I forgot - I did also buy a Palm handheld organizer and I love it to death. All my addresses, phone numbers, to-do lists and calendar are in there, and it backs-up to the computer in a second. I recommend one to anyone who is still using a Daytimer or such.

You are keeping too much paper - you need to get rid of the non-essential stuff that you are accumulating. There are short lists available outlining how long to keep each type of paper -- very few items needed to be stored forever.

For example, you don't need receipts for most purchases after your credit card bill for example. For a major appliance, staple the receipt to the instruction/warranty and file in a folder specifically devoted to appliance manuals.

With respect to tax deductions, I keep all the backup documentation for one year in an envelope marked with that year and toss when the period for the IRS audit has passed -- I believe it's 3 years from date of filing unless there is intentional fraud.

Anything essential like the deed to your house should be filed in a safe deposit box anyway along with other non-replaceable items.

My insurance papers are limited to one each year outlining the policy -- I don't see why that would create voluminous paperwork -- I simply have my policies for home, health and auto in one insurance folder and toss out the old when the new ones arrive.

I scan my credit card statements each month after entering the data into Quicken. I also scan other forms of paper which don't require original copies.

Brokerage statements don't have to be kept for an infinite period of time -- Check to see if they are correct and toss. At most, keep them until the next statement from your broker(s). The only document that needs to be retained for a long period of time would be the end of year statement that summarizes data for your tax form.

Paper clutter is just like any other form of clutter -- it's much easier to take a few minutes on an on-going basis to analyze whether you need and put it away.

I just have a file box with hanging files labeled for each type of item (mortgage, car payment, insurance, checking account, savings account, 401k, etc.)

When I get a piece of paper for any of those things in it goes (bills go in after they are paid)

Then it gets closed back up and slid back under the desk, all neat and tidy in one place.

It sounds like YOU NEED INFRASTRUCTURE!!

My favorite topic these days.

Get a good file cabinet--I personally think a file box can be too small, depending on your family. Go to a real office-supply store, and get one of their low-end (but not the lowest--you really do want a sturdy, easy-slide drawer) two-drawer cabinets just for your family's business.

You want one w/ FULL EXTENSION slides--I can't stress this enough. And you want to pay AT LEAST $130 for it--probably not more than $200, but NO LESS than $130. There truly is a huge difference in usability below that price point.

You can find some that are furniture-look (well, made of wood) at unfinished-furniture stores, but be very skeptical of their slide mechanisms--sometimes the mfrs skimp, and this is an area that is WORTH paying for.

Plus, I think since you're having trouble w/ putting stuff away, you need something that's EASY ACCESS. Drawers are MUCH less motion--1. open drawer w/ left hang, 2. stick stuff in w/ right, 3. shut drawer.

a file box you have to: 1. clear off top (if you're me); 2. pick up box in left hand; 3. carry it to a clear surface, and set it down; 4. open box; 5. put stuff in; 6. shut lid; 7. carry box back to where it goes, and put it there.

I have one section of the bottom drawer for "permanent" sorts of stuff--birth certificates, etc. Another section of the bottom drawer is for savings/investment accounts (we've worked at lots of diff. companies, so lots of different 401Ks etc), and bills.

The top drawer is "current projects in frequent use."

Create a hanging folder for each account, and stuff the newest stuff in the back. Then, when it gets full, throw out the stuff in the front.

I agree, you're probably filing too much. But MOSTLY your description sounds as though you don't have a proper PLACE to always put it.

So, I've found, esp. at work but also at home, that CREATING THE PLACE FIRST makes filing a snap. If I have to ALSO label the file folder, I give up.

I actually have 2 other pieces of my fiing infrastructure, I want to be honest. Lots of bills are small pieces of paper, and long before I got a filing cabinet, I special ordered an index-card file drawer that's 9x6 (Staples had it in their catalog; it was $18 or so); you can maybe make do w/ 5x8. That holds JUST bills. I got the 9x6 so I could fold a piece of paper in half, back when it was my only bill file. But if I didn't have so much stuff in my filing cabinet, I would just drop the bills in there.

