the flight, and nobody would be boarding unless three people agreed to give up their seats and fly the next afternoon or evening, and agree to be without their luggage until they did fly! (This came after I circled the airport twice, passing the “Rental Car Returns” sign each time, because my GPS insisted that I should continue further along and return my car to an empty field.)

However, the anecdote that prompted this post was my connecting flight from Atlanta to Buffalo. We boarded on time, but passengers immediately noted how warm the plane was. After everyone had fastened their seat belts, and had their tray tables locked and seat backs in an upright position, we heard the various bing-bongs, but went nowhere. Eventually, a weary voice intoned, “This is your captain speaking…” and we learned that there was a “minor mechanical problem” and we would be delayed fifteen to twenty minutes.

(This wasn’t my flight. But in a way, don’t we all feel like this was our flight?)

The temperature continued to rise. Passengers were polite and resigned, except that after about half an hour, an announcement was made that there would be another delay of about twenty to twenty-five minutes. This continued for about an hour and a half, when we were assured the problem had been fixed and that pending ten minutes of “paperwork,” our flight would take off. But it didn’t.

We were then told that there was a lightning strike on the field and that all ground crew were ordered inside, so we needed to wait until the weather cleared. At this point, our phones’ weather apps told us it was in the 90s outside the plane; you can imagine how high above 100° it reached inside.

After two hours, a small rumble of rebellion fomented. We were hot, thirsty, late, and cranky.

Over the course of time, passengers started air-dropping and sharing Department of Transportation regulations (of which, more later) about traveler rights regarding delays. After more than 2-1/2 hours boiling inside this elongated metal hot box, we were told that we would de-plane and it would be decided whether we would re-board or be assigned a new plane. (This made us wonder whether the weather issue had been valid at all; had our plane truly been fixed as reported, why would we have needed a new one?)

Long-story-short, we deplaned, had our re-boarding scheduled and canceled multiple times in a short period, and then we were assigned a new plane — which would take off a little more than four hours after our originally scheduled flight.

Welcome to airline travel in 2025.

The Chaos of Air Travel

Of course, my experience is one of many, and a relatively insignificant one. A few days after this, Alaska Airlines grounded its entire complement of planes — 200 flights in all — over a Sunday night and Monday computer glitch.

Because travel has become more chaotic (and more controlled by digital systems), it’s increasingly necessary for consumers to organize their resources to prepare and respond to this chaos. In this post, I will highlight some of the essential information you need and actions you can take to guard against travel frustrations.

Pre-Trip Prep: The New Administrative Burden of Travel

Do you recall the days where you’d call a travel agent, explain where you wanted to go and when, and be presented with a nifty little itinerary and all the information you might need until you arrived at the airport (with your non-wheeled suitcase and traveler’s checks in hand)?

Online check-in and e-tickets began in the 1990s, and though it’s shocking to think how recently it actually was, we didn’t have mobile check-in until 2007, and it wasn’t widely adopted for several years after that. (For those interested, CNN’s Final Call for Paper Boarding Passes: A Visual History of the Beloved Memento offers an interesting look back.)

Book Your Travel Arrangements — With Padding

This is not a travel blog, but one focused on organizing and productivity. If you want good advice on booking travel, I direct you to:

The Points Guy (especially for using credit card, airline, and hotel reward points for booking)
The Blonde Abroad (focused on solo traveling for women)
Nomadic Matt (great for coverage of wide-ranging travel tips and news)
Budget Traveller (particularly for adventurous but cost-cutting travelers)

Travel is messier than ever. It’s not uncommon to hear tales of canceled flights and travelers sleeping in airports, even when weather is not a factor. My advice is to always book your travel with at least one day of padding in case things go awry.

I discourage you from ever scheduling a flight the same day that you need to be anywhere or do anything; that will guarantee more stress than is necessary.

Log all of your travel information

Those 1970s-era travel agents? They provided tickets, itineraries, and nicely organized lists with every date, time, and confirmation number. You are your own travel agent now.

Whether you create a digital, analog, or hybrid record of all of this information is up to you. However, whatever you do to log your essential travel information, provide a copy to loved one or trusted assistant. If technology fails and/or you and your documents are divided, having someone able to see your travel arrangements (and possibly help you alter them from afar) can be the real golden ticket.

Confirm everything a week in advance

During our junior year in college, my boyfriend was seeking a placement for a summer and semester in engineering co-op (basically, a fancy science-y internship). He painstakingly wrote down the details arranged by the company’s office, and arrived on-time at the airport — a day late.

It’s easy to mis-remember details, or to misread what you’ve logged or see in an app. Check your dates and times, even if you’re 100% absolutely, positively sure.

Check in when prompted

Nowadays, check-in has become a part-time job for travelers. I traveled extensively up through 2019, but must admit that I hadn’t traveled (by air or stayed in a hotel) since the start of the pandemic, and was by turns surprised, annoyed, and flummoxed by all the different types of checking in to be done. You will be asked to check in a day prior for:

Flights — You’ll generally get a prompt to check in 24 hours in advance of the first flight in whatever sequence of flights you have. If you haven’t booked via an airline co-branded credit card, you will likely have to pay a fee for your baggage; do it at this time and it will be one fewer thing to worry about when you get to the airport.

Hotels — I’ll be honest, I wasn’t expecting to have to do this and was surprised when my hotel sent me a text and email to prompt my check-in.

This is where another travel kerfuffle took place. I clicked on the link in the text, which took me to the hotel website, but the page was insistent that my booking did not exist and suggested I call. (I was just delighted that I wasn’t routed to an AI bot.) The phone system immediately recognized my cell phone number and the automated attendant asked if I was calling about my hotel reservation for the next day — at least the robot lady knew that I had a reservation, even if the web site did not.

It took twenty minutes with a lovely gentleman to accomplish the digital check-in; eventually, I had to download the app, log in (twice) and (I think) spin around three times and bow toward the ocean, but eventually it worked.

For this reason, having your confirmation number and reservation information logged and handy will help ease whatever pain the process requires of you.

Rental cars — Yup, I wasn’t expecting this, either. Admittedly, every time I’ve had to rent a car in the past 5 years it has been (sigh) because someone has hit (or stolen) my car, so the reservations have been handled by insurance companies, and the car rental companies have called me to confirm, so I have never had to check in.

Tours, transfers, etc. — Basically, any arrangements you have related to travel, whether it’s a car service, a tour, a transfer (like from plane to bus for a group booking), etc., will likely have a booking. Anticipate your check-ins so that your busy day-before-travel workload is not interrupted unnecessarily.

What happens if you don’t check in?

Wondering what happens if you just don’t bother to do a digital check-in as prompted? Consequences vary.

On a flight, your seat may be given to someone on the stand-by list, particularly if you arrive late to the airport. You might miss important information or changes to your reservation, causing you to be late or miss the trip altogether. Your hotel room could be given away, or your priority level could be reduced.

ORGANIZING YOUR TRAVEL INFORMATION

The New Tech Landscape of Travel: Apps You Can’t Escape

I’m not going to tell you that you have to have all of these apps, but I can tell you from recent experience that downloading travel apps and having the passwords accessible in a digital password manager will save you headaches on a rough travel day. So, at least consider downloading the following apps and saving them all in one travel folder, moved to your phone’s first page on travel days:

Airline apps – Although you can check in to a flight in your computer, phone, or tablet browser, airline apps are pretty much de rigueur for managing check-ins, downloading boarding passes (or sharing them to your digital wallet), keeping abreast of gate changes, arranging re-bookings, etc. The app makes everything smoother.

Across the four flights on my trip, but particularly that hot-box delayed-flight experience, the app alerted me to each change (and even to the location of my suitcase each time it was relocated) long before the pilot or gate agent informed us of anything. Because the new plane was larger and had a different layout, my boarding pass and seat assignment changed, seamlessly. I just had to consult the app.

Hotel apps – You may be wondering why you need an app to basically rent a tiny piece of real estate for a day. (You may also be wondering why you book a hotel “by the day” but can only check in at 3 p.m. and must check out at 11 a.m., getting only 20 hours of any “day.” Sorry, no clue.)

Hotel apps now not only have digital check-in and check-out, but keyless entry and the ability to control the TV, thermostat, and lights, order room service, request amenities (like more towels or toilet paper) or to chat with front desk. If you are an introvert, hotel apps must be a saving grace!

Note, however, that like most of modern travel, boo-boos occur. My Hampton by Hilton digital key on the app should have allowed me to hold my phone against a plastic square above my doorknob to unlock the door. However, after several attempts on my own and multiple re-settings by the front desk dude, my digital key never worked to enter my room. (Strangely, it operated as expected if I wanted to use the fitness center, pool, business center, and laundry room. Apparently, the app felt strongly that I should be a fit, productive, and clean traveler; it just didn’t want me to sleep or be well-dressed.)

I was given a plastic key card, like the kind we’ve been using at hotels for thirty years; however, instead of inserting it anywhere, it required waving it in front of the aforementioned doorknob plastic square thingy at just the right angle or speed.

