How to organize household paperwork on your phone

The simplest way to organize household paperwork is to scan each paper when it arrives, file it in one of a few broad folders, and let search do the rest. With ScanMojo, free on iPhone and Android with no ads, every scan's text is recognized on your phone, so you can pull up last year's insurance letter or a warranty by typing a word that's on it.

  1. 1

    Make three broad folders

    In Files, tap New Folder and create a few wide ones, such as Money, Home and Health. Broad folders are easier to keep up than a drawer of narrow ones, and the free app includes three of your own.

  2. 2

    Scan each paper as it arrives

    Tap Scan and hold the phone over the page. Letters with several pages go into one document. ScanMojo names it from the text on the first page, so it shows up as something like "Explanation of Benefits" rather than a date.

  3. 3

    File it

    Choose Move to Folder on the document and pick where it belongs. Rename it if the suggested name isn't clear.

  4. 4

    Put cards in IDs

    Choose ID under the viewfinder for a driver's license or insurance card. ScanMojo takes the front and back and keeps them in the built-in IDs folder, which can be locked with your face or fingerprint.

  5. 5

    Search instead of digging

    When you need something, type any word from it, like the insurer's name, "warranty" or a policy year. Matching documents come up whatever folder they're in.

What's worth scanning

Start with the papers you'd hate to hunt for: insurance cards and plan documents, explanation-of-benefits letters, medical bills and visit summaries, lease or mortgage papers, car title and registration, warranties and purchase receipts, and anything with a deadline on it.

In the fall, open enrollment and insurance renewal letters pile up. Scanning them as they come means you can compare this year's plan with last year's on your phone instead of searching the kitchen counter.

Should you keep the paper?

A scan is a handy working copy, but some originals still matter: birth and marriage certificates, passports, car titles, deeds and anything with a raised seal. Keep those somewhere safe and use the scan for everyday reference. For how long to keep tax and financial records, check with your tax preparer or the agency that issued them.

Kept on your phone, not in someone's cloud

Household papers carry account numbers, health details and signatures. ScanMojo finds the page, cleans it up and reads its text on your phone, and there's no account, so your scans aren't stored on our servers. A document never leaves your phone unless you share it or turn on sync to your own iCloud Drive or Google Drive. Your phone's own backups follow your backup settings.

Questions

Is it free to organize paperwork with ScanMojo?

Yes. Scanning, text recognition, search, three folders of your own, the IDs and Passports folders, and PDF export are free, with no ads, no watermark and no scan limit. ScanMojo Pro adds more folders and extra tools.

Can I find a document if I don't remember what I named it?

Yes. Search looks through the text of every page, not just names, so any word printed on the paper will find it.

Can I scan papers I already have as photos or PDFs?

Yes. Import them from your photos or files, and they're cleaned up and made searchable like a new scan.

How do I send a document to my insurer or landlord?

Open it and tap Share to send it as a PDF by email or message, or save it to your files to upload on a website.

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