I also have one of those fireproof boxes; it has all the stuff that's hard to replace, like stock certificates (just a few--it's a long story), birth certificates, deed to the house, etc. That's stashed down in the basement in a storage area. I can get it, but it isn't up and around. I don't need those things often at all, so that works for me.

Personally, I vote that you start w/ the filing cabinet. Esp. since you're starting right now, and you NEED the larger size for some of that stuff. Maybe you can add the fireproof box later, when you're underway.

Once you've set up your infrastructure, you can start saying, "new car insurance policy--I don't need to keep the old one" and file accordingly, tossing the old one before you put the new one in.

You will probably have to stop and weed out the darwer every now and then as it gets too full, but that's not a sign of failure--that's how it SHOULD work. You keep something until you don't need it anymore. (for example, I keep about a year's worth of utility bills, credit card bills, etc--you could probably toss them as soon as you pay them, but I feel better keeping them).

But I don't actually toss an old one every time I put a new one in. i could--that would be sensible, and not too hard. But putting stuff in the drawer is such a stumbling block for me that I don't want to add anything to the process.

So, when the drawer gets stuffed, I toss stuff. It takes me about 15 minutes now and then.

You can indeed pay someone to help you set up an organizing system for paper--professional organizers are often very good at that--they get a lot of work in that area, I think, esp. from offices.

but they could also help you sort through what youv'e got, for your home and they may have lists for the sorts of stuff you should keep.

There is also a book that might help--I haven't actually read it, but I see it get recommended a lot: Taming the Paper Tiger at Home by Barbara Hemphill. It's been around long enough that it's surely in the library, or you can buy it used easily.

There are others, of course; that's just the one I can think of.

Also, when you're setting up the files, don't try to make too MANY of them. I vote for setting up broad categories, so that when you go to put something away, there will be a category it fits in.

I have a box-bottom hanging folder labeled "Home." In there go several regular manila folders, one labeled "refinance search"--it has all the stuff I did while searching for refininancing, PLUS all the stuff of the final agreement--I didn't bother relabeling it. I pulled SOME of the research out and tossed it once we finalized, but I kept just enough so that if I have to do it again, I can see what I did the first time.

Also in "Home" is a folder w/ the maps to our house; a folder w/ notes about redoing the kitchen; a folder labeled "repairs, etc." where I stick receipts, or where I stick business cards I've picked up for contractors I *might* use one day.

Sometimes I just stick stuff loose in the hanging folder bcs it doesn't fit in one of the preexisting manila folders. Then, evenually, I'll accumulate enough of them on one topic, and I'll go to the trouble of making a manila folder. Or, not. Maybe I'll only ever have one piece of paper on a certain topic. It will float forever in the hanging folder.

there's a manilla folder labeled "insurance." And one labeled "history of the bldg" w/ stuff the previous owners gave us when they sold to us, and we'd like to pass on. I don't use that--though actually last summer, I did--but if I put it somewhere ELSE, it would get lost. It's "paper about the house," so it goes in the greater "HOME" folder.

I have one labeled "Jury duty, SSN, voting, etc." There are usually one-piece-of-paper subjects; they're all governmental or bureaucratic. If I ever need one (like to prove that I did TOO do jury duty in the last year), I'm wiling to leaf through all 8 of them to find it--it doesn't take that long. Less time, actually, than it would take to make a folder for "jury duty," etc.

See what I mean about some broad categories?

Here is a link that might be useful: Taming the Paper Tiger

Thank you so much for the instructions. I knew you guys would be up to the task.

I'm going to print this out when I'm ready and go to it. Gaahh! I even have folders and papers for the dog. Sigh. He'll need his own file I guess.

:-)

we have a guinea pig file

life will seem SO much easier when you have a place to put that stuff, and you can then SAFELY "forget" where you put it.

Good luck!

Gina, I have files for each of my dogs (separate) that hold vet records, vaccination records, etc, and I have files on the small pets too that hold care instructions, etc so that they're all handy if anyone else needs to take care of the pets. So don't feel bad about files for the dog...Odo's part of the family! :-)

I second the file cabinet idea...and you'll probably have to try to clear one *entire day* to set up your basic infrastructure. Expensive filing cabinets are nice, but trust me, if you can't afford the expensive one, spend $50 and get a less expensive one. I've been using the same filing cabinet since high school, and it cost me around $35 - it works, and that's what matters. Don't get "stuck" on price if it's a sticking point for you (no offense intended, TS). ;-)

Good luck - paper is hard for everyone, but a few minutes every day sure helps keep it in order!

