Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Decluttering Files

My decluttering job this month was my files. I finally got that job done. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.

I wanted to share this information on Should You Keep That Paper. They talk about an everyday file to keep the current years papers and I wanted to say I've been doing this for several years now and it really works for me. By having just the current years paperwork in this file I can find things so much easier and the files are never too full.

They also have a PDF file about what is a vital paper. According to them experts don't agree on how long to keep something, so you have to make that decision based on your personal situation and they talk about what to think about.

I keep everything for a year and then I only keep those things that I think might be needed like tax records. I probably keep too much, but as long as I have room I'd rather be safe than sorry.

I use to have a big 4 drawer file cabinet and I switched to a 2 draw one next to my desk with the top draw being the current year and the bottom draw being up to 5 years more or less. Then I have file boxes for the old stuff archives, I keep those in my closet. I rarely ever need to get into those.

I don't keep records on my computer because I feel like they are vulnerable to other people reading them or to loss from a computer crash. I'm old school I like paper copies.

In addition to these files I have a receipt file for the current year. It is an according file Jan. to Dec. At the end of the year I empty it out and keep anything important. I often go back and check the cost of things and I always know where to find a receipt.











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