Organizing, Decluttering, and Taming The Paper Tiger

[TheWickerFan]

My other great passion in life, aside from horror, is organizing, decluttering, and keeping the daily paper flow at bay. I truly enjoy it and it has saved untold hours of hunting and searching for things, given me loads of room ( I can actually park the cars in the garage), and generally made life easier.

Most people I talk to would rather have invasive root canal than do any organizing or decluttering (especially paperwork). How do you guys feel about this?

[ferretchucker]

I'm semi organised. I think I have a mid-way point which I rarely cross. For instance, my desktop on my PC will probably get about half-way filled with unnecessary shortcuts before I clear it. My bedroom will get to a fairly messy state but then I'll do a big clean and attempt to organise it.

When it comes to my studies, again, I have my faults. I often leave work to within the last two days of it being due in, but then I always make sure it is done before the deadline, even if it means staying up until the early hours. I think it's very important to keep on top of things but at the same time I think my slightly relaxed approach doesn't allow any OCD to develop.

[ChronoGrl]

I'm not organized at all. I should marry someone like you.

[The Ugly Duchess]

I keep most of my paperwork, DVD's, Compact discs and my collectibles very organized. I can usually put my hand right on anything I want.

Sometimes I let mail or papers pile up but I then just stop and get rid of the clutter.

My desk in my bedroom ( not my desk in my office) is where clutter plies up. But I try to get it clean as soon as I can since my large desk calendar shows all of my appointments and meetings. If it piles up there then I am lost and may miss a meeting or appointment.

All of my collectibles are kept on excell schedules. My DVD's for instance are broken down by movies , TV & documentary. The movies are further broken by purchased DVD's, DVD's transferred from tapes or recorded off of TV and also VHS. I do the same for all of my collections. Helps with backup for insurance.

All collectibles have appropriate shelves, lockers or bookcases. All papers have appropriate files in my desk or file cabinets.

I love to be organized but occasionally I get "lazy" then I have to spend a lot of time getting reorganized again.

In the long run it's worth it.

I see peoples desks at home or at the office and I wonder how they ever find anything. Sometimes it looks like an explosion has occured.

But for me, orgination is the goal.

[TheWickerFan]

@Ferret - I know what you mean about OCD; I don't drive myself insane keeping on top of every detail all the time. I just have a system for making sure things don't pile up to the point where finding things becomes a chore.

@Chrono - My husband's disorganized too. He admitted it from the start and was more than happy to let me take over the bookkeeping/paperwork/general maintenance.

@Duchess - Sounds like my house.:)

[ferretchucker]

I'm not organized at all. I should marry someone like you.

I'll live with you as the little brother you never wanted :D

[nightmare_of _death]

I'm pretty organized most of the time. I admit I am messy a lot of the time as well, heck I got the messiest desk award in grade school. I can't stand clutter.
I went to see some family out of state last October,and had to stay at my grandmas, I had considered staying and seeing if I could find work there, cause I can't here, and while I was there I instantly changed my mind. My grandma isnt the cleanest person around, in fact she's probably the most opposite. I would of started cleaning her house, and I wanted to while I was there, but couldn't caused I knew she wouldn't like it.

I try to keep things together all the time, paperwork is a little difficult, since I'm still living at home mom helps me with any paperwork I need completed,doing it all myself just rattles me, but all my books,cds,dvds, etc I keep organized the best I can, considering I have to live in the living room. yes I moved to my dads to find a job in town ( at my moms we live in the middle of nowhere with no car, and very little transportation.) Well about a week after moving in with my dad I find out he's moving so I have to move back to moms, and the basement is a no go cause of all the flooding and its unfinished, and upstairs theres not enough bedrooms. So considering my situation and space I think I do pretty good, and I like cleaning.......most of the time, I would even clean other peoples houses if given a good time, and ways to get there. I just don't want to work as a housekeeper in a hotel again. ( bad experience...if you really want to know PM me and I'll tell,but be ready for a long story.)

[newb]

yeah.....I'm pretty much a slob

[cheebacheeba]

I like to keep a clean kitchen?
As in, if I have something to cook I'll get pissed off if there's clutter, dirty dishes and the like...so yeah I'll keep that fairly neat.

My desk at work? Cluttered but in an organised way...I need to refer to a lot of information in my job so there's 2 folders open at all times and like...the walls are covered in various texts and extensions and the like.

[roshiq]

I'm highly disorganized!:o Sometimes my father doesn't wants to come to my single room roof top apartment due to the mess that I somehow unintentionally maintain all the time. Lately I'm having problem with my DVD collection. DVDs are everywhere...#$@#%#$%!!! Even my room at the office building of our factory premise is sometime looks like a messy store room to me!:confused:

[TheWickerFan]

@Nightmare - I don't mind helping people clean their houses, but I wouldn't want to do it as a profession. I've heard way too many horror stories about hotel maids and women who've worked for a company like Merry Maids.

