I've always thought that I was pretty good at containing and purging all the paper that enters the house: bills, receipts, cards, pamphlets, newspapers, flyers, bank statements, paper bags etc... but I was wrong. How do I know this?
The Realization
Last month, my husband and I started to clean out a large wardrobe (which we used as a place for junk) to make space for a desk. Aside from 3 staplers, oodles of pushpins and piles of picture-less frames, there was a mountain of papers. Piles of hydro, phone and gas bills, piles of bank statements, tax papers, investment statements, receipts, and warranties all with our personal information and account numbers printed all over them.
The Task
With the fear of identity theft we decided to shred everything. At some point we inherited a mini envelop size shredder, I think meant mostly for receipts. As I began shredding the piles, one paper at a time, as it clearly warns on the shredder, it became very clear that I needed one of those big shredding trucks . Most of the papers were not pre-folded to fit in so, I started to fold them, then I got super dry hands and paper cuts. And then I said: F***K! this is going to take forever. I guess it's payback for hoarding for so long.
I decided to take the pile down to the tv room and deal with it every time I watch a show which meant I had to ditch the shredder 'cause it was too loud. To save my hands I started to use scissors to cut out our "top secret" information. The pile got smaller and now it fits in a basket which I hide under the couch. (It's still there- I promise I'll get to it)
The New System
1. When one bill arrives, I pay it and throw away last month's.
2. I deal with each piece of paper on the first floor so that piles don't spread throughout the house.
3. I bought a small portable filing container where all our important documents live.
4. My husband and I get one shoe box each for back taxes.
So far so good. One basket to go!
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