I agree, a cheap one is better than NO one. But a $130 one is WAY better than a cheap one. Seriously. I upgraded from a $35 one to a $140 one, and I'm amazed at how much easier it is to store stuff in it.

If you can afford the splurge, do it! Give something else up if you can; it's definitely worth it.

Even a file BOX would be a good start. Or a cardboard box, if you had to. You can transfer it to an easier-to-use piece of furniture when you can spring for it.

I second the "buy a real filing cabinet" suggestion. The kind with full extension drawers.

You can get them inexpensively at a used office furniture place, or even garage sales ... but they hold a lot more than the other kind, and they last longer.

If they are that ugly office grey, spray paint them.

I still think that you should consider why you need pieces of paper before relegating them to a storage system. Every piece of paper or other potential piece of clutter should earn a place in your house because once deposited, it takes additional effort and time to get rid of.

For example, why keep paper records of your dog's instructions when the same information is more easily updated and accessible on a computer file. If you actually need to provide a hard copy for someone, it is infinitely easier to find and print on the computer rather than rummaging through files.

Why keep receipts for things that you are not going to return and don't have warranties? At most keep them in a temporary spot and toss as soon as the monthly credit card bill comes.

If you truly don't want to have paper kill you -- don't keep anything that you don't need.

I used to have a LARGE crammed filing cabinet and now have a small portable box with the stuff I might need to grab in the event of a disaster (passport etc.) and a small desk file drawer that has minimal crucial files for which originals needed to be retained -- tax receipts, brokerage accounts and insurance policies, appliance manuals with receipts attached).

I don't keep anythng unless there is a justification for keeping it AND it is more easily kept as an original or an original is necessary for legal or accounting purposes.

definitely, she needs to weed out.

But the thing is, she says right now she's got it all over the place. Most of the stuff she mentioned, she DOES need a place for. So first, get a place to put it. Then decide whether it deserves to go there.

Here's her list: bills, paid bills, credit card info, birth certificates, auto insurance and other info, life insurance paperwork, deed to the house, bank statements, those ever-lovin #$%^&* receipts!!!, etc., etc.

I agree, ditch as many receipts as possible. You shouldn't, I think, keep recepts as "receipts." You keep them as something else:
warranty info (staple them to the inside cover of the booklet, and stick it into a big folder labeled "appliances" or maybe "kitchen appliances" and "electronics")
 tax info (stick them in a folder that corrals all the tax info for the year)
 house maintenance & finances (put them in the "house" file, so you can find the plumber again, and tell your friend what he charged you to change the faucet)
 car maintenance (we keep receipts for repairs--to prove it was done, since it could be a safety issue, but mostly to be able to find the vendor again)

If they don't fit in some greater category like that, you don't keep them.

MAYBE you keep receipts if you're trying to track your spending patterns. Then, they're not receipts, they're "entries in the spreadsheet," and you transfer the info, and toss the paper.

MOST of them can go. I keep receipts for stuff I want to return in my wallet. Then i don't have to hunt for it (just for the stuff). Actually, I put ALL receipts in my wallet, because who knows immediately if you need or want to return stuff? Then, when my wallet gets full, now and then, I go through it and TOSS every receipt, unless I know I need it. I don't move them to a file drawer (unless they're from the plumber, or tax related; those get filed)--I toss them. Today is one of those "purge the wallet" days.

Credit-card statements are really just receipts.

But insurance policies, birth certificates, deed to the house, etc., need a home. And she hasn't got one yet.

Since Gina's used to dropping papers in scattered "someplace"'s, she might get basket to set next to the filing cabinet, and deal w/ it later all at once. But I will say from my OWN experience that I'm better off saying as I open the mail, "do I need to keep it?" and either tossing or filing right away.

Be sure you've got a shredder easy to access, so you can easily toss stuff w/ confidential info on it. Or, you *can* tear the papers, being sure to rip through the account numbers, and put the pieces in separate trash cans.

