Project Simplify: Paper Clutter
Posted in Cruel WorldLife @ The GrandSimplifying
When the second Project Simplify hotspot was revealed to be paper clutter, my first thought was “Meh. Too easy.” After a quick look around the main floor, I was almost disappointed with our lack of paper clutter. How was this supposed to keep me busy all week? I figured I’d deal with the mail basket by the door, the short stack of papers on the dining room table, and the addresses and notes on the refrigerator and be done with it all before the kids finished breakfast.
But then I remembered that we sometimes put papers that need to be filed in a pile on Jason’s desk. And, oh good grief, suffice to say I was wrong: as it turns out, we have no shortage of paper clutter. Plus, Ian has been helping Jason with the filing, and while I’m thankful that he wants to help, I think the system needs a bit of tweaking.
This project will be ongoing for a while: Jason had saved every bank statement, bill, pay stub, and insurance EOB since at least 2004. To his great credit, the first several years’ papers were neatly filed (the folder for the Sprint bills was three inches thick). For the last year or so, though, papers started getting stashed and stuffed, just to get them out of the way. We did a bit of research on what you actually do need to keep (relatively little) and then started shredding.
We filled up a huge box of papers to be shredded, and Simon was gleeful at getting to help. We turned out six garbage bags plus a giant tote all full of shredded paper before I busted the shredder. We’re probably about halfway through, so I will continue to sort and recycle until we can get a new shredder.
In the meantime, we have a new and improved system for dealing with incoming mail. I am ever so slightly disappointed that we didn’t get done with the paper clutter so that we could have a clean slate for next week’s project, but we have made so much progress, and I can see how good it will be when it’s all done. So that’s a big something (that doesn’t take up any space at all).
Comments
Kerri
I am actually kind of/sort of doing Project Simplify, too! Although I haven’t mentioned it on my blog or anywhere, because then I would have to accountable. Oops. Now I’ve outed myself.
Just in case you are interested—every year, local company Paper Tiger Shredding holds a free shred at the Union Bank at 27th and Pine Lake (ish—it’s basically west of South Pointe). You can bring your boatloads of shreddable stuff and they do it all for you. This year’s date is April 16 (right around tax day; convenient). I think the times are 9-noon.
Although some people may not want to keep all their paper for an entire year, it is a handy thing to know if you have a bunch of paper to be shredded and can wait until April to dump it.
Or if you’ve burned out your shredder and don’t have a new one yet.
Lindsey
As someone who usually says “oh, well, this looks important I guess” and tosses it into one of my storage bins, what DO you need to keep? I honestly have no idea. I’m hoping “bank statements from seven years ago” isn’t on the list, because that’s a no-go. It would also require remembering exactly where I lived. Crap.
Renae
@ Kerri: You remain my decluttering hero. And thanks for the shredding tip; I will plan on going April 16. Believe it or not, I actually got bored shredding.
I’ll plan to have my new shredder April 17 and keep up after that!
@ Lindsey: Big bold disclaimer: I am not an accountant; I am not a lawyer. That said, it seems that you really only need to keep your taxes and the things that you also need to document for your taxes (W-2s, student loan interest statements, receipts for things you are itemizing/claiming, and the like) for 5 years. We will also keep insurance policies and the most recent declarations page (but not all the individual EOBs). I’m going with the idea that if you can find it online (bills; bank statements) or can reasonably get it (claim history), then it goes.