(For germaphobes like me, being able to control the TV from my phone instead of having to touch the hotel’s remote was a nice feature.)

Car rental apps — Whether you opt for the old standbys like Hertz or Enterprise, or have embraced peer-to-peer car rentals like Turo (basically an AirB&B model for car rentals) – an app may be necessary for everything from rental check-ins and returns to unlocking the vehicle.
Ride share apps — If you spend more time in Ubers or Lyfts than in your own car, you’ve probably got the apps already, but if you only use them to get to/from airports once every few years, you might want to re-install and make sure your saved credit card info is right.
Master itinerary managers — If you prefer a formal platform to DIY-ing your trip, an app like TripIt allows you to gather all your hard-won trip-planning successes in one place. You forward all of your travel confirmations to the app, and it automagically arranges everything into a comprehensive itinerary. TripIt also includes seat trackers (in case a better place for your tush becomes available, fare trackers, point trackers, and document storage. Wanderlog is similar, but includes functions for creating checklists, tracking and splitting expenses, collaborating with fellow travelers, and adding travel guides.
Note-taking and cloud apps — You don’t have to use fancy apps to track your itineraries if you prefer DIY. Just print your travel itinerary info to PDF and save in a trip-specific note in Evernote, Notion, AppleNotes, or OneNote, or upload your confirmation documents to iCloud or GoogleDrive.
Your photo and camera app — These other apps are convenient, but if you really want a failsafe digital backup, screen-shot or make a PDF of mission-critical travel details, like confirmation numbers, boarding passes, airport maps and hotel/resort directions, and important contact info that’s too lengthy to type into your contacts app.
Flight tracking sites/apps — Some people are comfortable trusting the airlines to keep them informed. The rest of us obsess and need to know if our connecting flight is leaving late or if there’s weather that’s going to make our plans go kablooie or if our travel companions coming from other locations meet us on time! Two great site app options for knowing about flight and airport disruptions are FlightAware and FlightRadar24.

Organize in Case Your Tech Fails

Apps and the internet are modern and cool and essential for many things. Except, and I’ll hold your hand when I say this, tech can suck. For example:

Some apps only work when you’re online. This is bad news if you’re in a cell tower dead zone or, as happened on my hot-hot-hot delayed flight, the promised Wi-Fi melted down.
You phone may poop out, because the more travel kerfuffles you experience, the more time you’ll be spending on the phone.
- Yes, you should probably travel with a hand-held charger, but if you’ve had to re-charge your digital devices many times, your charger may be weary, too.
- Yes, there are chargers on planes, but if your charging cable is the modern USB-C format and you’re not traveling with an adapter, you may be out of luck, as the weird little charging ports down below the seats and the ones (on larger planes) in the seat-back “entertainment system” are all USB-A.
Digital keys often fail — that front desk clerk is still your best chance at getting into your room. (When you get to the hotel, request key cards. You don’t want to schlep up to your room with all your luggage, only to find the digital key doesn’t work.)
Notifications overload is real — Sometimes, it’s worse if all your technology works than if it fails. There’s too high a chance of important messages getting lost in a sea of “Rate Your Experience!” notifications pinging your phone.

So, as Old School as it sounds, and with apologies to the trees, print your master itinerary with all of the dates, times, and confirmation numbers.

I printed every confirmation email and arranged them in the order in which I would need to use them over the course of ten days. I popped them, along with a pen and one of my beloved purple legal pads, in a zippered Container Store document pouch. It kept my notes dry when I needed to dash a few places in the rain, and the cardboard backing of my legal pad kept the papers from getting wrinkled or squished.

A printed boarding pass works when your phone is freaking out. If the airline or car rental place is having a computer meltdown, your printout will verify your booking and the rates and service levels you were promised.

And Don’t Forget the Telephone

Save yourself the headache of having to Google or look on the back of your frequent flier card — program important numbers for your airlines, hotels, rental car agencies, etc., into your phone.

WHEN TRAVEL GOES SIDEWAYS: KNOW YOUR RIGHTS

The United States Department of Transportation has developed a variety of passenger rights, but many people misunderstand or get them wrong. Some highlights:

There’s a maximum 3-hour domestic tarmac delay at which point airlines are required to “de-plane” you (unless the pilot feels that passenger safety would be compromised).
Airlines must provide food, water, working lavatories, and climate control after 2 hours. During our first two hours on the tarmac, we had only working bathrooms. Just before the 2-hour mark, we were each offered a tiny puddle of lukewarm water, and it took almost half an hour to disseminate those.
Passengers must be notified about the situation every 30 minutes.
The airlines must provide flight refunds if the airline cancels or significantly delays your flight, but only if you decline whatever alternative they offer!

So, if they delay you by four hours but put you on a plane (or get you onto a competing airline’s flight), you aren’t due a refund; but if you had a “non-refundable ticket” and the airline’s delays ruin your trip such that you reject their offer to get you where you’re going a day late and many (airport snack) dollars short, you can be refunded for your non-refundable ticket.

Airplane Photo by Gerrie van der Walt on Unsplash

However, if you have a bad experience, I encourage you to contact your airlines rewards center; they have a chart for depositing extra miles for delays and bad experiences.

You have other rights, too. For example, airlines must refund baggage fees if your bags are lost or extensively delayed. There are also rights regarding compensation for voluntary and involuntary “bumping” due to overbooking. For further reading and resources:

Department of Transportation Dashboard for Airline Commitments

DOT Fly Rights: A Consumer Guide to Air Travel

Keep a PDF copy of these rules on your phone.

During a bad experience, log problems as they happen so you can request compensation later. As we never took off during that hot-as-h-e-double-hockey-sticks flight, my phone wasn’t yet in Airplane Mode, so I was live-texting Paper Mommy, yielding contemporaneous time-stamps for every frustrating occurrence. This made it easier to have my upgrade fee refunded and to secure rewards points.

Experts and seasoned travelers with whom I’ve spoken advise being polite but firm in quoting regulations if you believe your rights regarding tarmac delays (or, y’know, anything else) have been denied.

If the airlines fail to satisfy your complaints, read section 13 of the DOT Fly Rights document (above) to know how file a complaint with the DOT if needed.

Finally, always have a backup plan. Know what other options you have for flights, rental agencies, or hotels are nearby.

For more on organized travel:

We can’t control the skies, but we can control our systems. Organized travel isn’t about being perfect, but about considering what we will need and having appropriate plans and backups. Feel free to share your trips (and travel horror stories) in the comments.

Why the Humble Bankers Box is Still the MVP of Office Organization

Posted on: July 14th, 2025 by Julie Bestry | 14 Comments

My blog posts aren’t usually love letters to a company or product, but as the result of a few particular client sessions lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about Bankers Box. Back in August, 2010, I wrote a post called This Is Not Your Grandfather’s Bankers Box. Fifteen years on, let’s consider this post the cooler, smarter grandchild, the one who knows how live in the digital world, but appreciates the value of archiving some documents with more eco-friendly, aesthetically appealing, heavier-duty, multi-functional solutions.

But still, it all starts with the name: Bankers Box, no apostrophe. What does that name call to mind for you?

Bankers’ reputations have never been stellar. Think of Mr. Potter, George Bailey’s nemesis in It’s a Wonderful Life in the 1940s, or picture Edith Bunker walking into a “friendly” bank, circa fifty years ago:

Jump across the pond and back another 50 years, and you find Mr. George Banks, Mary Poppins‘ quintessentially stuffy banker, employed by the Fidelity Fiduciary Bank:

“A British bank is run with precision. A British home requires nothing less! Tradition, discipline and rules must be the tools! Without them: disorder… catastrophe! Anarchy! In short, you have a ghastly mess!”

Perhaps it’s these negative images of bankers that often left my clients dubious over the past 24 years when I’ve suggested that they might benefit from using Bankers Boxes. Some (younger) clients had never heard of them; others felt like they must have only been in use in large corporate storage rooms, or law office archives.

For those who know about them at all, it’s no surprise that a document storage solution originally designed — and named — for bankers, would have an equally stuffy, stodgy, conservative reputation. But they have a cool history and seemingly secure future.

THE HISTORY OF THE BANKERS BOX

The Bankers Box brand has a rich history. Let’s time travel backward 108 years to 1917.

Recent university graduate Walker Nickel got a job selling bank record file boxes, but nobody wanted to buy them because they were so badly designed! Unable to get his boss to consider making modifications, Nickel quit and struck out on his own, designing and manufacturing a file box out of a hardy new construction material — corrugated fibreboard — which better fit the standard-sized forms that banks were using. Cranky banker clients smiled!

Nickel worked out of an office building in the tailoring district of Chicago, where he met Harry Fellowes, a tailor in residence who was looking for new opportunities. The two men initially struck up an acquaintance in an elevator, and Fellowes came to learn more about Nickel’s business.

Jump ahead about half a year. In April 1918, Fellowes saw Nickel packing up his office; the latter man had just been called up to serve in World War I. The men struck a deal, and Fellowes bought Nickel’s company, primarily the inventory, for $121.40, mostly for inventory. This is an improbably small amount, only $2584.49 in today’s buying power, especially for what became a major office supply powerhouse.

