The stuff I need to keep is the stuff I struggle with tho!!
Like… “this is a thing I’ll need for tax stuff” or “this is a thing I’ll need for name change stuff” or “this is the power of attorney documents that we still need X person to sign” or “this is the warranty info for the stove”
eta: most of the bill stuff is on auto pay or I deal with it once per month. I’m moooostly okay at these things.
I have one pile of things I need to attend to and sometimes I sit down with it. I have a shoe box with things like stamps and envelopes and a stapler that one might need for handling the items in the pile.
I have a scanner app on my phone and I upload scans to Google Drive as needed as I go (mostly health receipts).
At the bottom of the pile is a folder where I put miscellaneous things that need filing and another one just for the health receipts. When the health folder is full I swap it for a new folder.
During tax season I have a third folder for collecting the tax forms into.
Very rarely, perhaps annually, I debouch the contents of the miscellaneous folder into the appropriate folders in my two drawer filing cabinet in case I need them. Sometimes you need to know when was your last brake flush or whatever.
Hope that helps, please ask follow up questions!
Okay!
In this case, my opinion is that simpler is better. I have a filing cabinet, I have a manila envelopes inside of it for things that are done, and hanging folders for things that are not done. I try to keep as little as humanly possible, so I don’t actually need to put stuff in there very often. But yeah, important tax documents go in there and then get moved to a manila envelope and sealed up when the year’s taxes are done.
I should point out here that for me, the actual physical piece of furniture is important. Because anything short of that I would probably lose in my house.
I too have a filing cabinet for Done and future Tax papers, and the top has become a sort of “undone” inbox. When the pile is large enough I go thru it
I have a small filing box with folders (“taxes,” “medical,” etc). But I’m guilty of piles too because the box is a pain to get into. I like the idea of scanning them with the phone–this I may implement!
I have a pile of things that are needed now
Things I need often are in a plastic file folder
Things I have to keep but seldom need are in a filing cabinet.
I store almost everything digitally (personally I use Google Drive and encrypt stuff with my SSN, but you do you. I’m lazy and this is easiest for me).
Tax stuff - I have a Google Drive folder for each year. When I get something I need to keep, I take a photo of it/scan it and plop it in the folder for that year. All of my tax docs are delivered to me electronically (like W-2, tax returns), so this is easy for me. The IRS accepts digital documents as long as they meet criteria, like they’re clear, have the relevant accurate info, etc.
Warranty - I have a Google Drive folder encompassing all product manuals, info sheets, etc. Again, I take a photo of the thing and upload it. Or if it’s long and annoying, find a PDF online and save that to my folder 
I keep almost nothing physical, but for really important stuff (passport, car registration, SSN card), I have an accordion folder that I store in a fireproof bag.
For stuff that’s in progress or that I’m not 100% sure what to do with, I have a wooden paper tray that fills up until I deal with it, lol.
I have three piles: stuff to keep, any medical bill/doc, and stuff that needs action.
Stuff to keep: passports, will docs, old tax documents (filed), car registration, etc. house documents, warranty/insurance info that isn’t digital
Any medical/bill doc AFTER it has been paid to use for HSA/FSA tracking
Stuff that needs action: current season tax stuff, unpaid bills, school stuff for kiddo, etc
The stuff that needs action stays in a pile on my desk until I get to it, the other two stay in a box in my closet (should probably get a safe).
It’s super simple and helps me get over the activation energy of dealing with stuff. Also it’s easy to sort things that come into the house like this. If it doesn’t need action or fit the other two categories it instantly gets thrown away/shredded.
I got some recently at At Home - they have a huge selection so you can try them to see if they are comfy. I don’t know how far out into the burbs you’d have to go to find one though.
Worth it for the next time we’re out at my folks!
okay yes! Folders/envelopes for different subjects seems like a smart idea, and then a dedicated/ special place for it to live! OKAY. I CAN DO THIS. BREATHES DEEP
Every few years I gather all I can find and sit in front of the TV with no cats. I have not done this in 5 years but I assume kids will be similarly unwelcome.