I think Gina needs to make the handling of paper as streamlined and easy as possible. Because she has to fight the lure of just stuffing it in her handbook.

Personally, I don't like to keep stuff on the computer. Those little disks have to be stored somewhere, and they're actually harder to store than a single piece of paper. Please don't tell me to keep them on my hard drive--I've had six hard-drive wipeouts over the years, and I've lost stuff bcs I didn't have a hard copy. Oh, I suppose a single back-up disk wouldn't take that much space, but that's adding a chore that just somehow never gets done.

Face it, if I dont 'have time to stick it in my easily-opened, well organized and labeled drawer, am I going to have time to 1) fire up the computer; 2) load the scanner program; 3) do the two-step scanning process; 4) store the file in the place I want it, inventing a name for it I will recognize? I'd rather just stick it in the drawer.

Sure, I might have to toss it later, when I don't need it anymore. But that's just life.

The other reason is, I have directions to the house that *I* have written on the computer, and I have paperwork other people have given me. I want to kee them TOGETHER, and scanning stuff in to store it on the computer it way too much work--plus, I probably need the original.

Not actually on subject per se but I have a very large capacity external hard drive on whch I back up EVERYTHING on my computer every week. For really important stuff (i.e. Quicken data), I back up to the external drive every time I use. The external hard drive is about the size of two packs of cards -- I couldn't agree more with Talley that backing up on CD's or Zip drives only creates more clutter and makes it difficult to find things. My external hard drive mirrors my computer and it has saved my ass on several occasions -- when my hard drive died (as they all must alas at the worst possible time) and when I upgraded -- much easier to plug the external into the new computer and have all the data copied onto the new internal.

I am with Talley on the receipts -- they are in my wallet and then purged or stashed in the applicable VERY LIMITED number of folders if it is truly something that must be retained.

However, I think crap accumulates in direct proportion to the amount of space that is allocated for it because it is easier to not deal with something by hiding it away.

I question whether any household truly needs a full size file cabinet with two large drawers (or even four).

Having cleaned out my parents very neat but incredibly crammed house, I would really urge people to rethink why they think they need to retain all this stuff -- eventually it will become an enormous burden to either yourself (if you need to move) or your children (if they have to sort through all the stuff to try to get at the important stuff).

Hmmm, why do I generate so much paper? I have to think on that. My side business mail comes to my home. I can keep that separate but some of those activities are on credit card receipts. I think I started hoarding receipts when I started to have a lot of work and business-related write-offs. I keep them in fear of someday getting audited I guess. DH and I between us have many different bank statements that come in, of course, every month. We've done a couple rounds of re-financing and that paperwork alone could fill a cabinet. I guess it's the multiple accounts, assets, businesses, associations, and just daily _stuff_.

Be sure to retain ALL receipts related to Home Improvement. This is not the same as Home Maintenance and Upkeep. When you sell your house, if you sell it for more than $500k more than you paid for it ($250k for single person), then you have to pay taxes on the difference. But, if you've spent money improving your house, you also subtract that from your selling price. But, you've got to have those receipts. And with housing prices escalating in so many areas of the country, this could easily affect a lot of people.

. I think I started hoarding receipts when I started to have a lot of work and business-related write-offs. I keep them in fear of someday getting audited I guess.

Aha! An object lesson for one of my points.

If those receipts are documentation for tax returns, you *do* keep them, but you keep them where you can find them--they are not receipts anymore, but "tax info," so they go in the "tax info for 2004" file immediately. And they stay there.

But if they're NOT related to taxes, or warranties, or Home Improvement. (I keep home *maintenance* receipts too, just bcs I might need that plumber again, or want to know how much he charged for something).

but those receipts go in their new categories.

I have plastic file cabinets with lids. They look like the standard storage boxes, but they are filing boxes. I like them because they are PORTABLE and are not a fixture. They have side bars that handle the Pentaflex folders which hold the file folders. I can set it up on a desk and then put it out of site when I'm finished.