The Bankers Box Company was eventually renamed Fellowes Brands in the 1980s to better reflect their expansion beyond filing supplies and into shredding (which is kind of the opposite of filing, right?), binding, laminating, air purifying, and ergonomic solutions. (Sadly, I could find no further information about Walter Nickel.)

Fellowes’ relatively small investment had great potential, as the 16th Amendment (allowing taxation of individuals and corporations) had just been ratified in 1913. People and businesses were going to have to start archiving and coming up with a lot more permanent document storage, as they’d have close to a century to wait before cloud storage would show up.

Even if you’ve never used one, you know the Bankers Box. Your mind’s eye probably painted a picture that looked much like this:

Boring? Maybe. Stuffy? Paper Doll won’t disagree. But you can’t deny the simple, practical benefits of the traditional Bankers Box Stor/File.

THE BENEFITS OF BANKERS BOXES

In a world where the first storage solution people consider tends to be a plastic, lidded tub, a Bankers Box may seem to be a strange choice for singing praises. Aren’t they old-fashioned? Aren’t they less sturdy? Aren’t they bad for the environment?

Well, yes (and not always, and surprisingly no). Bankers Boxes have some distinct advantages.

Bankers Boxes are tougher than they look.

Bankers Boxes are surprisingly sturdy, even for their lower-end, “basic duty” weight storage box.

At 10.5″ high x 12.5″ wide x 15″ deep, the Stor/File has a stacking weight of 450 pounds, suitable for “moderate” stacking or shelving. It’s made for letter and legal sized paper filing, pretty much any document you need to store or archive for long-term.

Bankers Boxes come flat-packed and are easy to assemble.

In fact, I sometimes think the illustrations for assembling a box are more complicated than the steps themselves.

(Unlike something you might get from IKEA, at least you don’t end up wishing you’d studied Swedish in school.)

Judging from recent client experience, it only takes about a minute to put one together. You start by opening everything up and separating the lid from the box at the perforations, and then separating two other connections. Fold the big bottom piece in, then fold in the exterior bottom (which is attached to the two interior side flaps, and flip everything over.

Wait, that’s probably confusing, too. How about a video?

Sadly, the video doesn’t show how to fold the lid into existence, but it’s as simple as folding at all of the scored lines and tucking everything in. If you can make hospital corners on your bed, the Bankers Box lid is just as simple.

Well, for most people.

I should note, right around the time I wrote The Great Mesozoic Law Office Purge of 2015: A Professional Organizer’s Family Tale, I was working in one room while Paper Mommy and our close friend Jennie were working in another. I’d assigned them what I thought was the relatively simple task of setting up some Bankers Boxes, only to later follow the sound of giggling to find that at 79- and 91-years-old, they might not best be left unsupervised for this kind of project. Picture Lucy and Ethel in the chocolate factory.

For people like Paper Mommy and Jennie, some of the Bankers Boxes are now manufactured with FastFold technology, and can be put together even more quickly with what might be considered a pop and lock approach. (No, not the hip-hop dance moves.)

Oh, and if or when you don’t need a particular Bankers Box anymore? You can just reverse the process and make it flat again! For example, let’s say you have a box of paperwork related to a project that didn’t go forward or stored catalogs that will never be needed again. You could just pile up the empty boxes until you fill them again, but the glorious thing is that you don’t have to!

Bankers Boxes are manufactured without glue and require no tape for assembly.

Creepy crawly creatures love nibbling at glue. I always advise clients that in general, cardboard is a bad choice for long-term storage, particularly of documents. A plastic/rubber/resin lidded tub is often the best choice, particularly if you are going to store things in an attic, garage, or basement, but even in office or closet storage, cardboard boxes manufactured with glue are a no-no, as that glue is a clarion all to tiny things with too many legs.

Additionally, most boxes require require packing tape to put them together, meaning you’ll have adhesive on the bottoms and sides of even an open box. However, by using a Bankers Box, put together solely by folding panels into place, you end up with a sturdy box, dependable and useful for long-term document storage, sans icky, gooey, bug-inviting adhesives.

Bankers Boxes are relatively inexpensive.

Bankers Box is a brand-named product, so it’s going to be somewhat pricier than generic or store-brand versions. Still, for example, a 12-pack of the basic, white Stor/File version is $38.98 at Amazon, or $3.25/box. Walmart has a 10-pack for $18.74, or $1.87/each. (Don’t ask me to explain pricing options. That’s a capitalism issue, not an organizing one.)

MYTHS AND SURPRISING TRUTHS ABOUT BANKERS BOXES

If you haven’t given a glance to a Bankers Box since you sneezed your way through the file room storage boxes at an internship sometime in the late 20th century, you may be surprised by how Bankers Boxes have changed and advanced.

Myth #1: You can’t use hanging folders with Bankers Boxes

Of course, what people mean when they say you can’t use hanging folders to organize files in a Bankers Box is that, unlike with typical plastic file crates, hanging-file desk-top boxes and plastic boxes designed for file storage, the original Bankers Box didn’t have file rails.

True enough. The traditional box merely folds into place leaving you with, well, a box — a big empty space into which you can throw papers, or hopefully, stand your files upright.

If you’re transferring a filing cabinet or desk drawer full of files all at once, the box will fill and the sheer volume of file folders, pressed against one another, keeps them from falling down.

Because the traditional boxes have nowhere to place the hooks for hanging folders, you generally have to remove your manila file folders from their hanging folder homes in the filing drawers to move them to the boxes. It may take quite a while and yield paper cuts. And what if you only have a handful of folders? Yeah, no, the Stor/File may not be your best bet.

But that doesn’t mean you’re out of organizing file luck.

Enter the Bankers Box Hang’N’Store™. The Hang’N’Stor is one level up from the basic-duty Stor/File; it’s considered medium-duty, with stacking strength up to 550 pounds.

It’s a time-saver, as you can quickly transfer folders (like client files, the past year’s invoices, etc.) from active storage in your filing cabinet to inactive/archive storage without having to remove your tabbed manila folders from the hanging folders!

The Hang’N’Stor is still packed flat for easy shipping and supply storage, and designed with Banker Boxes’ FastFold methodology for easy assembly.

The letter-sized (9.75″H x 12.25″W x 15″D) Hang’N’Store is built to allow hanging files to tightly hang over the box edges. Grab your active files (client files, prior years’ invoices, etc.) and move the whole organized system directly from active to archived storage without separating out individual files. A four-pack on Amazon runs $34.

The letter/legal sized Hangn’N’Store (10″H x 12″W x 15.5″D) has plastic interior channels that acted like file rails — just turn it 90° to accommodate letter vs. the legal documents.

Understandably, the file rails make these a little more expensive. Amazon carries a four-pack of the letter/legal version for $40, or $10/each, various office supply retailers.

Both styles are made of 60% recycled paper (post-consumer recycled content).

If your file drawers are overwhelmed by hanging files you must maintain for legal, financial or regulatory reasons, the Hang’N’Store offers a smooth transition.

Myth #2: Bankers Boxes can’t keep piles of papers or bound materials from falling over.

There will be times when you want to store your documents a few chunks at a time, perhaps quarterly. Other times, you want to store stacks of paper, directories, or other loose or bound material, but anything less than “full occupancy” in a traditional Bankers Box will make your documents flop over.

The Bankers Box R-KIVE Divider Box is tailor-made for this purpose. The Divider Box comes with three heavy-duty 5″ corrugated cardboard dividers designed to keep files upright, even without hanging folders, when the box is only partially full.

(Philosophical question: is your Bankers Box half-empty or half-full?)

The Divider Boxes are heavy-duty weight, with triple-end, double-side, double-bottom construction, and reinforced, tear-resistant handles for more comfortable carrying. In addition, there’s a locking lift-off lid for secure file storage.

The letter-sized (10″H x 12″W x 15″D) has a stacking weight of 850 pounds.

Myth #3: Bankers Boxes are ugly

Yes, some of the traditional boxes are un-pretty. Your grandparents’ (or even parents’) Bankers Box was either white with black, white with blue and black, or the oh-so-classy 1970’s Station Wagon “woodgrain” box with the flip-top lid, popular with attorneys and accountants (who, like bankers, are not exactly known for being the coolest cats on the playground).

Given this, I don’t blame you for being dubious that Bankers Boxes can add some style to your document storage. But the fellows at Fellowes aren’t quite as stodgy now that we’re a quarter of the way into the 21st century.

For example, the medium-duty Decorative Stor/File (10″H x 12″W x 15″ D) is a snazzy black-and white brocade-style version with a black lid that, if left in the corner of your office floor, won’t detract from your “up-and-comer” identity. There’s still space to label the contents of your box, but the box itself no longer shouts, “I’m Practical!” at the top of its corrugated lungs. A 10-pack will run you about $34 or $3.40/each at Amazon.

(There’s also a basic-duty weight version, with the same measurements, though it seems harder to purchase.)

For those who find the brocade squiggles not to their liking, there are two other decorative versions, a basic-duty weight decorative white/grey criss-crosses:

and a medium-duty weight version with pinstripes.

