How do you do your home filing

[numnum]

I'm having a great big spring clean of our filing cabinet.

I was wondering how everyone else organises all the letters that come through there door?

At the moment I have my files for e.g cars, phone, banking and in each file i have polly pockets to divide the letters/statments/.docs per year.

I also have started up ring binder folders for our kids paperwork e.g savings accounts, nursery registration, dentist etc

How do you do yours?

[ummmm]

I don't...I keep my car details in an envelope in a drawer. The rest gets bunged into a shoe box.

[numnum]

also, how far back to you keep paperwork. just going through the phone/mobile file and theres vodaphone bills from 2009. i think i'll bin these

[MarkRae]

Seven years, for legal requirements...

[boxtops]

Much the same as you, numnum, I've got slings in the filing cabinet for car, house insurance, bank, job, phone, water, etc. Plus a load of others for receipts I need to keep, warranties, etc.

[ummmm]

I thought that was for tax purposes Mark....

[jd_1984]

I admit to being fairly dis-organised at home up until a year or so ago. It dawned on me that I needed a system in place when I couldnt find some important insurance documents last year.
Now I have a system in place for all documents, the hardest part is the spring clean and devising a filing system, after that life is so much easier and more organised!
I have a 3 drawer cabinet, drawer 1 - insurance documents/travel/passport drawer 2 - anything to do with bank accounts/loans etc drawer 3 - anything to do with vehicles.

[boxtops]

Twelve months for most stuff. Tax and employment papers stay for ever!

[sara3]

I have 4 big folders and probably keep too much.

and then I got bored of the folder system, and dump everything on top of the folders!

[MarkRae]

Seems reasonable, jd.

The most important thing about the spring clean is that EVERYTHING needs to go through something like this: http://www.argos.co.u...+office+shredders+%2F

[tiggerblue10]

I have draw in a drawer and two of those cases that fan out (can't remember what they're called).

I cna remember the last time I cleared the old paperwork out. I've probably got stuff dating back 10 or more years. I'm so lazy.

[boxtops]

That's what I was going to say, MR - everything with ID on it, name address or similar, goes through the shredder.

[mccfluff]

i have a cupboard full of stuff, i daren't look in it

[jd_1984]

We have a small shredder at home, hardest part is knowing how long to retain documents for, as I assume that it depends on the type of document. I think I am like post and generally keep stuff longer than in required!

[boxtops]

..and PS, important "don't lose" documents like car reg doc, bank books, passports, etc., are in the safe.

[bushbaby_de]

In theory my system is like yours. In reality there's about six months worth of guff under my end table.

PS isn't a Polly Pocket a children's toy? http://www.pollypocket.com/

[tiggerblue10]

I have a shredder that needs WD40ing.

[numnum]

i think i'm going to have a fresh start with some of the files. some of the paperwork doesn't run by month and there is months missing.

i've kept some of the paperwork for every car i've had. it'll be good to look bakc in years to see my 1st car details how much it cost to insure etc

I also have one file for passports, birth certificates, E111 forms etc

[MarkRae]

> everything with ID on it, name address or similar, goes through the shredder.

It's just common sense. The other thing to do is to set up an account with these people (or similar): https://www.creditexpert.co.uk/. Not for the credit check per se, but for the monthly notifications and alerts. Specifically, they will tell you if any organisation has done a credit check on you in the last month, and if any new accounts have been created in your name. If someone tried to steal your identity, the first things they would be likely to do with it would be to set up a bank account, take out a loan or apply for a credit card, and you would be notified pretty much immediately...