I also keep a file for WARRANTY RECORDS
and HOUSEHOLD MAINTENANCE (that way you can see who did what, WHEN and the cost and you have a handy reference to call them again if needed). I even have a QVC file. Sometimes you have to return something and the receipt is there!

Go thru your papers....one pile for banks, one pile for CCards, auto, mortgage, insurance, warranties, maintenance, subscriptions, miscellaneous, dentist, prescriptions, veternary, etc. Use whatever title you need!

THEN sort out those piles. Throw away what you don't need or want to keep. If you want to keep something, put HOLD TILL (and date) on a file folder.

Just go thru a process of reduction, pile, reduction, file!

Even if you just go thru the pile ONE TIME, and then tackle the rest of it later, at least you've made the FIRST step.

Put all new statements, etc. in a pile IN THE SAME PlACE that come in. At least once a week, go thru that pile and play file clerk! It makes a difference if you do it consistently.

I also have a file for certain receipts I do keep for a while in case I need them later. Walmart, H.Depot....any garden plant has a YEAR warranty, so I keep receipts for those kind sof things. And I have used them within a year, when a plant didn't make it, so saving them was worth it to me. Once in awhile, I'll go thru the folder, and trash ones that are old or not needed.

Good Luck!

I'm planning to get this setup done next weekend. I want it organized and usable before next year.

On a good note - I gave a away all my paperback books this weekend to an appreciative reader - yay! I didn't want to throw them away because - well I hate throwing away books. I did throw away any that were so old they had yellowed to the point of no return.

I love to own books, but I've run out of room so I think I'm going to actually get a library card for the first time in my adult life.

And - my condo association is organizing to have a charity send a truck once in awhile to pick up old clothing, furniture, etc. So I'm getting a clothing box together.

Isn't it funny--Junelynn likes file boxes instead of drawers, BECAUSE she can carry them around.

I prefer drawers, and don't like file boxes, because I don't WANT to carry them around!

Thank goodness they make both of them, huh?

I love to own books, but I've run out of room so I think I'm going to actually get a library card for the first time in my adult life.
Gina, my family has run out of room for the books they own, too. The hard part is getting us all--but my DH most of all--to admit that.
I'd get a library card--well, I've got one, so I guess I mean I'd USE my library card--more, except that I'd have to organize my time so I could return those silly books, LOL! When I was a kid, my family struggled w/ that; the librarians used to joke that they were gonna name the new wing after us!

How neat that your condo ir oganizing the charity pickup--that's a really cool thing!

My paper problems relate to junk mail, magazines and catalogs! In one week, as many as 20 catalogs can pile up, and I like to thumb through them, so tend to hang on to them forever. Every 6 months or so I go on a decluttering binge and get rid of them, but lately it is so bad that I have put a waste basket in the garage, next to the mail slot. ALL junk mail and non-essential catalogs never make it into the house.

As to paid receipts - I do all of my bill paying online, so no need to keep those receipts. If I need something from the credit card company or bank later, I can just request it. For others, I scan them and save an e copy of them on my computer.

Lynne

I have a paper problem, too, as it seems we all do. I open the mail, and am amazed at how much ends up in recycle. But I pay the bills, write the check number on it, and file it. I generally go thru the files once a year and throw out everything over a year old. Mostly the utility bills. I have organized the filing to include files for all the utility bills, dog, doctors, home repairs, receipts, and instruction books. Like someone mentioned earlier, I staple the receipt for the item to the manual, then there is no question as to when I bought it. Iron, washer, heater, fans, every electrical small appliance I have, even telephones are there, all with the receipt stapled to the manual. I've been using a paper tray to store my paid bills, whatever needs filing, and empty it weekly, filing all the paper, at the same time. If I don't get it done on a weekly basis, it's all there for me when I have time. I store my unpaid bills, according to when they need to be paid, in a business card holder, it's small enough to hold them, and keep them from getting scattered all over. The first problem I had to address was where to locate the filing cabinet, where to put the unpaid bills, and where to store the file of unfiled bills. Once I had that all figured out, I was on my way to organization. I usually put on some music, get the filing done, and try to enjoy myself at the same time. Seems to make the work go faster, and less of a chore. Take some time to think about how you want your filing chores to work, and you'll come up with a plan that works for you. Good luck.