Aesthetics, function, and ease of use make for a not-so-stuffy delight!

Myth #4: Bankers Boxes aren’t so great for the environment

I’d call that an enviro-fib!

Bankers Boxes have a pretty good environmental record, especially compared to plastic storage resources. (Plastic is petroleum; petroleum is dead dinosaurs.)

Most of the Bankers Boxes in the basic-, medium- and heavy-duty file storage lines are made of at least 60% recycled product. However, the Bankers Box Recycled Stor/File line is made of 100% recycled materials.

For example, there’s the medium-duty Recycled Stor/File, measuring 10″H x 12″W x 15″D, and with a stacking strength of 550 pounds. There’s a longer one measuring 10″H X 12″W X 24″D.

More significantly, Fellowes/Bankers Box has an impressive Earth-friendly sustainability focus.

Myth #5: Re-stacking Bankers Boxes is a pain

The impressible stacking capacity of individual boxes, even those at basic-duty strength, still fail to solve the inevitable organizational problem: if you just pile your boxes, one on top of the other, the box you want is invariably going to be on the bottom of the stack!

I feel your aching back from here!

Certainly you can use a variety of ad hoc shelving solutions such as those designed for offices, warehouses, garages, or basements. However, there are shelving solutions designed specifically for Bankers Box-style document storage.

Fellowes’ own Stor/Drawer® Steel Plus™ line lets you remove the box lids for any of the Stor/File boxes and slide them right into stacking units, drawer-style. This set-up allows you to stack five boxes high with the assistances of a heavy wire frame that provides stability and strength for the corrugated cardboard drawers.

There are four-layer front and back panels, and removable rails for hanging files. The steel support frame for the entire unit reinforces heavy-duty the corrugated cardboard to increase durability, and the front plastic handles are reinforced for improved drawer access.

These come in letter (10.375″H X 12.5″W X 23.25″D) and legal (10.375″H x 15.5″W x 23.25″D) versions in the standard white, blue, and black, or the 100% recycled tan, green, and black, in recycled letter and recycled legal versions.

Of course, if you’re a multinational corporation and have even more archival files, Fellowes has a line of Staxonsteel® Steel Frame Heavy-Duty Storage Drawers.

You can stack ten boxes high, storing 80% more records in the same floor space, into a towering and scary, sci-fi file drawer unit.

The Staxonsteel framework interlocks both horizontally and vertically so worker bees can open the drawers to seek documents all day long. The steel stacker bars create a hardy framework that, per Fellowes, “won’t buckle, twist or bend and offer space-saving stackability with the accessibility of a filing cabinet.” The Staxonsteel drawers are designed to easily snap together with poly-lock technology.

If you’re a person, and not a ginormous conglomerate, this is overkill. So if you’re looking for something that’s somewhere between random shelves at Lowe’s and the big Fellowes shelving, consider (ProSlat) Bin Warehouse‘s box shelving. Although Bin Warehouse is better known for letting you to stack rubber/resin tubs without having to rearrange them to access something lower down, they also make ideal racks for storing boxes.

Bin Warehouse’s 8 filebox rack holds 400 pounds across two columns, eight boxes high. (Maximum box size: 12.5” wide x 10” high x 15” deep.) It’s designed to be installed right to the wall to ensure security and maximum stability. It’s available from ProSlat for $115.

An 18-box rack accommodates three columns of six boxes each, for a maximum of 1000 pounds. It’s $135 at Pro Slat or about $125 at Amazon.

BANKERS BOX ISN’T THE ONLY GAME IN TOWN, BUT…

Obviously, Bankers Box isn’t your only choice for foldable, non-glue, no-tape-needed document storage.

Almost every Big Box and online office supply store, like Staples, Office Depot, and Amazon has its own line. If you want a straightforward letter- or legal-sized box, I’m not going to tell you that an Amazon Basics box is going to leave you crying over poorly supported files. It’s not.

And cardboard certainly isn’t your only option. As we’ve covered in Paper Doll posts before, there’s a large variety of plastic, railed file boxes, and file crates to archive your documents.

Similarly, I’ve merely illustrated a fraction of what the modern Fellowes Bankers Boxes have to offer. For example, this post just looked at lift-off lid boxes, but there are myriad basic-, medium-, and heavy-duty corrugated Bankers Boxes (plus their line of plastic ones).

There are also their “String-and-Button” Bankers Boxes (which still, after all these years, have a decidedly Little House on the Prairie feel, as if velcro had never been invented) for seriously extensive and heavy-duty file archives where you don’t think you’ll ever need to tote them around for deep research.

There are flip-top boxes — if people say you’d forget your head if it weren’t attached, these Bankers Boxes with hinged, attached lids may be your style.

And this just covers Bankers Box products designed for document storage. If you’re moving house, or just storing stuffed animals until the next tiny human (or next generation) comes along, Bankers Box has basic, classic, and even tape-free Prime locking boxes. Or if you need specialty products for storing literature stacks or magazines and homework, there’s a solution for you.

Bankers Box isn’t the only game in town, but after 24 years of examining storage solutions, I say Fellowes are nice fellows, especially if you want to be planet-friendly.

DO YOU REALLY NEED TO KEEP ALL THAT PAPER?

Finally, before you seek to store oodles of paper, it’s important to stop and consider your options.

Ask yourself if you, your family, or your organization really need to save your papers. (One popular professional organizer maxim says 80% of papers stored are never retrieved or needed again.)

A good start for confidently making decisions about your paper is my classic ebook, Do I Have To Keep This Piece Of Paper? It walks you through the possibilities and questions you might have regarding the documents and fluttery pieces of paper that waft through your life.

Once you’re sure what you want to keep, consider whether you want to maintain paper records or digitize the documents. Weigh the safety and permanence of digitized documents in the cloud against the time, physical effort, and cloud storage costs to turn your paper into bits and bytes.

From there, think about the different types of paper storage, for action, reference, and archives, you hope to use. A good start is my 2024 series on paper filing and document retention.

Finally, be sure to label your document storage accurately and with useful details and dates to make retrieval and destruction procedures go more smoothly.

If you’ve got more file boxes than you can eyeball, consider creating a handwritten or (preferably) digital inventory. An Excel or Google Sheets spreadsheet will be easily searchable and update-able for your needs.

Nobody is ever going to product a reality show like Love Island focused on Bankers Boxes, but for a company that started with a chance meeting in an elevator in the tailoring district of Chicago 108 years ago, Bankers Box is still pretty nifty. Oh, and if you do want to read a love letter to Bankers Box, CJ Chilver’s The Wisdom of the Bankers Box is a charming one.

Affiliate Disclosure: Some of the links above are affiliate links, and I may get a small remuneration (at no additional cost to you) if you make a purchase after clicking through to the resulting pages. The opinions, as always, are my own. (Seriously, who else would claim them?)

Paper Doll Plays Ice Cream Man: Cool Organizing and Productivity Treats for Hot Days

Posted on: July 7th, 2025 by Julie Bestry | 10 Comments

We’ve managed — perhaps with a few bumps and bruises to our productivity — to make it through one-half of the year.

Perhaps you’ve reached your goals or are on our way toward them. Maybe the temperatures and the general atmosphere in the world these days leaves you feeling indolent, and the last thing you want to think about today is striving toward yet another goal or completing another task.

I get it.

We all deserve a little fun. So today’s post is like a Popsicle on a sweltering day. There are no systems for you to implement, and no heavy-duty academic research to study. Instead, just think of today’s Paper Doll post as the ice cream truck driving through your neighborhood to make your week a little sweeter and your mood a little lighter with some surprising treats.

MOD PROTECT

Earlier this year, I wrote a five-part series on using timers to help yourself be more productive. In case you missed it, feel free to read the links below to get caught up.

But again, this is an ice cream truck; just take what you find yummy.

In part 3 of the series, when we discussed tangible timers, I shared my love of the Time Timer MOD and all of its gorgeous styles, including the Time Timer Mod Home Edition,

the MOD Home Metallic Edition,

and the various durations of the MOD Education Editions.

I handle my devices pretty gingerly and rarely worry about bonking them on the ground, but not everyone lives in an almost-entirely carpeted (hello, late 1970s construction!) apartment. Some folks have kids, or spouses or co-workers who behave like kids, or pets who tend to knock things on the floor.

Time Timer understands the frustration that comes with rough-and-tumble living. While there are already pretty protective covers in a variety of styles to cuddle the Time Timer MOD editions, they’ve now come out out with a new super-protective line: two different “fun and functional” Time Timer MOD+ Protective Cases.

Both versions partner a whimsical personality and hardy protection with (what I think is already) the niftiness of Time Timers.

Meet Bunny and Tread.

Time Timer MOD + Protect Case Bunny

Protect Case — Bunny is friendly and playful, and will appeal to little and big kids, alike. Whether you’re in kindergarten helping to develop little minds, working in various environments with with sensitive souls or neurodivergent brains, or just enjoy anything that adds something charming and fanciful to your workday and time management struggles, take a peek.

