Drowning in paperwork

splodger_seedswapper

i'm afraid i just chuck everything into a cardboard box - it's not really filing - but at least i know where it is if i need it

Stephen_Leak

I keep it simple.

I have 3 box files (ASDA Smart Price, so very MSE), 1 for current income & income tax, current & savings accounts, 1 for current bills (only because both won't fit into one box), and 1 for closed accounts, etc.

Every January, I shred the 7 year old stuff, so I always have 6 years and the current one.

It works for me.

Possession

Mostly on the windowsill until it falls onto the floor. Then I consider putting it into the documents box file which mostly contains documents about 10 years out of date, but think better of it and put it back on the windowsill. Some people might say it's things like this which make my house need decluttering.

Pink.

Hi Citygirl,

As your thread has dropped down the Old Style board I've added it to our main thread on organising paperwork.

Pink

GreyQueen

Mmmm, my observations in the Real World (strange place, frankly) are that the majority of people struggle to manage their paperwork and that people who are on top of this are a small minority. I'm having a catch-up hour with my personal admin tomorrow.

One thing I would encourage people to think about is proofs of income (wage slips, benefit letters, tax credit notifications etc) if you are/ were/ might be applying/have applied/have recieved a means-tested benefit (and that included tax credits). You will need original documents for this, but they will accept printouts of online accounts these days. I've seen people in terrible straits trying to claim Housing Benefit because they'd binned their bank statements and payslips.

I've seen all sorts in my working life inc DWP chasing a pensioner over an alleged overpayment of income support more than a decade earlier. It's very hard to make a case if you haven't got the paperwork!

There's also a case for keeping payslips. There is so much churn within companies now that it can be very hard to prove that you ever worked for X firm. A few years on there can easily be no one there who worked at the same time as yourself. Or the business itself may have ceased to exist..........

I'm about to turn some of my docs into scanned versions of themselves and store them on a removable drive, so I can keep them off-site in case of natural disasters at the homestead. Easier to evidence that I did actually own X, Y or Z appliance if I can produce the receipt even if the hardcopy has gone up in flames.

I sometimes archive stuff in sealed manilla envelopes, clearly labelled, so that I know what's inside, for fast retrieval or eventual de-junking.

Realistically speaking, a lot of stuff has a finite lifespan, such as paperwork for a car you no longer have, a pet which has passed away or an appliance which has met its maker. It helps to dejunk the files pertaining to these cases at the same time as they cease to become relevent. HTH.

Archer0710

I have had a busy day tidying, cleaning etc and still haven't found the motivation to deal with the ever growing pile of paper.

I have tried baby steps.....I create more mess than I sort.

Have tried filing it away weekly/ monthly and despite best intentions I have a pile of it. Well to be accurate, a laundry basket full!

So I have come to ask for help.

What do I need to keep?

So far I keep bank statements utility bills, all car paperwork, pet paperwork house stuff, guarantees receipts payslips. Actually if it's paper I keep it. The only thing I dispose if is the envelope it comes in.

I'd like to have everything on line but like the security blanket of paper. So how does everyone else manage?

I cannot be the only person who loses their calm image over paperwork?

I'd like to get down to

Flugelhorn

Count me in Archer0710 ... I just shove it in boxes and can't find anything I want when I need it. would love to be able to sort it properly.... actually anything really important I give to DH and he files it away very efficiently..

tattycath

I struggle with this too. My wonderful OH has fits of tidying-everything on the table gets stuffed in a carrier bag, then everything on the mantlepiece in another bag etc etc-it's not always paperwork either. He never labels the bags. We just end up with 4 or 5 carrier bags of 'stuff'. He never knows where his paperwork is either-it's a nightmare!!!

nearlyrich

The easiest thing is to buy a concertina file and label each compartment then deal with each piece of paper once. I open my mail next to my shredder and I have a clip for stuff I need to do something with, anything that can be filed is filed asap in the correct file..I have a filing cabinet rather than a concertina file. Then when you need to tax the car you are not wondering where the MOT is because it's in the file marked Car...I replace last years documents and shred the old one's as they come in.

flutterbyuk25

Ooh I'm a paperwork geek

I have 3 x accordian files (like these).

- One has all my day-to-day paperwork like CC info, bank stuff, passport, payslips etc.
- One has all the stuff related to my (rented) house like tenancy agreement, house ins, bills etc
- The third has random stuff like old payslips, tax stuff, pension stuff etc in it.

Each section in the file has a label so you know what is in it. I tend to have most of my bills online so there isn't much in them apart from the bumf you get when you open accounts etc.

When I get mail, I open it immediately. I put anything that needs filing on the stairs to be taken up to the files when I'm next going upstairs. Anything that needs to be dealt with goes in the kitchen on the fridge so it's a reminder.

I'm not an angel, and there are weeks when I'm so busy that the pile on the stairs grows. But I find this system works well for me.

I go through my files at the end of the year and dispose securely of any out of date paperwork. If I close an account I dispose of all paperwork apart from the final bill/letter confirming account closed and balance nil. (this goes in a section in the first file called 'closed accounts' :rotfl:)

HTH