office
Medical Records Medical records are very important, but that does not mean you have to keep every single piece of paper related to your health. Explanation of benefits and claims information can typically be found on your insurance website. To avoid incoming mail pileup, consider signing up for paperless delivery if you haven’t already done so. Even if you are uncomfortable going paperless, you can shred old medical bills, records and statements once they have been paid and all billing disputes have been settled. However, you’ll want to save notes and records for medical situations that have not been resolved. Consider scanning these records onto your hard disk to cut down on paper storage. You may also want to keep X-rays and MRIs from a former injury or illness for future reference and comparison.
Keep or Toss? The Answer Depends on Your Circumstances While the other two categories are pretty clear-cut cases of toss or keep, the handling of other records will depend on your own personal circumstances. 7. Personal Tax Returns According to the IRS, in most cases, personal tax returns should be saved for three years. However, special circumstances might require you to save your returns for up to seven years. Check IRS.gov or talk to a tax professional for specific examples that might apply to you. Given the clear guidelines, you can feel confident about getting rid of any tax returns and supporting documents that are older than three to seven years. (The relevant time period will depend on your tax circumstances.) And by all means, shred these items when it’s time to let them go.
Miscellaneous Paper It is easy to have pieces of paper lying around that don’t fit into any real category, and many people struggle with what to do with jury duty records, frequent flier numbers and other miscellaneous information. If you feel comfortable going paperless, you can store these records in a note-taking app or start a “miscellaneous” file on a Google Doc or hard disk. After doing so, you can feel free to recycle the paper.
Appliance Manuals Feel free to recycle appliance manuals when the new appliance arrives. Most appliances have a sticker inside the door with the model number listed on it, and care and use instructions and troubleshooting guides usually can be found on the manufacturer’s website. Many people do file their appliance manuals, but many also never look at them again. I have known people to rediscover their manual after the actual appliance has been replaced — often years before! It’s wise to save warranty information until the product warranty has expired. If you do prefer to keep a hard copy, one good way to cut down on the paperwork is to save manuals only for major appliances. Consider storing all manuals in one file so you can find them easily.
Credit Card Statements and Utility Bills If you are comfortable with electronic records, there is no need to keep credit card statements and utility bills after you have paid them — unless you need the paper copies for tax purposes. Consider signing up for paperless delivery of future bills, as well as having bills paid automatically from your checking account. You’ll want to keep a record (again, either paper, external hard drive or portable disk drive) of the account number, customer service phone number and website login information in a secure place, such as a safe. If you are not comfortable going paperless, you only need to keep credit card and utility bills necessary for tax deduction documentation. I recommend you store these with your tax returns.
Paper You Can Toss The good news is that you can get rid of many paper records that formerly were necessary to hang on to — at least before the dawn of the electronic age. For those who would still prefer to keep some hard copies, you can nonetheless whittle your stashes of papers in the below categories by quite a lot. 3. Bank, Mortgage, Investment, Insurance and Retirement Account Statements To avoid excess paper in the future, you might consider signing up to receive statements electronically. Records typically can also be accessed on a bank or investment firm’s website. My bank makes records available at no charge for 10 years; you’ll want to check with your bank for its policy. Do be sure to keep a hard copy of your account number, customer service phone number, user ID and password. To avoid identity theft, never save this information on your computer’s hard disk or in email. Instead, consider using an external memory source such as an external hard drive or a USB drive. Another option is to place this information, whether in a paper printout or an electronic storage device, in a home safe. If you are not comfortable going paperless, I recommend that you keep your year-e...
Official Records Some documents can be more difficult to replace, such as birth and death certificates, adoption papers, marriage licenses, divorce decrees, estate plans, Social Security cards, passports, records of paid mortgages and military discharge papers. Only 17 states currently allow you to obtain a new Social Security card online, according to the Social Security Administration. The majority of states require you make a trip to the Social Security office and bring several official documents that prove your identity. I’m guessing that you, like me, can think of a more enjoyable way to spend your day. I recommend keeping these documents in either a bank safe deposit box or in a fire-safe box in your home. That way you can easily put your hands on these important records when you need them.
Car and Bike Records It’s best to keep car loan documents until the loan is fully paid off and to keep title documents for the cars you currently own, Consumer Reports advises. You also would be wise to save purchase receipts for bikes. Be sure to file all repair and service records. You will want to show these to a potential buyer when you sell your car or bike so that the buyer can be confident that your vehicle was properly serviced and that both your vehicle and bicycle come with an uncomplicated ownership history.
Tech Devices and Digital Photos Erase your data from old devices, then drop them in a cell phone recycling bin or return them to your cell-service provider for a credit. Back up your current computer and other devices to an external hard drive, as well as a cloud-based service for extra security. Order a photo book or prints from last year’s digital photos, and create a simple plan for organizing digital photos in the future. Keep them in files labeled with the month, and tag your favorites so you can easily gather them into a book or an album when the time comes. Tip: Whenever you get a promotional email you do not want to receive, scroll down to the bottom and click “unsubscribe” before deleting. Cutting back on unnecessary marketing emails will save you time in the long run — and might save you money as well, as you are not reminded of things to buy!