Why not serve up a fun-but-sturdy embrace for the visual time cues that keep kids and adults from staying time-blind?

Bunny is brightly colored, soft, and tailor-made for those who would prefer getting help transitioning between tasks, monitoring their own (or others’) screen time, or completing homework (or office work) from a sweet, gentle character rather than a garish, digital taskmaster.

Say hi to Bunny. (Hi, Bunny!)

Bunny measures 5.1″ high x 4.1″ wide by 2.4″ deep. The soft, removable case is made of light blue silicone, and, as you can see above, faintly bunny-shaped, creating a playful touch to surround the Time Timer MOD.

Time Timer has tested the Bunny Protect Case’s drop protection to 5 feet. So, whether you’re using it in an academic or play setting where tiny humans may drop or throw the Time Timer MOD, or you or your co-workers or family members take time-based stresses out on small, (mostly) inanimate objects, the Protect Case -— Bunny can handle it.

The Bunny’s soft silicone makes it easy for tiny hands to grip without slippage, so there’s no need to worry that your MOD investment will be lost in a smash-pow-kerplunk moment! Parents, teachers, therapists, colleagues, and tiny humans should all be delighted by the protective nature and cute appearance of the bunny.

On it’s own, the Protect Case — Bunny is $14.95 at the Time Timer website.

Additionally, you can purchase the Time Timer Rainbow Wheel MOD + Protect Case Bunny bundle for 39.95.

Time Timer notes the combined MOD and Bunny protective case bundle is:

Focused on Time Awareness — As discussed at length in my blog post series on timers, an analog approach to time helps make time visible and “real” to children and others with a less-than-concrete feel for the flow of time. The Time Timer Rainbow Wheel MOD’s rainbow-colored disk assigns a color to each five-minute increment, adding a clear, colorful cue to help discern how much time remains. This has positive implications for helping achieve smooth transitions and emotional regulation.
Especially supportive for neuro-diverse individuals — The product was created with children with ADHD, sensory sensitivities, and autism in mind, implementing a soothing, calming design.
Sensory-friendly — As Time Timer notes, “with soft bunny ears and gentle colors make time less scary and more approachable for young learners.” The sensory-friendly materials can help children who self-sooth primarily through touch.
Designed for the hard knocks of real life — As noted, when nestled inside the Bunny, the MOD Rainbow Wheel withstands tumbles, tosses, and falls up to 5 feet. (That’s almost an entire Paper Doll!)

The Time Timer Rainbow Wheel MOD + Protective Case — Bunny bundle includes One Year Premium Access to Time Timer® App.

Time Timer MOD + Protect — Tread

The Bunny is cute, but not everyone is seeking fluffy bunny mode.

Do you, your tiny humans, whimsical teens, or colleagues operate in a more rough-and-ready, active environment? If so, you or they may prefer something with a more hearty or rugged appearance.

Tread is a durable silicone case styled as a beefy tire, such as you’d see on an earth mover or big truck. It’s tailor-made for active households and busy classrooms, but is equally at home in therapy centers and workplaces where cute+tough is the right style choice. It measures 4.2″ wide by 4.2″ high by 2.4″ deep.

When I first saw the Time Timer MOD Protective Case — Tread, my immediate thought was that Workman MJ and his mom need this!

If you’re not on TikTok, you may not know Workman MJ, who first came to fame when his mom sought help convincing her toddler that workers take naps:

Over the course of just a few days, all sorts of workmen and women around the country came to her aid and filmed TikToks showing themselves taking naps after lunch — in their trucks and in various safe environments — illustrating to MJ (and all the other tiny workmen and workwomen) the importance of fueling and resting oneself and ones tools. And hey, that echoes Paper Doll‘s advice of about nap-taking, like in:

Take a Break — How Breaks Improve Health and Productivity

Take a Break for Productivity — The International Perspective

If you’re a TikTok aficionado, find your bliss watching Workman MJ and his Mom; their precious videos of MJ-narrated interactions with various workers while learning about their tools and skills are reminiscent of early Sesame Street and Mr. Rogers vignettes, and MJ’s mom (Jessica C. Lee) has even written a book, Workman MJ Takes a Nap, about their “it takes a village” nap experience.

But back to Tread.

The bumpy, black rubber tire treads add a grippiness that makes the MOD easy for small hands to grab without dropping and adds an extra layer of hearty durability to the Time Timer MOD. Use it at work impress your co-workers with a nod to your “tough approach” to problem solving, or take it to the gym so your Time Timer MOD is safe no matter how rambunctious your workout. Either way, it’s a great companion for workspaces, workouts, or on-the-go time management. (Yes, it’s primarily made for kids, but why let them have all the fun?)

The Tread case is made of soft-touch silicone (easily cleaned by wiping with a damp cloth), and has been drop-tested from a height of 5 feet.

On its own, Tread is $14.95 from Time Timer and you can pair it with any MOD already in rotation in your school, office, or home.

However, if you’re the kind who always orders a combo meal, get the Time Timer MOD + Protect Case – Tread together in a rugged bundle for $39.95. It includes the grey 60-minute MOD with a classic red disk timer and the Tread protective case.

As with the Bunny bundle, you a great, confidence-boosting visual timer that supports the executive function needs of children and adults with ADHD, sensory processing challenges, and autism, as well as all sorts of people who need time management support, plus a hearty case that protects the timer from boo-boos.

And let’s face it, that tire tread pattern offers a cool tactile experience for those needing a fidget toy to support ongoing focus and reduce anxiety. Like the Bunny bundle, the MOD + Tread bundle includes One Year Premium Access to Time Timer® App.

All Time Timer products include a One-Year 100% Satisfaction Guarantee.

ZIP NOTES & DISPENSERS

We all love sticky notes. Whether we use a tiny sticky note for a label, a standard one for a list or a reminder, or a heavy duty one for intense climate situations, it’s become essential to have a method that just sticks without need for paper clips or staples.

However, sticky notes aren’t perfect. We usually have to settle for one uniform size or purchase multiples different sizes.

But wouldn’t it be cool if we could have a sticky note of any length we desired, whenever we wanted?

Thanks to the Zip Notes Executive Sticky Note Dispenser and Holder, we can.

Zip Notes

Invented by Edison, New Jersey-based Victor Technology, these Zip Notes might initially be indistinguishable from Post-its® and their (often less-adhesive) knockoffs, but there are some significant differences:

- - Zip Notes come on a roll — Taking a cue from old-timey adding machine paper rolls or paper towels, Zip Notes come on an 150-inch roll of adhesive-backed paper.

This format is cost-effective and reduces paper waste. One roll of Zip Notes is the equivalent of 600 regular 3″ x 3″ sticky notes!

As much as I love a good Post-it®, there are times when I don’t necessarily have the size I want. For example, on the side of my desk right now, I have a twelve-pack of the Post-it® mini (1 3/8″ x 1 7/8″) Greener Notes.

They’re perfect when I want to scribble one or two words on a sticky note and use it as a label for a pile of papers. Conversely, for most purposes, a standard 3″ x 3″ sticky note works fine, but when you have a lot to write, it’s always nice to have a 3″ x 5″ sticky note on hand, because it has ample room, and you can turn it vertically to create a list.

But what if, in the course of an afternoon, you have several short, medium, and long sticky notes to write? You could keep all different size sticky notes in your drawer, but with Zip Notes, you wouldn’t have to, and you’ll never waste paper with a “continued on next note” situation.

Just hold down the button until the sticky note paper unspools to the length you prefer and tear it off. Suddenly, you have a note with a customized length!

- - Zip Notes have an adhesive strip running down the center of the note — The unique design of the Zip Notes, with a central strip of adhesive, prevents the edges from curling and allows for flexibility with adherence wherever you need it: at work, at school, or at home. As with any good sticky note, the Zip Notes are re-positionable.

Zip Notes come in three colors: pink, blue, and yellow, each for about $8.99/roll, either directly from the product page at Victor Technologies or from Amazon.

Zip Notes work in tandem with three types of dispensers.

Zip Notes Executive Dispenser

The navy blue battery-operated Zip Notes Executive Dispenser dispenses the exact length of note you need so you can customize the length of your notes. It’s available directly from the Victor Technology website for $24.99 or for 23.99 at Amazon, in case you want to take advantage of your Prime Shipping. (Note, the photo on Amazon appears to be grey, but it’s apparently just a poor photo; it’s only available in blue.)

The Executive Dispenser is a compact 5.0” wide x 4.5” deep x 5.5” high, and takes up barely more room on your desktop than a stack of sticky notes. It requires two AA batteries, which are included.

Zip Notes Administrator Dispenser

The Zip Notes Administrator Dispenser can rest on your desk or be mounted to a wall, and measures 4.1” wide x 3.6” deep x 6.5” high. Similar to the Executive version, it takes two AA batteries (included).

The Administrator Dispenser is $24.99 at Victor Technology and $23.95 at Amazon.

