Paperwork, how to store,what to keep?

crockpot

Hi

I need to sort my paperwork out, I seem to have so much of it.

I have several drawers full and files on the bookcase but it is just growing!

What do I need to keep and what can I throw?

Thanks

tattoed_bum

hi , i keep wage slips ,
p60's,
anything to do with benefits payments ,
birth certificates ,marriage certificates ,
any recent bank statements ,
insurance policy's,
tv licence,


i dont keep utility statements
phone bills,
any bank statement over a year old ,
old tv licence,

i store mine mse style in old envolopes and i write on each one what is in there ,
i have important docs like marriage and birth certificates in a metal fire proof box

please remember to shred everything that has any of your details on it .

suki1964

I have a cheapo concertina box file from tesco that stores, this years utilities, rates, tv bills etc. All the car papers - logs, MOTs, insurance. Benefits agency paperwork. Tax Office (two years) receipts for most things other then food, pension paperwork (call that toilet paper nowdays) and insurance policies. Birth and marriage certificates and passports are kept in a floor safe.

I found paperport is a nice easy piece of software for scanning older stuff |(we had to keep lots more paperwork when hubby self employed)- hard copy kept in safe

flossyblog

I have seven A4 ring binders, which hold all relevant informtion as follows:-

House folder - starting with the purchase of house, all legal documents, information and history regarding the area. Mortgage type paperwork. work carried out on the house, ie, new boiler, carpets, repairs etc we have complete history of our house.

Work folder - salary slips, all correspondence and info from work. tax forms, and union

Bills folder - all bills, and receipts paid regarding the house, car and bank statements.

Healthcare folder - All bills/letters from dentist, doctor etc.

Insurance folder - life and house insurances

Household and Holidays - This is all receipts and paperwork regarding any purchases we have made that are not fixtures ie furniture, electrical, soft furnishings,crockery etc. Manuals are kept seperately as they are really bulky. I write the date of purchase on each manual. As we travel quite alot we also keep all paperwork for holidays, ie receipts, tickets and itineries. Not holiday memorablia though that goes in a box.

Current folder - all bills and paperwork for the current year and gets transferred yearly to their relavant folders. This also holds appointment cards, stamps and envelopes, gift tokens/vouchers.

I keep everything mainly as a way of recording history.

mary43

flossyblog - like that idea. I've a two draw filing cabinet in serious need of re-organising..........that seems a good way to do it. :j

Errata

Keep last five years of everything filed and to hand, bundle everyting else up and stash it in the loft.

flossyblog

Hello mary43, thank you. By the way have you had a moment to organise yours yet?

mary43

flossy - no chance I'm afraid. Came out of hospital 3 weeks ago (sodium levels in my blood too low) so been feeling really tired and just want to do, well, not a lot. On top of that this week I've had dreadful diarrohea (not sure I spelt that right) so thats fair wore me out. But I've printed off your list ready for when I feel a bit fitter.

I keep a lot of things for 'history' purposes as much as anything. Doing my family history and thought it added a bit of interest in years to come when someone looks back at house prices, mortgage rates etc. furniture costs etc. and there's always that bit of memoribilia that I can't throw out........lol

Some stuff relating to finance is stacked away in box files in a cupboard out of the way but handy if needed, the rest is stuffed into my poor filing cabinet, groaning under the weight of it all.
But sort it I will:j

flossyblog

mary - sorry to hear your not feeling too good. It's incredibly difficult to muster up energy and enthusiam when you are feeling less than healthy.

My OH had a large novelty tin which stands a metre high, in which he put all his paperwork. Amazingly enough he has every single salary slip and bank statement from the time he started working (over 20 years ago).

oystercatcher

I have payslips , bills and bankslips from the last 28 years! It's interesting looking back and seeing how little we managed on and how tiny the bills seemed, although at the time they seemed huge!
It takes a huge amount of storage to keep it all and is very untidy.
I've never been able to understand why people can't produce bank statements and payslips etc to prove their earnings but maybe they are the tidy minimalist people that I yearn to be!

Oystercatcher

myrnahaz

My insurance man said I can shred old insurance documents (NOT ongoing things like life assurance, just those ones that are renewed every year like house contents, buildings, travel & car insurance etc.) It saves loads of space as each document is usually as thick as a magazine. Make sure you keep any old ones that have an unresolved claim still pending.
Since the bank-charge reclaiming thing, I've realised that I should keep 6 years worth of bank statements, I shred any that are older than that.
I pay my TV licence by DD, and I have about 5 years worth that are still sealed up in their envelopes - I hope there's actually a valid licence among them, lol!