Papers and Printed Photos Walk through your house and gather up all of the random, unsorted piles of paper you can find, making one stack. Go through this stack with a recycling bin and shredder until it’s all gone. Put upcoming events on your calendar, file important records and pay bills as needed. To quickly handle a big pile of printed photos, sort them roughly by date and file them in photo boxes. Tip: If traditional filing cabinets just aren’t working for you, consider switching to a more flexible (and portable) system consisting of small file boxes or expanding files. The beauty in using file boxes is that they take up only as much space as you need, and you can keep one small box near the entry for easily (and quickly) filing important papers.
Storing Your Tax Documents 1. Current Tax Year Documents There’s plenty to sort through at tax time, so the more you can eliminate searching for documents in April the better. To simplify, I recommend you keep all your current-year tax documents corralled in one place. I keep two sets of tax documents: personal and business. Neither is exceptionally complicated or document-heavy, so for me two hanging folders (one for personal, one for business) works perfectly. Throughout the year, I put anything tax-related (charitable contribution receipts, business receipts) in its correct folder as soon as I receive it. For business expenses, I write the category and purpose (marketing, office supplies, meals and entertainment) on the back of the receipt right away to avoid the chance of forgetting it. The method that works best for me is to collect all my tax documents in each folder all year and then sort more specifically when it’s time to prepare. But if your taxes are complicated and you must retain many papers, you may want to create smaller subfolders to keep categories sorted throughout the year. Whatever method you choose for collecting your tax documents, it will be successf...
The Papers You Need to Keep for Taxes The first step in organizing your tax-related papers is knowing what you need to keep. You don’t want to keep too few records and not be prepared for a potential audit. Nor do you want to keep excess, space-consuming documents. In the broadest of terms, calculating your income taxes requires determining all the income you’ve received during the year minus eligible deductions and credits. So do your due diligence to find out your specific, personal requirements for each part of this work. If you have a tax preparer, he or she should be able to provide you with a list of requirements. If not, you may be able to find some guidance on the IRS website, through online tax-preparation resources and in your previous year’s tax return. Here are some examples of information you may need regarding your income, deductions and credits (not an exhaustive list): Laura Kehoe Design Income Wages, salaries, bonuses and tips Interest earned Stock sales and dividend income Rental income Retirement account distributions Unemployment benefits and disability payments Advance commissions Lottery payments Deductions Contributions to retirement accounts Student lo...
clutter clearing: February: Home office — digital documents and papers. Get a jump-start on tax time by getting your files (paper and digital) in order. Sort through random stacks of paper; file, shred or recycle everything Streamline your files, shredding any documents you no longer need Use one calendar to keep track of all events Switch to paperless bills and statements if possible Clean out computer files and back up everything, using cloud-based storage and an external drive Habit to cultivate: Sort your mail at the door, tossing junk
waxed white oak paneling
waxed white oak paneling
paneling
colors
room
Hang fabric in the closet. Have a smidgen of extra space in the closet? Pants hangers make ideal organizers for fabric — to maximize space, use the type designed to hold multiple articles of clothing. Just stick with sturdier fabrics for hanging; lay delicate materials flat in a drawer or on shelves.
Stash fabric in wire drawers. If stacking fabrics on open shelves sounds a little too fussy, think about picking up a set of stacking wire drawers to store your stash instead. They make it easy to see the colors and patterns of your lovely fabrics but allow for more leeway when it comes to neatness.
Stack fabric on shelves by color. As with yarn, fabric is generally best sorted by hue. Keep your stash neatly folded and stacked on shelving. If you don’t work with your fabrics frequently, you may want to store them behind closed doors or in solid drawers, where they’re away from dust and light.
Place loose paper in clear drawers. Sort individual sheets of scrapbooking and drawing paper by color and type in see-through drawers that stack. Another good choice is a paper organizer of the kind preschools use to store construction paper. Whichever method you pick, the important thing to avoid is the too-high stack of mixed papers, which makes it impossible to find what you’re looking for.
Stand paper rolls in a basket. A tall wire basket or a repurposed umbrella stand or hamper keeps rolls of gift wrap and drawing paper neat. Prevent open rolls from unfurling with twine, twist-ties or rubber bands.
ceiling, floor, boxes
Storage bin desk. Sturdy metal storage bins
whiteboard paint: Sherwin-Williams
The first floor’s signature teal is picked up in the wife’s office in a series of square 3-D display shelves and a rug. The hanging artwork is “the only exception in the entire house, and only there because her brother is an artist and he made that piece especially for her,” Hammond says. The office, which shares a wall with the garage, sits at the back of the lot and has access to the patio. Desk, chair and shelf cubes: BoConcept; paint by Benjamin Moore: Silver Satin OC-26 (walls) and White Heron OC-57 (trim)
Muro Perforated Magnet Boards $52.19 · More Sizes
screens
modern tie-dye shade
hats
An accent wall in the office done in black chalkboard paint creates a backdrop
red cabinet against chalkboard w/ rug
a pair of custom built-in desks with plenty of drawers and shelves for storage. The desk lamps are by David Weeks Studio. The artwork above the desk on the left is by Audrey Stone, and the blackened-steel LED light fixture between the two desks is from Apparatus.
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