Zip Notes Manual Dispenser

In addition to the two battery-operated versions, there is a manual Zip Notes dispenser. Without the nifty “zhhhh” sound and the button to push, it’s not quite as cool as its battery-operated counterparts, but at $9.99 for the burgundy dispenser (measuring 3.5 deep x 3.8 wide x 4.5 high), it might be handy to keep in your mobile office kit. Just pull to the desired note length and rip.

The Zip Notes Executive Sticky Notes and Dispensers are a neato combination of a different type of sticky note and a different way of dispensing them. If you’re GenX, you may be thinking, “It’s two mints in one!

ANXIETY BOOKSHELF

It’s possible that only my professional organizer colleagues, Paper Mommy, and I will appreciate this product line, but Anxiety Bookshelf is a cute way to incorporate the soothing aspects of organization into your life without having to invest your heart and soul into downsizing or systematizing.

What Is the Anxiety Bookshelf?

The conceit of the Anxiety Bookshelf is that when you’re feeling overwhelmed, you can shake the miniature bookshelf (which is actually a latched, hinged, window unto a bookshelf-like shadow box) to free all of the miniature “books” from their safe perches and knock them to the “floor.”

Then open the hinged cover, take up the little books, and re-shelve them as you see fit. Why? To allow yourself to create a sense of order when things in your life are feeling disordered.

Arrange alphabetically by title or author, keep them in genres, or go rogue like the Home Edit crew and organize the books by color. (OK, please don’t do that. It gives me hives.)

Start by buying the actual Anxiety Bookshelf.

The original Anxiety Bookshelf — the hand-painted bookshelf cases come in eight colors: brown (natural wood), white, pink, black, yellow, blue, green, and purple.

It measures 9.8″ wide x 7.8″ high by 2.7″ deep, and comes with 260 miniature books, from classics like George Orwell’s 1984 and Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird to modern titles like John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars and Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus. While the majority of the books are novels, there are memoirs and non-fiction titles, too. (You can see the titles by scrolling down to the bottom of this page.)

The original Anxiety Bookshelf, with a full complement of miniature books, is $54.98.

For the same $54.98 price, you can also purchase the DIY Anxiety Bookshelf, which comes with the bookshelf, white foam book block inserts, and sheets of 264 book cover stickers.

Alternatively, you can buy an empty bookcase in two sizes:
- The full-size (empty) bookcase is $39.95.
- The small (empty) bookcase is $19.95

and then fill the shelves with whichever of the various Anxiety Bookshelf book collections you prefer, at various price points (or a set of random mini books in 60, 120, 180, or 260 book counts).

Obviously, I’d pick the Jane Austen collection to start, before branching out.

You can even customize the books you want and order from one to 10 different titles, starting at $5.90 for one-to-three titles, up to $18.90 for ten customized books. If you’re an author, you could even get your own mini books for your bookcase!

Depending on how much anxiety you’d like to soothe or how many miniatures you need in your life, there are discounts for multiple bookshelf purchases. Save $10 on a purchase of two; save $15 if you buy three; save $20 if you purchase 4 bookshelves so that you can pretend you are Belle in Beast’s library.

There’s even a Pocket Anxiety Bookshelf for anyone who feels the urge to self-soothe by organizing tiny books on-the-go, like during breaks at school or work. It comes in six colors: (TARDIS) blue, black, green, white, pink, and brown, and has just three little shelves. It measures 2.8” wide x 3.7” high x 1.9” deep and comes with 60 books. The Pocket version is currently $29.95.

In addition, for those seeking some bookish solace, Anxiety Bookshelf has some adorable Room Box items with the same latch and glass front (for safe shaking), in case you want to re-arrange a cozier space, available with or without the miniature books.

Is This An Open-and-Shut (Book) Case?

For each of the bookcases, you can open the bookcase; there’s a latch on the side of the bookshelf for a secure closure before you shake the books off the shelf.

However, you can’t open the miniature books because (duh!) they aren’t actually printed texts. Rather, each “book” is a block .87″ high x .55″ wide x .12″-thick blank foam with a book cover sticker wrapped around it.

So, although you can’t open the books, you can customize the ones you want, as noted above, and arrange them in whatever way will soothe your frazzled nerves.

Isn’t This Just Clutter?

Maybe?

At first glance, this might just look yet another (cute) knick-knack destined to become clutter, and I definitely wouldn’t recommend this for everyone. However, the various iterations of the Anxiety Bookshelf may greatly appeal to certain subsets of the populace, including:

people who like closed-end crafts, as opposed to projects that go on forever. Even with the DIY version, once you apply all the stickers to create the books and shelve the books, there’s no more “work” to do.
those who are soothed by being able to control their environments on a small scale — because how often can you sort your junk drawer to calm yourself? (But hey, when you do, be sure to check out Is Your Junk Drawer a Drunk Drawer? 3 Steps to An Organized Junk Drawer for guidance.)
those who are soothed by closed-ended organizing projects and just need a short-term meditative organization project
folks who like to create customized displayable art that can also be played with rather than merely admired.

When I was little, Paper Mommy and I worked together (by which I mean that I read the instructions and she did the handiwork) to create adorable little “mouse house” shadowboxes with intricate detailing. I find the little bookshelves and miniature books similarly charming.

But I also appreciate a product made specifically for the purpose of soothing anxiety of dealing with disarray in one’s personal world and the world at large. As a Certified Professional Organizer® — in fact, I just recertified for the sixth time since 2007), having helped clients with organizing and productivity for the past 24 years, my work doesn’t just help my clients; it’s therapeutic for me, too.

When something is stressing me out in my own life, I’ve been known to dump out my purse or lingerie drawer, sometimes to downsize, but usually just to create a little order and maintain some control.

I admit, this reminds me of one of my favorite quotes, from novelist Lucinda Rosenfeld:

“We order our salad dressing on the side because we’re control freaks. We’d like to control you. Because we can’t, we control lettuce.”

Often, clients contact me because they’re anxious about organizing. But quite often, a focused approach to organizing, even (or especially) on a tiny scale, helps conquer anxiety and create just as much inner peace as meditation or a walk in nature. Sometimes, it helps just to be able to control something. Even lettuce. Even tiny books.

Although I never recommend purchasing a product, whether functional or aesthetic, unless you both need and want it, sometimes, it’s just nice to know what’s out there. You may not chase the ice cream truck down the street, but isn’t it nice to hear the music and know the truck waiting?

Finally, for Paper Mommy, from whom I learned my love for all things tiny, here’s Anxiety Bookshelf’s Mini Book Cart, available on its own, or with 60, 120, or 180 books.

I bet it could hold quiet a few miniature Popsicles, ice cream sandwiches, and Nutty Buddy ice cream cones.

Digital Disaster Prep: How to Organize Your Tech Info Before You Need It

Posted on: June 30th, 2025 by Julie Bestry | 20 Comments

Do your digital devices ever frustrate you?

You probably use your computer much of the day. Even if you don’t, you likely grab your phone or your tablet with some frequency. You’re on the internet, and you want to connect to Wi-Fi. Perhaps someone in the house plays online multi-player video games or likes to stream movies or TV shows.

And when something goes wrong with any of it and you can’t figure out why, you may find that you want to exhibit less than delicate language and less than genteel behavior.

via GIPHY

I feel your pain.

MONGO AND A TALE OF TWO PRINTERS

Decades ago, I needed to install more memory in my Ruby iMac G3 (may it rest in peace) and had been assured that it was a simple process. I just had to turn the computer upside down, remove some teeny screws holding a panel in place, and insert the memory card thingy. Except, it didn’t work. I mean, it would go in, but it didn’t seem to be going in properly. I gingerly pressed it as far as it would go, but it did not give that satisfying “click” you expect, like with a seatbelt. (Oh, how I wish I’d thought of “seatbelt” as a metaphor at the time!)

After more than a few frustrating minutes, I called my grad school friend Phil, one of my BFFs and the person who knew my level of tech capabilities. After multiple go-rounds, Phil could not understand what I meant by “The memory thingy is going in, but it’s not clicking like a compact.” Frustrated, he passed the phone to Mongo.

iMac G3 series courtesy of Stephen Hackett, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Mongo listened to my woes, figured out what I meant by “clicking like a compact” (which, at the time, seemed perfectly comprehensible to me) and eventually the problem was solved. I realized that day that if we were going to survive the internet revolution and live in a digital world, we would all need a Mongo (and a Phil), as well as a better sense of how to detail and explain our tech situations.

I was recently reminded of this by two experiences. First, I had a problem with printer/scanner. It would not scan. Or print. Although it had worked perfectly two days prior, my computer couldn’t see it, and vice versa. I suspected the printer/scanner had lost connection to my Wi-Fi network.

I set about manually inputting the network passcode into the printer, which is like old-timey texting, because you only have an Up and a Down arrow and a Select button. To get to a capital M, you have to scroll through 1-9, then lowercase a-z, then A-M uppercase before saying “select” and then move on to the next letter.

Still, nada.

I eventually asked ChatGPT, which walked me step-by-step through each possible activity, brimming with (sometimes misplaced) confidence. Over the course of an hour, I deleted my printer, re-installed it, then installed the printer and scanner drivers. I’d done everything right and it was STILL not working. The scanner driver troubleshooting mechanism alerted me that it couldn’t see the Wi-Fi and encouraged me to make sure the computer and scanner were on the same network. Doh!

