Paper Organizing Tips
(With approval for reprint by Maggie, The Chicago Organizer paper organizing expert)
What paper documents are important? What should I keep? What can I throw away? These may be tough questions or, maybe not. When it comes to paper documents, the answer may be easier than you think.
Do you save every piece of paper that arrives in your home? Do you need to keep all of them? Or, can you safely and comfortably dispose of most of them? Maggie helps you clear out most of the paper that you have with a couple of key questions.
• What documents do you have than cannot be found elsewhere?
• What do you have that can be found online, or never looked at again?
What documents do you have that are difficult to be found elsewhere?
Most of us have some documents that are hard to replicate. Some of these are birth certificates, marriage certificates, death certificates, automobile titles, and other similar things that are not easily replaced. These originals should be kept in a physical safe or safe deposit box in a bank. In addition, you should keep a scanned copy on your computer so that you have an easily accessible copy when you need one.
What do you have that can be found online, or never looked at again?
If you really need something, almost everything can be found online these days. Because of this, you do not need to keep documents like insurance policies and payments, utility bills, bank statements, and credit card statements once you have reviewed them. Shred these documents and enjoy the new space.
And the Bank of America article link shown at the bottom of the page indicates storing many documents like tax returns that your Accountant might keep for you. So please always check with your Financial Advisor/Accountant/Lawyer about documents you think you need to keep that you actually do not if they are holding onto them for you electronically (or in hard copy format.)
https://bettermoneyhabits.bankofamerica.com/en/privacy-security/how-long-to-keep-documents-before-shredding
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