Survey #204 Response from Ginger
| How would you rank paper clutter among the categories of stuff that you have difficulty managing? | Paper clutter is not a problem for me. |
|---|---|
| What type of paper clutter that you struggle with did we leave off the list above? | None of the above. |
Please complete any of the following statements:
| This is one area I have under control. I conquered paper in 2016. ▪️It started before then when I gathered & sorted all the loose papers around the house. ▪️And, I created a system for handling incoming papers. We strip the mail daily. Put the keepers in the Active file to deal with on my Wed desk work day. ▪️In 2016 - I dealt with the rest of the papers. I dumped our 2 drawer lateral file cabinet into the LR floor and went thru every paper. Our Paper System: 🔲 ACTIVE FILES (hangs on kitchen wall) 1. Action/To Do - processed on my weekly desk work day 2. Tax Docs - collected throughout the year 3. Receipts - Current Year in zippered pouch 🔲 FILE CABINET 1. Medical Procedures 2. Dental Procedures 3. Health Insurance Information booklets 4. Keepsakes 5. Automobile manuals 6. Old Loan Papers (Personal Risk/comfort thing) 7. Property Appraisals & Improvements (Deeds are n Important Papers) 8. Tax Returns - recent 3 years. Each year in a labeled clasp envelope. All other prior years are stored in a bin on a shelf in my studio. Personal Risk/Comfort = We Keep all. 9. File Basket holding prior year and current statements & papers. It sits in the file drawer with a divider between the two years. At the end of the current year - I go thru the stack and toss them. Move the divider to the top of the stack and start piling on new incoming papers. I hate to file. So I don’t. Chances are we won’t need any of these papers. But, we have peace of mind in case we might. 🔲 Important Papers Binder w/table of contents 1. Vital and Identification Docs (Birth, marriage, divorce, social security cards, copy of drivers license) 2. Insurance (policies for life, health, home, automobile, boat owners) 3. Property (property deeds, vehicle titles and home inventory) 4. Financial Records (Financial Profile listing all accounts, etc.) 5. End of Life Docs (will, medical POA, physician directives, burial instructions, family ancestry charts, people to contact) 6. Access Information (user names and passwords) 🔲 Home Management Binder w/table of contents This explains how we manage our home. Includes a general narrative, information about how we handle finances, care for our home, pay our bills, home maintenance, replacement part #s, vehicle maintenance, emergency procedures, emergency cut-offs, fire extinguishers, service providers, etc. 🔲 Project Organizer - spiral 24 pocket. To collect those papers we seem to accumulate while researching and working on projects for the year. I keep a table of contents in front. I declutter it at the start of a new year. |
| Tell us about your most treasured paper item. | If I could only name one - it’s my maternal grandfather’s personal diary and photo album during his time as a bugler in the Army during WWI. He documents his travels across the USA from TX to NY. Travel across the ocean to England. And, experiences in Germany and France. ▪️But, I’m the family historian. I have my research organized in 3 ring binders. My binders are stored in a 2 drawer lateral file cabinet. Much of it is in a software program. ▪️I’m looking for an interested family member to pass it along too. |
| Here’s your chance to ask Gayle and Ed any question you’re curious about. It need not be related to this survey’s topic(s). | Curious about Ed. What did/does Ed do for a living? He seems so skilled with the computer stuff. Just wondered about his background. If he used these skills in a job or developed them like many do as a hobby. Very cool. I’ve enjoyed listening to and watching Ed & Gayle interact. |
| Future topics | Recycling computers, laptops, tablets, phones. How to clean the data off or destroy the device so the data can’t be accessed. I have a bin of electronics ready to be dropped at the recycling center in my county. I’ve procrastinated because I’m unsure how to deal with the data. I’ve transferred the data to new devices. I just want to recycle these. |
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