Would you believe that although my printer/scanner was on the right network, my desktop computer (which I use everyday, and which I never manually change to any other network) had somehow been reset to the Xfinity public hotspot network rather than my own, private network?

Weird. However, had I not had all of the various network information written down and handy, from the beginning, the process would have taken much longer.

In a second case, I was working with a beloved elderly client whose family had just bought her a new printer to replace her formerly reliable but lately exhausted one. We’d even used it to make copies at the prior session. However, on deadline to print some documents and to take to a notary, the new printer wouldn’t print.

My client abandoned ship to make a cup of coffee and play Sudoku.

With a series of questions to Google and many false starts, I was able to install the correct drivers (because contrary to what the client’s family had told her, printers are not plug-and-play) and get the printer on the correct network. However, had I not previously secured the client’s home internet and computer information all in one place, I’d probably still be struggling.

Whether you have a Mongo and Phil, or a well-intentioned if bewildered Paper Doll, the key to a happy and well-connected digital life is organizing your tech information. You definitely don’t want to act out the printer-beating scene from Office Space.

Please don’t wait until the next time you need your tech information to start amassing it. Instead, develop a cheat sheet/folder and keep it someplace safe and accessible, whether on paper or digitally.

NETWORK AND DEVICE INFORMATION

Your home (or office) network is the lynchpin to getting anything done. Without a network, you wouldn’t be able to surf the internet (sigh, maybe sometimes access to the internet is keeping you from getting things done, but let’s circle back to that), scan documents to your computer, print from your various devices, or do much of anything.

There are four basic “chunks” of information you’ll need to have and/or know to keep your network running smoothly: your IP address, your router and modem information, your Wi-Fi network essentials, and your ISP details.

IP Address

IP stands for Internet Protocol. Think of your IP address as a unique identifier or label assigned to every single device connected to a computer network that uses the Internet Protocol for communication. You’re probably thinking about computers, tablets, and cell phones, but lots of other things have IP addresses that you might not expect, such as:

Boring tech, like printers, scanners, and peripherals
Internet of Things devices, like smart fridges, smart thermostats, or smart lighting use IP addresses to allow you to monitor or remotely control them

Security devices like doorbell cameras similarly use IP addresses for remote control and remote access monitoring.
Gaming consoles like PlayStations and Xboxes need IP addresses to connect to online gaming services and other players

Think about how you might use your label maker or a chalk outline on a pegboard to show where a coffee mug or your favorite wrench lives. The IP address is a digital version of that, a digital address, making it possible for your devices to send (and receive) information — data, instructions, etc. — over the internet as a whole or, across a local network in your workspace. The IP address is how your devices are able to identify and locate each other online.

Why and when do I need my IP address?

All the devices on your Wi-Fi network get assigned an IP address, ensuring the system will avoid conflicts and be able to smoothly communication. Your network administrator at work may need your IP address to optimize system performance or manage bandwidth. Security firewalls use IP addresses to filter unauthorized devices for incoming and outgoing traffic.

But what about you? You might need to access or provide your IP address in the following circumstances:

Setting up a new modem or router when your internet provider sends you email saying “Hey, dude, your hardware is out-of-date! Trade it in for something that’s faster and shinier and won’t freeze during Zoom or your favorite MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game).”
Troubleshooting connection problems. Maybe you want to access a streaming service but are being blocked because they’re not supposed to let people in your country (or wherever you are) access their good stuff. (In which case, you might want to look into a VPN.)
Tech support, whether you’re getting assistance from your internet service provider or your grad school BFF.
Beef up your network security so you don’t get hacked.
Increase or modify your privacy so that advertisers (and their delicious cookies), your ISP, or your government can’t peek at what you’re doing (or, in the case of your smart fridge.

Where can I find my IP address?

You can find your IP address in two general ways.

Use a website that shows your IP address. If you click on the link for https://whatismyipaddress.com or https://www.whatismyip.com/, it will automagically detect and your IP address and show you two different flavors of your IP address assigned by your internet provider.
- IPv4 addresses are a string or set of four numbers separated by dots. It’ll look something like 172.16.0.1. (Sometimes, when you’re trying to set up a router or deal with a tech kerfuffle, you’ll be advised to use the IP address 10.0.0.1 to access the admin panel.)
- IPv6 addresses use eight hexadecimal groups separated by colons. They’re freakier looking, like 2001:0db8:85a3:0000:0000:8a2e:0370:7334.

Let your fingers do the walking to find your IP address.

If using the internet feels like cheating and you want to pretend you’re a programmer, you can:

- Use the Windows Command prompt — click the Start button, type “cmd”, and press Enter. Type ipconfig /all and press Enter: This will display detailed network configuration information. Find your IP: Look for the “IPv4 Address” under the appropriate adapter (Ethernet or Wireless LAN).
- On a MacOS or Linux machine, run “ipconfig” or “ip a” in Terminal.
- On mobile devices, like iPhones and Androids or tablets, go to your Wi-Fi settings.
  - iPhone/iPad — Navigate to the Settings app and tap on “Wi-Fi”. Then tap the “i” icon next to the network to which you’re currently connected and you’ll see your IP address.
  - Android — Go to the Settings app and pick “Wi-Fi.” Then tap on the to which you’re network you’re connected and you’ll see your IP address displayed under “network details.”

You can find a tutorial on the ins-and-outs of IP addresses at Computer Networking Notes.

Router and Modem Information

Router by Compare Fibre on Unsplash

Maybe you’re thinking, what’s the difference between a modem and a router?

In the simplest terms, a modem connects your house to your internet service provider (ISP). Your router then creates a network — a local area network (LAN) within your home, enabling all sorts of devices to connect to your internet simultaneously, generally via Wi-Fi. These days, your modem and your router are usually housed in one “box” that your ISP gives you.

Why and when do I need my router and modem information?

To troubleshoot your network
To update the firmware for your equipment
To set parental controls

Document the following router and modem information

The manufacturer, model number, and serial number of your router or modem. It’s generally written right on the housing. If the typeface is too small for you to read, use the magnifying tool on your cell phone.
The default administrator login and password (plus any changes you’ve made) — Save the information in your digital password manager, or write it on a piece of paper and put it in an easily-grabbed folder called “Home Tech Stuff.” If you haven’t made any changes, the default might be as simple as “admin”/”admin” or “admin”/”password,” so check the sticker on your router’s manual or a sticker on the device.
The Configuration URL for your router. It’s usually something like 192.168.0.1 or 192.168.1.1. You just copy it into the URL bar in any browser, the same way you’d type https://www.juliebestry.com to get to Paper Doll HQ.
Current firmware version and instructions for updating it. It’s shocking how much we own requires “firmware” updates.

To find your current firmware version, go to your Configuration URL, log in, and yo’ll find a section with a label that says something like “System,” “Device Info,” “Firmware,” or “About” and it will show you something that looks like Firmware Version: v3.1.0.4.384_45678.

Alternatively, if your router has an app, check the app’s dashboard.

Wi-Fi Network Information

Why and when do I need my Wi-Fi network information?

You’re going to need to know (or access) this information when you:

Set up a new router or connect devices to your existing router.
Reconnect devices — I needed this when I had to get my scanner and computer to talk to one another again.
Help guests or service workers access your WI-FI — If you don’t want them to know your Wi-Fi password, you have a few alternatives:
- Set up a guest network — If you log into your network’s administrator page as described above, there will be an option for setting up a new network name (SSID) for guests. For example, my home network is Pride & Prejudice; I could make a guest network and call it Longbourne or Pemberley.
- Some routers let you generate a QR code your guests can scan to connect to the network without knowing the password.
- Mobile devices have specific sharing options. On iOS or MacOS, you’ll see a pop-up prompt for sharing; on Android, look for the Quick Share option.

Document the following network information

Your network’s name (SSID)
The WI-FI password
The encryption type (WPA2/WPA3)
Guest network information, if you’ve created a guest network

Again, collect this information and keep it in an easily accessible digital or analog document. If you maintain it in the cloud, you can access it while traveling if you need to help someone at home, like your teens or a pet sitter.

Internet Service Provider (ISP) Information

Internet service providers are often frustrating, but the more information we have, the better prepared we can be.

Why and when do I need my ISP information?

This section is probably going to be the easiest for you, and you may be tempted not to document this information because you already know it. But what if your spouse or adult child or someone with your Power of Attorney had to help solve a problem?

You’ll may need this information if you want to upgrade (or downgrade) your service, report outages, solve billing questions or problems, or return equipment.

Document the following ISP information

Your internet service provider’s name — Unless you live in Mayberry, the name isn’t going to be Floyd or MarySue. It might be Comcast/Xfinity, Spectrum, AT&T, Verizon Fios, T-Mobile, Google Fiber, or even a municipal or regional utilities provider.
The customer support phone number — Note, you may need two different numbers, one for tech support and one for customer support, though they’re usually part of the same phone tree selection of options.
Your account number — This is printed on your billing statement; if you don’t get printed bills (whether you are on auto-pay or just log in to pay each month), find your account number in your online account portal.
Your login credentials for your account portal

COMPUTERS, PHONES, TABLETS, AND PERIPHERALS

While network information may be the most confusing — and thus most essential to write down, there are other essentials to capture on a technological cheat sheet.

