Paper, Paper Everywhere.

Is there a secret to dealing with all the paper in our lives?  EMNUQKA9T4CQ - Is there a secret code that will make all the paper erupt into flames?  I spent a good amount of time in 2010 trying to tame my own paper monster; I had almost 25 years of paperwork to sort through and organize.  Twenty-Five Years!!  But when I was finished, it all went into 3 drawers of a filing cabinet with room to spare and I learned which papers I really need to keep and which ones I can toss.

I recommend three items if you're serious about taming your own paper monster - a fireproof storage box or safe to store important papers, a cross-cut shredder, and a file cabinet.

Fireproof Storage Box - this is where I keep my social security card, my passport, a copy of my will, my marriage and birth certificate, my divorce decree, a copy of my children's birth certificates, my insurance policies, and titles/deeds for automobiles and property.

File Cabinet - In one drawer of my file cabinet, I have my bank statements and mortgage statements.  In another drawer, I have my tax returns and supporting documents.  In the third drawer, I have the owners manuals and receipts for my household items, such as my refrigerator.

I also have a small file cabinet in my office where I file craft projects that I want to work on, travel information for vacations, and miscellaneous household tips and articles.

I went through all the papers and drawings that I had saved over the years from my children, sorted them, and put them into two boxes, one for my son and one for my daughter, which I will give to them when they finally settle down.

Everything else I either recycled or shredded, then recycled.  All the magazines that were piled up, I took to my church which distributes them to local hospital waiting rooms.  I sorted through all of my grocery coupons and took any expired coupons and any coupons that I won't use and sent them to military bases overseas that don't have access to coupons.  If you'd like to get more information on this program, go to www.ocpnet.org.

To keep my papers under control, I sort through my mail when I come home - bills are filed until they are paid.  Junk mail either gets recycled immediately or shredded.  Bills such as electricity, phone, etc. are shredded when I get confirmation that they have been paid.  Any information that I might need for my taxes, I file in an accordion folder.

Getting your papers organized isn't easy, but it is so worth it.  Next on my agenda - recipes!