This is part three of a four-part series on how to declutter, downsize, and organize.
By Sandie Timm, Professional Organizer
As a professional organizer and concierge move manager, people often call me into their homes to help with decluttering, downsizing, and organizing their closets, cabinets, and garages. For those who struggle with keeping a decluttered home, one of the things I encourage my clients to tackle first is the piles and stacks of paper and mail in their homes.
Managing the paper and mail that comes into your home can be overwhelming. The following best practices will help you keep the paper clutter at bay:
1) Toss junk mail into recycling bins immediately before it ever reaches your counter, desk, or table. The US Postal Service reports that 62% of mail delivered to home addresses is junk mail. That is 41 pounds of junk mail per person per year. Imagine how that adds up when brought into your home!
For mail that does make it into your home, have one designated space where you place your mail, ideally near where you process your paperwork (e.g., your home office or desk). Have a small basket or bin for mail that needs to be shredded (see below). Commit to going through all paper once per week and taking action (file, pay bill, etc), tossing, or shredding.
2) Go digital. Unless you have a very specific need to receive hard copies of your banking, investment, credit card, medical account information, or newsletters, go digital. Most organizations provide an option to receive paperless communication, often via a simple setting on their website.
In a 2023 Forbes article, Rebecca Lake, Certified Financial Personal Finance Educator (CEPF), confirms that digital banking and digital files are more secure than paper files, and provides strategies for securing your digital financial information.
After changing to electronic communications, you’ll be surprised by the change! You’ll receive very little paper mailings, resulting in a lot less paper to manage.
3) Protect your critical papers.
Some documents do need to be kept in paper form. Keep hard copies of the following papers forever. Store them in a fire and waterproof safe:
- Birth certificates
- Adoption papers
- Marriage certificates
- Death certificates
- Social security cards
- Citizenship papers
- Passports (shred expired, keep current)
- Wills and living wills
Some papers should be kept only for a specific length of time:
- Auto titles and home deeds should be kept as long as you own the property
- Tax returns and tax related receipts should be kept between three to seven years. (State statute of limitations can vary. Check with your tax professional.) It’s also acceptable to scan these files and keep them electronically as opposed to on paper.
- Home improvement receipts should be kept until you sell your home since certain items may reduce your capital gains tax. When possible, scan the receipts and keep them in an online folder for digital access. You can then shred or toss the hard copies.
- If you do not have digital access, keep banking, insurance policy, and medical statements for one year only. If you do have digital access, shred them immediately.
4) Use a shredder.
Some paper should be shed as soon as the documents are no longer needed. Shred any documents that contain:
- Account numbers
- Social security numbers
- Birthdates
- Passwords/PINS
- Signatures
- Investment, stock, and property transactions
- Expired credit and identification cards
You’ll be amazed at how tidy and calm a home not inundated with paper will feel! I am standing by to help you establish an effective, simple paper management system.
Stay tuned for part four of this series where we will tackle how to handle sentimental items.
*These are generally agreed-upon best practices. Please check with your attorney or tax professional for specific requirements.
Sandie helps clients create beautiful, organized spaces that allow simpler, calmer, and more efficient lives. Her love affair with simplifying and organizing started when she was a young girl arranging (and then rearranging) her bookshelves.
Her instinctual practice of keeping spaces organized and simple evolved into a ten-plus year career preparing homes for the market with the top real estate team in Silicon Valley and as a personal organizer to private clients––editing, downsizing, simplifying, organizing, and elevating people’s homes and lives.
Sandie@sandietimm.com | 650-796-3375 | Insta: @sandie_timm_home
Throughout the “The Nuts and Bolts” section of this blog, we will introduce you to the practical needs in retirement.