Paper clutter

[emoflamingo]

You could always get a banker's box and do it that way. I used to keep everything in a fire safe by company, but my safe was too full so I ditched it and I don't keep them anymore. I keep totals in a spreadsheet to reflect on.

[sierramist03]

We also have a filing cabinet but I do pretty much everything online so once I pay the bill if gets shredded. I keep emails with confirmations. I do have a safe box with the important stuff

[Deleted]

We used to have a filing cabinet but it was so much work and hard to find stuff.

Instead we went to those plastic file boxes. We label by year and then have one for the important stuff that we may need some day (land titles, marriage certificate etc.). H then built a wall of shelves inside our office closet and we just stack there. We keep ten at a time..because after 10 years you can pretty much start over according to the tax man.

I have a ton of paperwork for the farm. Stuff I need actual hard copies of down the line. It works for us. The house stuff like the phone bill that don't matter after they're paid I keep labeled and sorted in a file folder and then pitch after a year.

[mrs.jacinthe]

I scan and shred. The only thing I keep paper copies of is the truly important stuff - marriage and birth certificates, titles, etc.

[Deleted]

I do think the first step in managing the paper stream is to cut it to the bones before it even comes in the house. Do you really NEED all that in paper form? All of my bills arrive electronically. I do print paper copies of the months we have a renter, because some of it is deductible on our taxes, but other than that, there is no reason to keep a utility bill in paper form IMO.

Have you ever read Smart Couples Finish Rich? I read it years ago, and I'd recommend it solely because of the filing system instructions. He goes through what you need to keep, what you don't, and how to organize it all. I file everything I do receive in paper in a filing drawer in my desk with hanging folders. I do a cleanup of everything that comes in paper format throughout the year at tax time and can generally whittle it down to one manila folder for the year, which then goes to a filing box from Staples in the attic. There are some things, like home improvement contracts, etc., that I will have to keep until we sell the house for calculating basis, so those junk up my drawer, and I haven't figured out a solution for that yet.

[thewop]

We don't keep hardly any paper TBH. 90% of our bills are online. Taxes, certificates, permits, warranty info, etc. sure, but other than that it's shredded/burned. We have an old school metal file cabinet in the basement for more important things, and marriage and birth certificates go in the fire proof safe. *shrug*

[pitterwoo]

I don't keep bills like that for utilities or cc. I have my bank statements electronically now and sometimes I download the statement, but sometimes I don't bother.

We have a 3 drawer file cabinet which has tax stuff, account information, marriage cert, voter ID, insurance, repairs, instruction manuals, remodeling info and articles saved for future reference. I basically try to file everything that I want to keep instead of keeping it shoved in a drawer somewhere.

Just this week I created a file for letters and cards that we want to look at again. I also started a file for memorial service stuff for deceased family/close friends. Things like obits, programs, DVD photo slideshow, things that were all tucked in random places in the house. I feel great being able to put my hands on this sentimental stuff easily.

Next step is probably to scan some things and/or get a firesafe box for some of the important stuff.

If I didn't have the file cabinet, and I'll be honest I don't like the look of it, I would have file boxes stored somewhere. I just don't think any other baskets or cubbies would cut it for me. I come from a file-happy family though. My Dad has 3 full size file cabinets in his home office. He has records of everything ever.

[Deleted]

Jan 4, 2013 12:34:57 GMT -5 @callmefia said:

I pay most my bills at work and take the stack home in my purse and shove it in a pile.

OK, so toss them in the trash at work once they are paid. Don't take them home!

I tossed regular bills and only kept the last year. I keep receipts for major items or things wit warranties and I have a lot of folders for medical stuff. I keep those receipts since I use a flex spend account. I can probably toss those after a year though. My company sends out big open enrollment packages each year, should I toss those?

I personally wouldn't throw away anything relating to taxes without keeping at least a scanned copy, that includes proof of FSA spending. I never keep the open enrollment packages once I'm signed up and have the confirmation of elections page saved. I do have separate folders for warranties/big ticket items in the attic, but I go through it at least once a year to purge anything we no longer own, expired warranties, etc.

What about records for car insurance? Do you keep bills and paperwork for old policies?

Everything from my insurance company is electronic and I can sign in the see the old documents on their web site. I wouldn't keep those bills any more than I would keep utility bills.

[FoxInFiji]

I hear you paper clutter is my biggest issue as well. But it's more the short term stuff I have piling up like magazines I want to read, rip out any articles I like, and then toss. The long term stuff I have easily organized in our filing cabinets. Yes we have two. One I asked for as a birthday present when I was in college LOL. It's a heavy duty commercial one with 4 drawers that my mom got at a sale the local government puts on every year. They sell old office furniture and it's usually in pretty good shape. No it's not pretty but I needed it to keep and organize all of my old textbooks and important paperwork from college classes...I needed it for my PE test earlier this year. Then we also inherited a nicer wood one from DH's grandma when she passed away last year. You just can't beat the ease of sorting and organizing with hanging folders. I can find exactly what I want quickly and efficiently. Every once and a while I also go through each folder and toss stuff I no longer need. Just pick a drawer and work on it for a few days. Right now they are both just sitting out in our finished basement but eventually we're going to build a bunch of storage along a super wide hallway in the basement with sliding doors. One side will have shelving for storage bins and the other will have a high hanging bar and space below for both of the the filing cabinets. So they will be hidden behind a door.

Probably my biggest non-needed thing I keep are our home receipts. I'm anal about keeping every single HD/Menard's/online receipt that has anything to do with home remodeling or landscaping. I enter them into a simple spreadsheet and then file them into manila folders organized by each month inside expanding hanging folders. I know exactly what every single project cost including any tool or screw we needed to buy. We do a lot of returning of things we didn't use and Menard's now requires you to have the receipt or you don't get the full refund. It also makes comparing prices, confirming where we bought something, or knowing how much of something we needed for a previous project easy. Plus if we ever do go to sell the house we can deduct almost all of these costs from whatever profit we make on the house when it comes to taxes...those increased capitol gains taxes already take a huge chunk out of any profit you hope to make.

[heygrey]

I don't keep anything I could access elsewhere. Even if I got a paper bill in the mail, I could access that info in my account online.

I have one half size bankers box with tax stuff and then a fire safe box with birth certificates, immigration documents, things that prove my existence.