Managing my paper clutter is the second step of my New Year’s declaration to take
control. Paid bills, medical records, tax returns, legal documents, warranties and oversized collections of reference materials are just some of the items that litter my study and closets and threaten to take over the rest of my house. It’s time to do something about it!
I am a paper hoarder. I hate deciding what to keep and what to discard. I’m worried that once I get rid of papers, I’ll find out I should have kept something for legal purposes or proof of payment. I did a little research on the IRS website and found two good articles pertaining to tax records file retention.
“Tips for Managing Your Tax Records” gives advice for people who work for someone else. Expect to keep your returns and associated documents for at least three years. For small business owners and the self-employed, “How Long Should I Keep Records?” lists longer file retention times, offering questions to determine the category that best fits your situation.
If you pay your bills online, you may decide you don’t need to keep paper copies any more. Many companies retain your statements and payment records on their websites for easy reference. I now keep only the last month or two of my revolving account paper statements, such as credit cards and utilities. I’m working toward a paperless system for my revolving account bills. Doing so would cut way back on the amount of paper clutter entering my home.
For long-term loans and yearly renewals, I keep the most recent policies and contracts on file until they expire. I save payment booklets, receipts and non-negotiable titles until the items are paid in full, and I’ve received the originals or final statements reflecting zero balances. I keep a year’s worth of paid medical bills and benefits statements on file. If a medical condition and insurance claim carries over into the next year, I extend the file retention to two years.
So what to do with all the rest of the clutter that comes through the house via the mail? When any member of the family brings in the mail, it first goes into a basket near the front door. I deal with it when I get home and have time to sort through it. Referring back to my favorite clutter control guru, Lorie Marrero, I use her plan of “ART” to sort my mail. (You can read Lorie’s full article here, “Facing the Giant Mail Pile”, for great tips on tackling the paper clutter entering your front door.)
Lorie suggests dividing your mail or paper piles into three stacks – those items that need action taken, items you are saving for reference purposes only, and trash. An action item could be a bill to pay, correspondence in need of a reply or an appointment to set. Reference items might be magazines, warranties, school records, paid bills and receipts you want to save. Trash could consist of junk mail, catalogs and other items you have read or paper copies of bills you don’t need. I divide my trash stack into two piles – shred and garbage. I shred any items containing personal information. Everything else goes straight to the trash can.
Here is the result of my little sorting session last weekend.
A large pile of papers to shred, a larger pile of trash to toss and two very small piles of papers to take action on and file for reference. No wonder I’m drowning in clutter!
For important papers you will keep indefinitely – certificates of birth, death, marriage, divorce, etc – file them in a fire safe box, available at your local department or office supply store. That and a designated space for reference materials will keep your office in good order.
Slowly but surely I’m reclaiming my home office space. While conducting this clutter cleanup session, I found that most of my paper piles were actually trash and only a small 
percentage were things I needed to save. Wish me luck, and I hope you can make peace with your clutter!
Tina, I find myself with paper piles on my desk at home too. I was at a seminar once and what always goes through my head but I ignore sometimes is the saying “touch it once”. I like your putting them into the three piles idea and deal with it later!
I’ve moved almost exclusively to scanned images. Years ago, i purchased a two-sided, high speed scanner (now available from Fujitsu, Epson, Canon, and Neat Receipts). I pretty much scan everything and then shred it. Everything is then OCR’d (converted to text) and can be searched.
I needed this reminder of three stacks to put all the papers in. I am a paper hoarder too. Instead of trash though, I recycle papers by taking them to the school. Schools receive money for all the recycled papers. Of course, once shredded, those papers can be recycled too! Thanks Tina S!
Tina – great article… here is what works for me after years of different methods, i buy a 24 divided file box around the first of the year. I label the first 12 slots by month for monthly bills. The next 3 label for medical: prescriptions, insurance & doctors bills, medical info (test results, etc). After that I have financial agreements, important documents, warantys, big purchase receipts. I also have one for bank statements, and one for paystubs. Then i have several for my farm receipts. When tax time comes everything is there. When tax time is over, I move the warantys and such that carry over to the new file for the next year and put the entire past year folder in a plastic tote in the attic for record keeping. When I sort my mail, it goes in the appropriate file as I pay the bill – then I am done. I have one more initial pile than you for recycle paper such as newpapers, magazines, envelopes.