O/T -how to start organizing my paperwork
OK, i have a confession I am probably one of the worlds worst disorganized women when it comes to paperwork. It is EVERYWHERE- and that's with me signing up for paperless as much as I can.
My mom is giving me her big filing cabinet so I can put stuff there-but there are papers on the microwave, drawers, bags, boxes, smaller filing boxes.
I just don't know where to get started-It's overwhelming. I want to gather every single last piece of paper and light a match to it (oh and the messy game room also lol).
Where or HOW do you even start??? Any expert organizers here?
I'm thinking that once I get the cabinet(it's big) over it will probably take me a few weeks of slowly tackling things to get it in folders.
What's your rule on how long you keep things?
Utility bills, school stuff, medical stuff, etc.
I know to keep your tax returns and important stuff like the divorce decree, birth certificates, etc...but what about all the other crap?
I feel so overwhelmed w/it I want to cry. You know how they say when you're doing it all SOMETHIGN will give, for me it's been paperwork...mountains of it.
As best I can I actually throw away junk mail...but inevitably these were papers at one point deemed important.
I work, I do homework w/kids, I cook homemad meals, shop, clean, appointments, work some more...that is my weakness. would it really be that bad if I just did a bonfire with everythign??? The thought of sorting it out makes me go into convulsions and panic attacks!!!! Maybe I should smoke one like back in younger days or drink a few and then get started that way I'm more inclined to throw more crap away and be very relaxed huh? HELP ME!!!! I'm drowning in a sea of paper shit!!!
I will then move on to cleaning junk drawers lol
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Call a shredding company. If
Call a shredding company. If it's been in piles chances are you don't need it. Take out birth certificates, court papers (if any) immunization records, passports, tax records, insurance papers, deeds, car titles and shred everything else. Don't even look at it. Just shred it.
^^^This or if you have a
^^^This or if you have a fireplace, have a bonfire
I tried to figure out why I was keeping old utility bills, health insurance statements, bank statements, the house and car insurance policies, I realized nothing more than HABIT. ALL of this information is available online once I created an account! I do download the bank statements and save them to my hard drive but everything else, pffft. Even credit card statements are available for up to one year and if I'm going to dispute something it's going to be within a month or two.
The one thing you might find the filing cabinet useful for is if you have investments, pensions, 401ks, things like that. You want to hang onto those statements and they can generate a lot of paper (but a lot of that info. is becoming available online, too). The tax stuff may take up too much space in the safe so you may need to use the filing cabinet for that as well.
Like Unfreakingreal said, save birth certificates, diplomas or degrees, marriage certificates, house deed, car titles, life insurance policies, etc., all that stuff that you REALLY need and is a HUGE PITA to replace (or in the case of certificates of deposit, stocks or bonds, maybe impossible). Get yourself a little fireproof safe, load it up and keep it locked at all times (simple reason, if there IS a fire and the safe takes a tumble you want it to stay CLOSED), go paperless on any and everything else you can, discontinue as much junk mail as you can, and keep it clear going forward by dealing with paper immediately: It either gets paid and put to one side until the check clears (then discard), filed in the safe, filed in the filing cabinet or recycled.
Computerized software and
Computerized software and scanning
Mail comes in, you scan it. And it's archived and searchable.
Neat desk is one I have been looking at. I have stacks and stacks around too so other than that which I am currently looking into as an option.
I use a big filing cabinet.
I use a big filing cabinet. Or I should say "used" to use (I still haven't moved it to the new house, so I have piles everywhere, too). I save every single receipt for things purchased (in case it needs to be sent back, or in the event of a fire). I save utility bills for three years, all tax documents forever, birth/death certificates, divorce stuff, pet stuff, medical, dental, mortgage, insurance, vehicles. Heck, I've even got one filled with stickers!
Getting it organized is really pretty simple once you've got the cabinet. Finding the time to file it is another question. Start with piles, like AA suggested, to get it all sorted initially. Then file once a week, like bookish does.
Should I rent a shredder or
Should I rent a shredder or buy one??? And where can you rent one??
All these tips are good ones!! I'm just petrified of even starting...omg!
My philosophy is you keep
My philosophy is you keep only the last copy of your bill statements, you most recent investment statements, 7yrs of tax returns, your mortgage/home deed, car titles, birth certificate, marriage license, diplomas and your Custody/Visitation/Support order and all related cout docs, journals, etc....
Everything else goes.
If you have accumulated piles of records then you call a shredding company. Many have $5/box days where they park their truck in a central location and you bring your stuff to them and they shred it. We called them when we were relocating in Sept 2011. $100 and they brought the truck to our house and shredded 10 years of crap my wife insisted on keeping. They will shred spiral bound note books and planners, folders, etc.... It is pretty cool to watch.
As for a home shredder, if you already have piles of paper a home shredder will likely not do you much good. It takes forever to shred piles of paper in a home shredder and you will likely burn it up if you even try to address the piles.
Once you have purged using a shredding service then a home shredder is a good ideal if in fact you can shred each day as necessary and not allow it all to pile up again.
I can assure you that you do not need old bills of any kind, you don't need ancient tax returns (older than 7yrs), you do not need most of the piles of paper crap that most of us accumulate. It just turns in to a musty aggrivating mess that haunts you.
Get rid of it.
IMHO of course.
Good luck.