Device Identifiers

For each device or peripheral, document the following:

Serial number — You may find this imprinted on a peripheral, but on computers, phones, tablets and other digital devices, log into your Settings app. For example, on an iPhone, navigate Settings>General>About and you will find your serial number.
MAC address — A MAC address has nothing to do with Apple Mac; it stands for Media Access Control, and it’s a unique hardware identifier that’s assigned to any network-enabled device. It’s a permanent characteristic, like a fingerprint, as opposed to an IP address, which can change. A MAC address looks like 00:1A:2B:3C:4D:5E

You may find a MAC address imprinted on the bottom or back of a physical device, labeled as MAC Address, MAC, LAN MAC, WAN MAC, or Wi-Fi MAC, in the router’s admin dashboard, or in the router’s app.

Alternatively, use a MAC address lookup site like MacAddress.io or MacLookup.app.

Model name/number — Like the serial number, it may be imprinted in the bottom/back of the device but can also be found in the settings section.
Operating System — e.g., Windows 11 or macOS 15 Sequoia. Don’t worry about noting the periodic version numbers (like 15.5.1) as that will update too often to make it worth logging.
Device Name — This is whatever you call your devices so you’ll recognize them when you look at the network. For example, “Julie’s Purple iPhone.”
- On a Windows device, look at Settings>System>About
- On a Mac, it’s in System Settings>General>Sharing
- On iOS, navigate to Settings>General>About>Name
- On Android, it varies by manufacturer, but try Settings>About Phone>Device Name

Why might I need device identifiers?

Try to log your device identifiers as soon as possible after acquiring them in case you need to:

locate a device on your network
get warranty support
get help with tech support or repair
file insurance claims
submit a filing for a class action lawsuit — Recent, I filed a claim in the Lopez Voice Assistant Settlement. Although I only had proofs of purchase for three of the four devices, I was able to complete the claim for the fourth by submitting the serial number for my 2015 iPhone6!

Operating System License Keys or Activation Codes

If you ever have to re-install your operating system because something implodes or if you need to transfer the operating system to a new device, you’ll need the license keys or activation codes, which are generally long alphanumeric strings.

In the olden days, we had stickers on the envelopes for installation disks and on older computers, stickers with the packaging. These days, look in your digital accounts, like Microsoft or Apple, to find your keys and codes, and save them locally, just in case.

Installed Software and Product Keys

Whenever you buy, download, and install software or other digital “products,” you may get keys to prove you haven’t “borrowed” someone else’s software. This includes anti-virus software, productivity suites like Microsoft 365 apps, or Adobe products.

Log everything you already own and then make a point of cataloguing new software purchases with:

a list of all of essential apps and software licenses with the:
- product name
- license number
- date you installed or acquired it
installation files (or locations) and download links from which you got the software
activation codes

If you ever have to re-install software after a crash, or if your computer is lost or stolen and you have to move to a new device, you’ll need this data.

Peripheral Setup Information

When you fight the Devil — I mean, reconnect or troubleshoot your printer, scanners, Wi-Fi label makers — you need this information.

For the same technological, financial, insurance, or legal reasons you may need to track your digital devices, you need to record essential information about your peripherals. For each printer, scanner, copier or other peripheral, write down the:

make
model
driver download page URL
IP address (if it’s networked)
current driver version

Smart Home Device Information

Do you have a futuristic home? Document the following for each of your smart home devices in case you have to reset your network and everything “smart” gets stupid.

smart device app logins
setup instructions
device warranties and supporting info, including:
- purchase date
- warranty terms
- tech support contact numbers and websites

WHAT OTHER TECH INFORMATION DO YOU NEED TO TRACK?

If you manage to collect and safeguard all of the above information, you’ll be ahead of the game. Still, there are myriad other things to track.

Passwords

You already know that having a strong password is essential. Still, to stay on the cutting edge, read The 2025 Hive Systems comprehensive Are Your Passwords in the Green.

Infographic courtesy of Hive Systems at www.hivesystems.com/password

If you ever need to recover files, sync devices, or re-set your accounts after something goes awry, make doubly sure you’ve captured:

logins for all of your cloud accounts, like iCloud, Dropbox, OneDrive, Google Drive, Evernote
recovery email and backup options
password manager login — If one password or passphrase is the key to your digital kingdom, keep it safe! You may think you’ll remember it forever, but if you get bonked on the head by an Acme anvil or a piano dropped from a high window, you (or your family) will be glad that you recorded it.

2-Factor Identification Backup Codes and Recovery options

Text-based 2-factor identification is quickly being replaced by 2FA backup codes. Take note of your:

backup codes for services with two-factor authentication
authenticator app information like which app you’re using, and which phone or tablet it’s installed on

in case you ever lose your phone or switch devices and can no longer have ad hoc codes automatically sent to your phone.

Backup Configurations

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve asked a client, “Do you back your phone up to the cloud?” or “How do you back up your computer?” and received a blank, panicked stare. First, be sure you are backing things up and then document:

which devices are being backed up?
how often?
to where — the cloud? an external hard drive? network-attached storage (NAS)?
instructions for restoring from backup

If you’ve never had a crash or data loss, you’re lucky. Preserve your luck and back up!

Digital Legacy Information

Think about who should have access to your accounts if you’re incapacitated or unavailable. Then make a plan to provide instructions and logins for your personal accounts. You can put much of this information in your digital password manager and arrange for an emergency or legacy contact. Beyond that, review:

How to Create Your Apple & Google Legacy Contacts

Paper Doll Explains Digital Social Legacy Account Management

Is your tech information captured and organized?

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Archive for ‘Paper Organizing’ Category

How to Track, Lower, or Cancel Your Recurring Subscription-Based Bills

WHAT IS A SUBSCRIPTION MANAGER?

CONSIDERATIONS FOR CHOOSING A SUBSCRIPTION TRACKER

Price

Security

Features and Functions

Ease of Use

DO I REALLY NEED AN APP TO TRACK, LOWER OR CANCEL SUBSCRIPTION COSTS?

How to DIY Your Subscription Management

Can you pause subscriptions instead of canceling them?

YOUR SUBSCRIPTION MANAGEMENT OPTIONS

Billshark

Rocket Money

Hiatus

Trim

Albert

Pocketguard

Track My Subs

Pocketsmith

Quicken Simplifi

Monarch Money

Credit Card Subscription Management

Paper Doll Post:

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How to Stay Organized When Travel Goes Off the Rails (or Runway)

ORGANIZED TRAVEL IN A DISORGANIZED ERA

Trapped on the Tarmac

The Chaos of Air Travel

Pre-Trip Prep: The New Administrative Burden of Travel

Book Your Travel Arrangements — With Padding

Log all of your travel information

Confirm everything a week in advance

Check in when prompted

What happens if you don’t check in?

ORGANIZING YOUR TRAVEL INFORMATION

The New Tech Landscape of Travel: Apps You Can’t Escape

Organize in Case Your Tech Fails

And Don’t Forget the Telephone

WHEN TRAVEL GOES SIDEWAYS: KNOW YOUR RIGHTS

Paper Doll Post:

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Why the Humble Bankers Box is Still the MVP of Office Organization

THE HISTORY OF THE BANKERS BOX

THE BENEFITS OF BANKERS BOXES

Bankers Boxes are tougher than they look.

Bankers Boxes come flat-packed and are easy to assemble.

Bankers Boxes are manufactured without glue and require no tape for assembly.

Bankers Boxes are relatively inexpensive.

MYTHS AND SURPRISING TRUTHS ABOUT BANKERS BOXES

Myth #1: You can’t use hanging folders with Bankers Boxes

Myth #2: Bankers Boxes can’t keep piles of papers or bound materials from falling over.

Myth #3: Bankers Boxes are ugly

Myth #4: Bankers Boxes aren’t so great for the environment

Myth #5: Re-stacking Bankers Boxes is a pain

BANKERS BOX ISN’T THE ONLY GAME IN TOWN, BUT…

DO YOU REALLY NEED TO KEEP ALL THAT PAPER?

Paper Doll Post:

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Paper Doll Plays Ice Cream Man: Cool Organizing and Productivity Treats for Hot Days

MOD PROTECT

Time Timer MOD + Protect Case Bunny

Time Timer MOD + Protect — Tread

ZIP NOTES & DISPENSERS

Zip Notes

Zip Notes Executive Dispenser

Zip Notes Administrator Dispenser

Zip Notes Manual Dispenser

ANXIETY BOOKSHELF

What Is the Anxiety Bookshelf?

Isn’t This Just Clutter?

Paper Doll Post:

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Digital Disaster Prep: How to Organize Your Tech Info Before You Need It

MONGO AND A TALE OF TWO PRINTERS