Clearing Paper Clutter

We had boxes and boxes of old receipts, bills, insurance, and warranty information. I kept the boxes in my studio and I'd always look at them forlornly every time I walked in the room. They went back as far as 2006. It was time to purge.

I mentioned before that every few years (like I'm doing this year) I like to save all my receipts for a year. This gives me a snapshot on where the money is going.

It's a little inconvenient but once you get used to keeping them it gets easier. I tally the expenses monthly, and then add them all up at the end of the year.

These were boxes from 2006 to 2015, with one box serving as a time capsule for memorable saves from the 90s. Enough was enough. I caught Greg on a good day and I set him up with a little table so we could go through the boxes together.

Most of the stuff was unimportant. There were receipts in there for things we no longer owned. Cars we had sold, or carpeting for a house we no longer owned. Some of the stuff were contracts for former houses, one of which doesn't even exist anymore. It all had to go.

We went through the mountain of paper, waxing nostalgically over old rabies certificates for dogs who've passed away and Christmas cards. I found several IDs of myself, but back from when I was cute! It's no wonder I don't like to take photos IDs of myself anymore. I'll never get back hot university Maria. LOL!

The sentimental stuff we set aside, but receipts and paperwork for defunct property ended in the trash heap. It was liberating to trash so much of that old paper.

It really made us see what huge consumers we were. Back when we were working, income was truly disposable and we wasted it. Greg probably doesn't see it that way, but I do. There were receipts for things that in hindsight weren't worth the money. Makes me wish I could go back in time and tell myself not to buy that awful washing machine.

In the end, everything we wanted to save fit in one small box. It was an assortment of cards, diplomas, and a few receipts and warranty information for things we still owned. All of that will go in the filing cabinet.

The trash is waiting for a nice, windless day when we can burn everything at one time. There's too much sensitive information to simply leave in a landfill.

There are four things I recommend when sorting through old paperwork.

1. Choose a day when you're not feeling emotionally attached to stuff.
2. Separate each paper between trash, sentimental, and necessary.
3. Immediately put away your 'save pile' to the appropriate file folder.
4. Shred, burn, or make illegible any paperwork with sensitive and private information.

How about you? Do you have a pile of paperwork that needs to be purged? Do you keep your old photo IDs? I like to, just to see me age. :D

Out of curiosity, do you burn sensitive papers, shred them, or take a chance on the landfill?

Shopping at Amazon? Start Here.