I'm not really sure how I got into organizing my paperwork at home, but it was somewhat inspired by how I observed people filing away their work at my first job.
Organizing approach
It's a pretty standard approach to organizing. I use a bunch of hanging files in a small 2-drawer filing cabinet and have various categories -- one for each of the bank accounts, one for each of the utility companies, one for car records, one for every year of taxes, one for medical records (which I then later broke into physical, dental, optical, and mental), one for my flexible spending account (FSA), etc.
For longer term records that do not need day-to-day access (such as tax returns and supporting paper work, and FSAs from prior years), I use cardboard filing boxes such as this one from Bankers Box.
Financial records -- what to keep?
For the first few years, I kept everything. Of course, after a decade or so, I noticed papers piling up. The hanging folders were all bulging. That's when I tried to figure out what needs to stay and what can go. This page from Bankrate provides some guidance for what needs to stay and what can go. I do hang on to all of my tax returns and since I started using an FSA, I have been hanging on to those records as well. Other than that I tend to purge things early each year -- I hold on to bills and statements for at least a year but toss everything else. There's always the option to go electronic and just keep these files such as bills and statements electronically, but for now, I still keep everything in paper.
Non-financial records
For non-financial records, I still hold on to everything, but I really ought to find a better way to organize this. For instance, I have thought of transferring the records to an electronic form such as spreadsheet that is easily searchable.
Organizing approach
It's a pretty standard approach to organizing. I use a bunch of hanging files in a small 2-drawer filing cabinet and have various categories -- one for each of the bank accounts, one for each of the utility companies, one for car records, one for every year of taxes, one for medical records (which I then later broke into physical, dental, optical, and mental), one for my flexible spending account (FSA), etc.
For longer term records that do not need day-to-day access (such as tax returns and supporting paper work, and FSAs from prior years), I use cardboard filing boxes such as this one from Bankers Box.
Financial records -- what to keep?
For the first few years, I kept everything. Of course, after a decade or so, I noticed papers piling up. The hanging folders were all bulging. That's when I tried to figure out what needs to stay and what can go. This page from Bankrate provides some guidance for what needs to stay and what can go. I do hang on to all of my tax returns and since I started using an FSA, I have been hanging on to those records as well. Other than that I tend to purge things early each year -- I hold on to bills and statements for at least a year but toss everything else. There's always the option to go electronic and just keep these files such as bills and statements electronically, but for now, I still keep everything in paper.
Non-financial records
For non-financial records, I still hold on to everything, but I really ought to find a better way to organize this. For instance, I have thought of transferring the records to an electronic form such as spreadsheet that is easily searchable.
