Paper Purging Part 1

` As I sit here, a small fraction of the way done, I wonder what possessed me to take this task on. It is a bigger problem than I imagined. I have papers hidden in every crevice of the house and I am sure as time goes on I will find more. This is definitely one of those projects that as I am doing it I am going to have moments of whining and head shaking, but when I see it completed it will all be worth while.

` I started by taking some advice offered in a comment of an earlier post I had written. I took three baskets and labelled them:

Basket 1 - Recycle/ Shred

Basket 2- To be filed

Basket 3- need action now

.....and then I ran around the house collecting all my drawers, baskets, and boxes filled with paper. This doesn't seem like much but it took me several hours. As I started going through my papers I discovered I needed a forth basket. For some reason all my pictures get tossed in with my paperwork.

Things that I tossed, and use your own judgement here, Tax returns that were more than 7 years old, pay stubs older than last years w-2, bank statements that were several years old (unless it had a tax bill listed on it), LOTS and LOTS of junk mail. Things I kept include all of my sons IEP's and services record (since I am continually asked what services he has received up to date) eventually I want to write a history and just keep the more recent info, this years utilities, house payments, student loan, credit card, auto loan, insurance info, pension info, and I am sure there is more I am not remembering at this point.

` Tomorrow I will break down Basket 2. Basket 1 is an easy one I recycled what I could and I am saving the shredding for my husband since he likes to do that.