The KonMarie method

scotnan

Not made a lot of progress in the last few days, just the towels and bed linen but was pretty ruthless and now have much more space freed up as a result.


Thanks to whoever gave the tip about giving all unwanted towels to the vet, I'll look up the nearest one and next time I'm passing I'll hand them in.


As I still don't have the book yet, I'm still just winging most of this but so far it seems to be working. I'm learning just to tackle what I feel like as I don't want to start something half heartedly and then don't finish it.


I'm enjoying reading about everyone's progress


I found a couple of things when I pulled all towels out that are holiday related so popped them into my new 'holiday' drawer :rotfl: instead of just leaving them there or flinging them somewhere else.

emg

A few more categories done today. Gift wrap supplies, batteries, lightbulbs and cleaning products have all been corralled into smaller spaces and/or new homes. I still have some way to go but making my categories really specific (and small) seems to help me get going.

The thing about not needing to buy storage as the right thing is already in your house continues to freak me out everytime it happens. I had a really nice box that a cake slice came in, I have been hanging on but struggling to find anything to fit in it, I had almost resigned myself to throwing it out but today it presented itself as the perfect box to keep batteries in!

scotnan

whitesatin wrote: »

I have thanked the twenty or so pairs of knickers I've just chucked, for being of great service to me - where would we be without them, after all?

Oooooh damn!!!! I don't have the book so I didn't know that we had to thank our old knickers that were thrown out :rotfl: so now I suppose if I'm going to do this properly, I'm going to have to go outside to the wheelie bin, open the lid and just shout THANK YOU inside the bin and hope nobody sees or hears me :rotfl: I think I might wait till it's dark.

GreyQueen

Craftyscholar wrote: »

Thanks, GreyQueen.
:eek:
I am a bit paranoid, but have never kept more than approx. 1 year of bank statements. Still get paper ones though. I don't trust paperless (of course we can supply copies) banking.
Sorry to be a nuisance, but does the P45/P60 rule still apply after you have retired?

I'd keep them. Even a lifetime's worth won't take up much space and could be invaluable if you ever have to argue the toss with [STRIKE]minions of Satan[/STRIKE] ooops, meant HMRC, one of my dear friends works for them and is a Very Nice Person. Even if he is a tax man.........:p

My employer does e-payslips which you can print off. Most of my colleagues don't seem to bother but I do, and have them neatly filed. I also have a folder with my academic certificates and vocation qualification certificates in. Apart from my degree cert, which is a funny oversized thingy and lives in the sock drawer in its presentation tube.

In my most active filing system, which is one of those carryable metal boxes with hanging files, I have the most recent bills, rent account statements, payslips, bank statements. I probably spend all of 5 mins per month filing, it really is a minor part of my life. I also have a couple of envelopes in there, for specific kinds of receipts. An effective filing system runs itself with minimal imput from you.

The reason I'd say keep payslips/ contracts of employment, particularly if you're still of working age, is that you can get into some surreal situations such as not being able to prove you worked for XYZ Ltd, because you have no records, they have no records, and everyone who worked there with you is retired/ re-employed/ deceased/ living on a beach in Thailand with an exotic dancer.

I once had HMRC arguing that a company I worked for didin't even exist. This company had a multi-million waste disposal contract with one of the region's councils. It had dozens of bin lorries on the highway with it's name emblazoned all over them, but to some jobsworth in the tax office, they didn't even exist...........:mad:

penguine

I always throw out the year's payslips once the P60 for that year arrives. Is there any reason we should be keeping both?

greenbee

penguine wrote: »

You can also use it to remove previous residents of your home from mailing lists. I did this for the lady who used to live here and who passed away almost two years ago as we are still receiving catalogues addressed to her.

Thanks for this. I've just registered the previous residents for this. Sadly this won't stop their actual post coming here - they only put redirection on for 6 months, so I've had bank statements, pensions, credit cards, investments etc coming here. After 12 months I got bored and am now sending it all back - theirs as 'gone away' and names that are probably their kids (who moved out years ago apparently) as 'not known' (technically they aren't). I've had a few letters to 'the occupier' from some of the financial institutions asking for their address, and I'll respond to those for as long as I continue to have their new address kicking around. Eventually, however, I'm bound to lose it during the building works

I've just renewed my forwarding for a second year, as the odd thing is still turning up - some catalogues whose websites don't seem to allow me to change address (bet they would if I ordered something...) and a few other bits. I MUST try to find out how to contact one of my old pension providers - there is nothing on the material they send me.

GQ - we have e-payslips too. I don't print them off every month, I tend to have a blitz every few months (including when I do my tax return), but will definitely be doing this month as it's bonus time (plus my tax code has changed after my tax return) and next month (pay rise time for what it's worth), and then whenever I get the letter about my tax code changing due to my payrise... Some of my colleagues don't even appear to know where to get copies of their payslips from :cool: (I can only assume they are paid a LOT more than me, and aren't currently on self-assessment... I suspect they also don't claim tax back on their pension contributions - they will be higher-rate tax payers, and our scheme only deals with the first 20% for you). Like you, I don't chuck out paperwork. I sort it out the junk and envelopes when it arrives, file it when dealt with (this can take time ) and then periodically archive (at which point I check my archives and sometimes reorganise them).

GreyQueen

penguine wrote: »

I always throw out the year's payslips once the P60 for that year arrives. Is there any reason we should be keeping both?

No reason for anyone to keep anything which s/he doesn't want to keep. I like my payslips as records of my hours, hourly rate, local govt pension scheme contributions, proof of my union subscription, job title..........it's a personal foible. 12 sheets of paper a year plus another for the e-P.60 doesn't take up much space. You'd have to do a phenomenal amount of filing to get a stack the size of one hardcover book, and most of us probably store those at home.

In the past hour, I have pulled out the instructions for my digital watch, the one with the missing strap, as it needs to do a turn in place of an alarm clock. Took me about 30 seconds to pull that out of the warranty folder and to put it back again. When the watch eventually dies, its paperwork gets pulled and recycled.

I absolutely hate, loathe and detest flailing around looking for stuff. I'm naturally absent-minded, I have ME and am often brain-foggy, I have a small home without space for a dedicated 'office'. I like my paperwork organised so that I can get anything I have quickly and efficiently, and so that if I popped my clogs overnight, a relation could pick up the strands of my life with minimal hassles.

DawnW

scotnan wrote: »

Oooooh damn!!!! I don't have the book so I didn't know that we had to thank our old knickers that were thrown out :rotfl: so now I suppose if I'm going to do this properly, I'm going to have to go outside to the wheelie bin, open the lid and just shout THANK YOU inside the bin and hope nobody sees or hears me :rotfl: I think I might wait till it's dark.

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

jinny

Greenbee

The DWP do a pension tracing service
just ring your local pension office. They will send you details of your pension providers. Then you write to the private pension scheme providers.

somerandom

penguine wrote: »

I always throw out the year's payslips once the P60 for that year arrives. Is there any reason we should be keeping both?

That's what I do too.