Clearing old paperwork and clutter...

Wren

Wren

Well-known Member
Location
Europe
Do you clear your paperwork regularly ? Bank statement/credit card statements, letters, receipts and paid invoices etc ?

I go through mine a couple of times a year, shredding most things over six months old, I also check out cupboards and drawers getting rid of anything old or unused
 

I keep 2 months of anything paper only. Most everything including bank statements I get online now so that cuts out a ton of paper. I pay credit cards online and balance checkbook online. If there is a problem I print it on paper for follow up. Once resolved it is shredded. I do check food pantry weekly and throw away anything that is not good. Same for fridge. Do it twice a week on trash pickup days.
 
I clear paperwork once a year when I prepare my income tax file for the accountant, I keep a rolling seven-year file of paid bills, canceled checks, bank statements, etc...

Clearing unused items from cupboards, closets, drawers, etc... is an ongoing chore that seems to happen during very brief waves of energy.

I need to clear another round of stuff from the kitchen cabinets. I did it a couple of years ago and kept what I thought were the bare essentials. I find that as I cook less and less the list of bare essentials is becoming shorter, it won't be long before all I need is a menu and a telephone! :):playful::eek:nthego:
 

I usually do paperwork once a month
I have folders for my bank/credit card statements,keep track what I buy with credit card,shred the statements after a yr or so
My income tax forms I keep for 5 yrs then shred
I look at my shredding bx,depending how much is in there, shred couple times /yr
I also go thru kitchen cabinets,throw out items that have expired
 
Wren said:
Do you clear your paperwork regularly ? Bank statement/credit card statements, letters, receipts and paid invoices etc ?

I go through mine a couple of times a year, shredding most things over six months old, I also check out cupboards and drawers getting rid of anything old or unused
Click to expand...

This is one of the many things I do for my clients...just one more way to keep things organized. I check the expiration dates on pantry good and refrigerator and freezer items, discarding anything that's expired.

You have NO IDEA how long people keep some things!!!!! :eek:mg:
 
I don't keep anything in the way of paper. Everything is online. I just keep year end statements for taxes which are e-filed and then out they go.

I do have to get into my closet; I know I've got stuff shoved way in back that has to go.
 
It depends on what it is. For example, most financial records are kept throughout the year. After income taxes have been filed, we shred everything not needed to support our tax returns and file the rest in one of seven small plastic tubs labeled with the tax year. We also shred everything from the oldest tub and recycle it (i.e., we keep seven years of tax records). Vehicle maintenance records are kept for as long as we own that particular vehicle. Significant medical records are kept for life. And so it goes . . .
 
wren i did just that few dys ago -was looking for reciept -then i found so many bank statements that i could have wall papered a room with it Arrrgh -so killing 2 birds with one stone as they say -I threw out all the old paper works - and into the garden burner it all went -----------then lit the bonnie up -then hubby tells me new neighbor has her washing out OMG
wind was blowing a gale all over her line --so quickly dragged the burner over and away ' crumbs I thought havnt even spoke to the new woman yet 'talk about bad impressions lol.
 
The trouble is, no matter how energetically I clear, the paperwork reproductive gods are against me. In fact, the more stuff I get rid of, the faster it reproduces.

The most heavily used waste basket I've ever seen is the one by my building's wall of mailboxes. Everybody just grabs their mail, mostly junk, and tosses it into the "waste" slot instantly.
 
Sunny said:
The most heavily used waste basket I've ever seen is the one by my building's wall of mailboxes. Everybody just grabs their mail, mostly junk, and tosses it into the "waste" slot instantly.
Click to expand...

Happens everyday at my apartment complex too. You think by 2019 that things would have changed somehow.
 
Most of our junk mail is generated by our local major daily newspaper. On my mail man's advice, I called the paper and asked them to stop all of it. They did. (I do not subscribe to the paper either). This includes flyers with cents-off coupons which I don't use anyway.
 
Wren said:
Do you clear your paperwork regularly ? Bank statement/credit card statements, letters, receipts and paid invoices etc ?

I go through mine a couple of times a year, shredding most things over six months old, I also check out cupboards and drawers getting rid of anything old or unused
Click to expand...

I put credit card receipts, statements and bills in a 'basket' on my kitchen counter. When the basket starts to get full, I put the paperwork in file folders in my file cabinet for future reference. When the credit card bills come in, I check off the items and throw out the receipts. Usually around tax time, my files get cleared of unnecessary papers, I normally shred them.

The cabinets I usually only do a couple of times a year like you Wren, when the stuff starts sliding out onto the floor, I know it's time. The tupperware containers and lids are the worst violators.
 
I used to keep all that stuff, and one day it dawned on me that I would never need the gas bill from 20 years ago. Now, I keep very little - tax returns for 7 years, and closing documents for buying/selling houses for the same. Monthly bills go in the trash as I pay them.
 
My wife is scanning to a usb, some paperwork that she has. We're trying not to have a lot of heavy boxes of paperwork to move to Colorado. We only have a few photo albums now. I've scanned all of the rest of our loose photos to usb's.
 
Wren said:
Do you clear your paperwork regularly ? Bank statement/credit card statements, letters, receipts and paid invoices etc ?

I go through mine a couple of times a year, shredding most things over six months old, I also check out cupboards and drawers getting rid of anything old or unused
Click to expand...

Six months is too early for some records you should keep especially income tax.
 
I hate all of you people, you sound so organized and uncluttered! I don't keep a lot of knicknacks and stuff like that and my pantry and refrigerator items are mostly always current. I have very few pots/pans/dishes that I seldom use. BUT, but, but, I am a paper and photo ''bag lady''. I have a four drawer cabinet brimming full of folders of every title. I have tax returns from 56 years ago, statements from 20 years ago, receipts for furniture and other purchases, you get the idea. I always ask myself why do I keep it all, I never look at them, and my reply is "I might need the info someday". Especially since the bank and others only keep a limited number of years of online records. I really think that subconsciously I feel that when I throw anything out I am throwing part of my life/past away. I also used to keep diaries (for the same reason) but no longer do but write the info on calendars, which I've kept for a couple of decades. Since I'm older now I don't always remember what month/year something important happened and have to look back through my many folders (when I bought something, when I gave some gift, when I gave money to family, special occasions etc). I could probably write a list and throw away the backup, that should get rid of most of the paperwork, but it will be a very time consuming chore. I'll need to get control of my ''mental'' problem and start throwing stuff out so that my daughter won't inherit my ''paper mountains" when I die.
 

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