I need your help...again. ;-) I have been trying to find the best way to keep paper clutter under control...mostly from the mail. Let me list the catagories which I find puzzling again and again (I have been going through it this morning). Daily, I take the mail straight away to the trashcan and start dumping, but always end up trying to organize the mass of stuff left behind. Also...has anyone been successful at stopping the credit card apps from flowing? I have made phone calls and emailed these companies. It seems they stop for awhile and then sneak back in.
Bills... these don't get filed right away after payment
FL stuff...bills, insurance,taxes, HOA (this is the easiest to keep together)
stock/ investment stuff
medical info
insurance info
coupons
stuff for Mr. K to look at
I know there is more, but my brain is fried. Give me your best hints at keeping this under control.
Thank you. I need a nap now.
Well Miss Kitty, I have become an expert at paper organization because of the business I am in otherwise soemthing important gets lost in the black hole. Also, if too much paper clutter is around, it totally throws off my chi, and if that happens, anyone around me is in trouble.
What you need:
Manilla folders
Labeler
Legal or letter Sized Hard cover folders with 3-4 clips in them
(Mr. K I am sure has at work)
Stack file
Shredder
Binders
File cabinet
Hole puncher
Bills:
Make a manilla folder for each bill that you save and label it.
(I am assuming you save credit card statements. I personally toss recurring bills like cable that are the same amount monthly.)
As soon as they come in, file them. I make a new file yearly and they are saved in a legal sized box in storgage with tax documents.
Fl Stuff goes in a Legal sized folder which is divided up into sections, HOA etc.
Stock/Investment: If your adviser did not give you a binder, you have to make your own. Most statements already come with binder holes in them
File them as they come in in date order. Make separate sections for purchases and sales.
Insurance Info- Manilla Folders or in my case, I use one of the hard folders
separate into categories if necessary.
Coupons: Get yourself a coupon organizer and keep in your kitchen.
Stuff for Mr. K- where does he sit in the morning? That determines what you need. Its important to teach him to look at it, then file whatever needs to be filed asap. Depending on his habits will determine what you use. Put it in a place he will notice asap. MAN-go sits in the kitchen in the morning, so I bought a pretty Franciscan basket from Southern Living, and I put his papers in that. He now looks at it, and then removes, and puts it in his weird filing system. (I don't ask :roll: , but at least it is out of the basket and I know he looked at it. I also bought him a pretty tabletop organizer for keys, etc. and some of his stuff goes in there sometimes.
You can not stop the credit card offers. I think there should be a law against mailing them, especially with someones name already filled out on it.
Those go in a separate file. Then once a week, they get SHREDDED.
I do not throw them in the garbage. Too much risk for identity fraud.
CC co. has created an additional job for me.
There are also a lot of bills that are recurring including HOA that I use autopay for. This eliminates saving those bills, and you only need to reference your Bank or credit card statement at tax time. I use one credit card for some autopay, then just pay that credit off monthly as I authorized the Credit card holder to pay the full amount via debit from checking. No postage, writing checks, no saving paper.
My bill is in the mail. ;-)
