My hubby has been home this week, and we've been enjoying a mix of fun neighborhood and city activities, lazing about at home, and catching up with some admin/organizational projects.
Since el bambino was born, I had definitely let the paperwork slide, and I am pleased to say that I am now all caught up! Did you know that 80% of what is filed away is never accessed again? There is certainly paperwork that needs to be filed away for tax/legal/accounting purposes, but for the most part we tend to over-estimate certain information's importance OR our need/inclination to look it up again.
We don't own a filing cabinet. This is partly because the ones I really like are pretty pricey and we haven't felt like splurging on one. But it's also because the two plastic portable file boxes we have are more than adequate and easy to tote around. One is my work/business file box, which holds all my organizing and book publicity related materials, and the other is our household file box.
The latter is home to the following categories: Financial; Medical; Transport; Household (utilities, insurance, etc); Immigration (MOST homes don't need this hanging folder!); Work (originals of reference letters, etc) and IRS.
Important documents like birth certificates, social security cards, passports, are kept in a fireproof safe.
Finally, for paperwork and information that I would consider 'actionable' items and need to be accessed quickly, I keep in pretty green folders on a desktop organizer. These include the following folders: To Do; To File; Bills To Pay; To Discuss; and whatever other current projects I have going on. Right now, since we are hoping to purchase our first home, I have a couple of folders called Condo Search, and Home Decor Ideas.
When the mail comes in I go through it asap, recycling envelopes and junk mail, grouping identity risk papers near the shredder for when I have some time to shred, and filing the rest in the appropriate desktop folders.
I love erasable folder labels, especially for my desktop folders. I can keep using the same pretty folders even when my current projects change up.
It's also good to have a box or bin that can contain your 'To Read' items (magazines, catalogs, etc).
If you're confused about what paperwork should be kept and for how long, I have a rough guide that I'd be happy to send you. Leave me a comment with your email address. However, I am not an accountant or lawyer, so with paperwork that could have tax or legal implications, it's always best to check in with a professional in that field!
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2 comments:
I admit I am a bit of a packrat when it comes to electronic and furniture warranties. I hesitate to throw them out if I still own the items. Is there a rule of thumb for purging the warranties, instructions, etc?
Keep the warranty while it still remains in effect, otherwise throw it out.
And keep the instructions while you still have the product (unless they're super easy and you're sure you won't want to reference them.)
I keep a little accordion file folder with all my instruction manuals.
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