@Cheeba - I'm the same way about the kitchen and the office. The kitchen has enough room taken up by canister sets and small appliances without having to contend with dirty dishes; and at my desk, I need papers OUT where I can find them, not filed. I'm very particular about what actually ends up in a file cabinet. I could go on for hours about organizing paper.:o

@Roshiq - A disorganized DVD collection?? If I lived nearby, I'd totally come to your house and get it organized and displayed.:D

[TheWickerFan]

At this time of year (tax time) I concentrate a lot on paper; by far, the most challenging and soul-destroying type of clutter. How long do you keep certain types of papers? Do you keep a certain amount of years or everything? Do you keep just important papers such as tax documents or receipts for every purchase including a bag of chips? I always appreciate tips on how to control this chronic headache.

[FreddyMyers]

Stuff like movies, book, and music i dont even have to look to get what i want. Other than that it looks like my apt has been throwing up mail and papers for quite some time now. As long as the important stuff is organized....right.

[Fearonsarms]

I am very disorganized and messy I'm afraid but on the subject of keeping paperwork-I got a nasty shock recently when I had an argument with a utility company who had been overcharging me. Trust me you need to keep ALL your receipts for bills even from years ago because it is just your word against theirs otherwise. They claimed I was in small arrears from 2 years ago (though funny how they didnt tell me then but are making a big deal of it now) unfortunately I only have receipts up to 18months ago (as I thought I didnt need really old receipts-I was wrong) so I'm in for a bit of a fight unfortunately. The system is in favour of utlility companies and you are guilty until you can prove you are innocent. So I would recommend being neat and organized but keep all your bill receipts you really do need them as proofs of payment.

[TheWickerFan]

@Freddy - Unlike books and movies, paper is often unsolicited. I have to sort mail right over the trash can or a pile will form in no time.

@Fears - Can you access your bank information? They should have records of your cancelled checks dating back 4 years.

[Fearonsarms]

Unfortunately these payments were made by cash not through a bank. But that is a good idea for people if you can get utility bills paid through your bank (which unfortunately I can't) then I strongly recommend that you do that cos like wickerfan says then the bank will have all the records. The annoying thing is that the utility company themselves claim they only have records of the last ten payments I have made so through a solicitor we have demanded a backlog of all my payments to see what this "arrears" is all about. Point is in my case where I have to pay in cash I suggest you keep ALL receipts. But if you don't want to keep receipts then you have to use a bank. You never know what will happen a couple of years down the line and you need to keep a record of your housekeeping paperwork.

[The Ugly Duchess]

At this time of year (tax time) I concentrate a lot on paper; by far, the most challenging and soul-destroying type of clutter. How long do you keep certain types of papers? Do you keep a certain amount of years or everything? Do you keep just important papers such as tax documents or receipts for every purchase including a bag of chips? I always appreciate tips on how to control this chronic headache.

My important papers I keep in manilla folders in my desk drawer, labeled, for a quick reference. Real important are kept in a safe deposit box.

Old records including my tax clients are kept in small storage boxes that are stored in my enclosed garage. Never use it for my car. I keep my records for about five years, my clients for 7 years after which they will be destroyed unless notified.

Only receipts that can be used to support a tax deduction need be kept. Like medical receipts, tax receipts, receipts for business expenses and so forth. Also unreimbursed employee expenses as well.

I usually keep some of utility bills for about a year and a half, that way I can review them for trends as well as to use for budget purposes. If you have a home office then it would be wise to keep them in your tax files.

I also like to keep some of my magazines like Aviation History, Films of the Golden Age, Classic Images and Cat Fancy. I store them in these plastic containers in various sizes I get from Office Depot.

I also have the bad habit of wanting to keep everything I get my hands on. Occasionally I just make up my mind and clean house. I had about 500 National Geographics. I kept about 40 of the best and donated the rest.

I like to keep everything organized.

Well, that's about it.

Any other questions, Wicker, let me know.

The Duchess

[TheWickerFan]

You answered an important question already; how long to keep tax documents. Seven years is the answer I hear the most frequently, and as you're a CPA, I'm using that number for certain.

[Elvis_Christ]

The annoying thing is that the utility company themselves claim they only have records of the last ten payments I have made

If you were just speaking to an operator over the phone that would be all they'd have access to. But they will have a record of it that just needs to be dug out. Good luck anyways utility companies are a pain in the ass to deal with.

[Fearonsarms]

Thanks you are right it probably was just an operator I spoke to- I've had to request info of all the payments I've made for the last 2 years. So hopefully I'll be able to get this sorted when I get it :)