Then I make piles
Like
Tax shit - this year
Tax shit- 2015-2023
Old old tax shit and other shit to shred
Identity shit
Job shit??? Maybe need??
School shit? Maybe need?
Business shit - recent
Business shit old
House/rent stuff
Bank stuff
Health stuff
-//
Identity, health, current home and bill info/one bank thing each go in THE BINDER
Current tax pile goes in a pile I definitely will not forget about and generate 3 more tax piles before taxes
Shredding stuff - shred 20 pages by hand/scissors. Put the rest in a pile by the door that’s a future me problem. Best outcome is I take it camping. Worst outcome is I don’t label it and go through it all next paper sort.
All old but not shred categories go in “folders” that are me labelling and wrapping paper around then into a banker’s box.
Business shit and current but not binder worthy health, banking and housing stuff goes in coloured folders either in a plastic file thing or a special section of the box. I used to have a file cabinet and they got the top front.
One or two days in the next 2 months I must confront this and it’s digital version.
I am amazing
This is true.
Also yes great idea re: fire. Big ol burn pile for ID stuff seems GR8.
This is a different topic–how does one shop locally for (specific) things?! I’m trying not to buy from Amazon, and I’d rather go to the store/do pickup rather than get things delivered, both for $$ and environmental reasons.
For example, I need a toddler pillow. I could just order one and have it here in days, yes. I look on the Target website and while there is a Target near me, it does not have any toddler pillows in stock. What did people do before the Internet? Is this what department stores were/are for? I know I could get it delivered from Target but for me that doesn’t feel any better than just Amazoning it.
If anyone has ideas for me I’m all ears.
ETA I understand that Target, etc is not “local” but I guess I mean without using delivery/ordering it from elsewhere
Here is my overly detailed explanation
In theory I go through this once a month. The trays used to be in the same room as the filing but now they’re not, I don’t think it’s actually changed the frequency of how often I file.
Many of our other file folders we could probably do without but it’s easier to maintain the existing system than overhaul it. If you want to know what all folders I have, let me know. I do like having a “Future Tax Docs” folder because then I can get the offendingly Very Adult paper out of my hand immediately and then future me has it all in one place. I have a sticky note taped to the folder of what all tax documents we ought to have each year so it helps with the annual round up. The folder next to it has our past tax docs.
OH FASCINATING i like this too ty!! We have a big bin on the porch so mailers and garbage can actually get yeeted before it even makes it all the way into the house. But that’s only half the actual garbage. There’s so much sneaky garbage.
Yeah that doesn’t get to my chair but there’s a bunch that Mr. Meer isn’t sure if it’s trash or not (especially this time of year, anyone I’ve ever donated to sends stuff asking for more money). Plus the sneaky garbage within envelopes.
Oh one other thing, the times I do file I have to give myself some kind of treat. Sometimes it’s the right music blasting in my headphones, sort of like how people put on 80s hair band metal to clean to. I definitely have podcasts I only let myself listen to when doing chores, but the talking tends to be incompatible with the reading/mental processing of paperwork. Sometimes it’s literally a cookie. Ya gotta do what ya gotta do in terms of treats post-adulting.
I keep an eye out for things in local stores, so I know approximately where things would be that I might need in the future. I’m not shopping, I just check out the aisles sometimes to see what might be available.
If I can’t figure out where it would be locally, I go to the mall.
Malls and department stores and winners and knowing who sells what. Also IKEA.
Our independent stores are great for soap and gifts.
there is a drawer with tax stuff - a big envelope for this year, and a file folder with the previous years. there is a box in the basement on top of a filing cabinet of stuff that someone might need at some point but undetermined - if we need it we can dig through.
When the box on top of the filing cabinet gets full, we go through it, shred what we have decided nobody will need, and put the other things into the filing cabinet (in a big pile, they are not filed). We have not yet decided what shredding looks like now that we don’t have jobs where there are big shredding boxes to dump personal stuff into. Hopefully we never get to the point that the filing cabinet gets full.
there is also an envelope with important stuff about the house that is in the filing cabinet (not warranties, but stuff like the engineer drawings).