Anybody wanna come to my house for a scanning party?
I’ve put it off long enough, but I’ve got to do something about this mess (feel free to click on the photo for notes within Flickr).
The above photo is all the mail from our sofa table as well as the various documents scattered around my area of the desk at home. It does not include a much more out-dated pile of crap that is not crucial but should really be filed somehow and is currently just collecting dust on top of our lateral file. Somewhere in the more recent pile of crap pictured above is the renewal notice for my car’s registration that expires today.
I used to be on top of this stuff, but over the last year or so it’s just gotten out of hand. I complained before about tracking payments once we had two home-related bills each month, but I’ve beaten those monsters back for the most part with a lot of auto bill pay features and renting the other house so that at least someone else is paying that electric, water and gas bill. But now I have a larger goal of removing the need for our lateral file before the baby is born and frankly, I terrified of the size of this task.
Don’t throw me a baby shower, just please come to my house and scan all of my Anthem Explanation of Benefits forms for me so I don’t keep tripping over them.
The goal is to remove the need for the lateral file, so we can use that space in the office for a pack-n-play and new loveseat or glider. We spend 90% of our time at home in this one room so I can only imagine the baby will be here too. And the lateral file, while attractive, is a monsterous beast full of junk that we never ever look at. The amount of items that we need to keep the originals for (birth certificates, passports, Rich’s DD-214) can all fit in a fire box in the closet, and the rest can and should all just be scanned.
I got as far as buying this kick ass scanner in January as a bit of New Year’s Resolution, but haven’t actually done much with it. And I just know that if it’s this much of a mess now, it will only get worse over the upcoming year.
So help me out, Internet. How to do deal with your mail when it comes in the house? How did you get rid of all the junk mail that goes straight from the mail box to the recycling bin? Do you actually keep all your medical receipts organized in some file drawer? (If so, I hate you just a little.) Can you put your hands on your pets’ rabies certificates? Do you pay your water bill on time or just send them $100 every few weeks to maintain the ability to flush the toilets and shower like some people I know (*cough*) have been doing? Where do you keep your hunter’s talent tree so you’ll know how to spend points once you level? (Ok, that last one is a little specific, but I hate looking it up each time online so I just keep the printout under my keyboard.)
We’re drowning in paper!
I guess you're gonna hate me just a little. I keep a recycling box right next to the spot on the counter where I sort the mail every night. As for medical receipts, I chuck 'em in a basket on my dresser every time I clean out my wallet (usually 1-2 times per month).
BTW, I don't do either FaceBook (long story) or Twitter (just don't wanna).
I solved the junk mail problem by going through my mail before coming into the house. I take all the junk mail straight to the trashcan and only bring in the important stuff. It takes a few extra minutes to get in the house and unpack my lunch & gym bags, but it's totally worth it.
In our house the mail comes in in my hands 99% of the time, and I walk right over to the trash can and throw away the junk. Then I put the stuff on the stairs so I will remember to take it up when I go up.
Once it gets upstairs, I have a sorting table that usually has a "to open" and a "to file" pile on it. Generally what happens is, on the first of the month, my PAY BILLS alarm goes off, i.e. the event in google calendar on X/1 sends me email to every email account I have. As soon as I can wedge in an hour, I open all the mail and throw away everything extra and then I pay the bills. Then I should only have one pile, a file pile. Then I try to file, but this realistically happens once every OTHER month.
Oh, and things like receipts for the vet go right into the file pile when they come in the house.
Instead of a lateral file I have a vertical file that I found at Staples. The big deal about this is that it is NOT deep. It is 15" deep at most. It has five drawers.
Technically, I would like to scan much of what is in there and chuck it. But that probably won't happen until I retire in 40 years.
Oh, and I keep my talent trees just as bookmarks in delicious. As a druid, I know I'm going to change it 25,477 times and be bored with what I last had, so there is not one set thing I could post up on my wall.
Crap; just remembered that I didn't pay the power bill yet; better get that guesstimated amount sent off. And that's how I roll.
Genie Reply:
June 1st, 2009 at 6:24 pm
That's my kinda gal! I'm right there with ya fending off the utilities $50 at at time.
Genie Reply:
June 1st, 2009 at 6:24 pm
That's my kinda gal! I'm right there with ya fending off the utilities $50 at at time.
Oh, and a big thing is having new hanging/file folders within arm's reach to label when I need a new thing.