How do you keep track of your documents?

[KramBerries]

Just about everyone has documents to keep track of - bank statements, tax forms, etc. How do you keep track of them?

 

[Disneycrazy!!]

Just about everyone has documents to keep track of - bank statements, tax forms, etc. How do you keep track of them?

i have a filing cabinet with folders, also yellow envelops that are marked with years on outside, filed.

 

[Sleepy]

I also have a filing cabinet for all my important papers and documents. I am probably a bit too organized. I have files for manuals and receipts that came with things such as electronics, etc. Each item has its own file. You will need the receipts for warranties and returns. I also have a file for all the "paid in full" stuff. You never know when someone might come after you for a bill you know you paid. I never throw any of those receipts and statements away.

That filing cabinet has been a lifesaver. If I am not home, my husband can call me and ask where something is. I just tell him which drawer and the name of the file. No time spent frantically searching the house for passports, birth certificates, etc.

 

[LuvOrlando]

All year Tax deductible stuff gets collected in a large 9X12 or so envelope, as in every receipt I use for filing. Then once the taxes are done by my CPA I keep everything together in the big envelope so if I ever get audited it's all in one place labeled by the year.

My day to day receipts get put into a sneaker shoe box which gets sorted every so often, I just did it yesterday as a matter of fact. As time moves on I throw away the grocery store & gas ones. Every 2 years or so a thinned out, the box gets labeled for year range and gets put in the basement for storage. When in use the box sits next to my computer for easy access when I have questions during bill time.

When I do the bills I write the check number used to pay it on the remaining stub and store them in their own shoe box. Since these papers are thin a good sized Nike box could store about 4 years worth of stubs. When one is full it gets labeled for year range and stored next to the receipts. When in use the box sits next to my computer for easy access when I have questions during bill time.

All my car stuff, pet stuff, health ins, life ins ect get their own folders in a lockable file cabinet with bank stuff getting its own drawer. I have a separate file cabinet for the many owners manuals and warranty certificates we have. This is because they are irregularly shaped and take up lots of room.

I'm pretty organized by nature so at any given time I can tell you exactly where something is located in my house. Unless someone else in my family touches something, a search will normally take less than 5 minutes.

 

[pixiewings71]

Filing cabinet, we reuse the files yearly and each January I remove all the papers from last year, put them in an old Avon box (I'm a rep so get a lot of nice boxes) and put the year on the box, the box gets stored in the attic and each year we will shred stuff. We don't have much to shred right now, we tend to shred after 4 years or sometimes 5 but currently none of our files are more then 3 years old. We had a house fire a few years ago and haven't caught up to our system yet. LOL

 

[lsyorke]

Scan them into a word folder....then put them into a box by year. This way I can look at the folder(by year) and know exactly what is in the box, at a glance, and go to the appropriate box the first time knowing that it's there.

Bank statements don't get scanned..just put in the box.

 

[GeorgeG]

A well-organized filing cabinet and spreadsheets for keeping track of tax stuff.

 

[Piecey]

A very unorganized filing cabinet.

I've slowly been going through it and trying to get it organized, though. Slowly.