Advice for filing life admin paperwork for partial sighted pensioners

[HelenInHeels]

I'm helping out a pensioner who is partially sighted and very disorganised, with life admin. I've gone through her stuff, two whole very deep drawers full as well as a big Aldi carrier bag (those massive ones) and a very tall kitchen bin. There's stuff going back to 1996. I asked her as I went through everything if she wanted to keep things.

I've kept paper bills for the last three years, insurance, PIP, pension stuff and bank statements etc. The rest will be burned in her incinerator. I've got 9 black bin bags full.

How would you set up a filing system? All her bills are paid as they arrive. She doesn't use direct debits.

For years - decades - she's paid a bill, written on the envelope "paid in full £32.50" or whatever, put the bill back in the envelope and tossed it in the drawer. I found her decree absolute that she said she'd lost, for instance, but there was no way she'd have been able to find anything in those drawers. It was crazy. Everything muddled up together.

She's hopefully having a cataract operation eventually but for now she can't see much at all. She can't see TV clearly for instance.

Can someone suggest a workable and simple system please?

I think it depends on whether you expect her to file her paperwork or if you're looking for ways to make life easier for yourself.
Personally, I use box files. One for each subject then just bung it in and every so often, go through it and get rid of out of date stuff.
Currently I have - Amenities, Receipts, Manuals, Legal Stuff, Benefits, Health, Bank, Insurance. The box files hold a fair amount and can be stacked up. If you keep on top of it, now that you've got rid of tons, it should be easy.

Ziplock A4 pouches for each group of items, large print labels so she can file them together and put them all in a large box would probably be simplest if she can read large print.

If not, something like the RNIB Pen Friend (comes with set 1 of audio labels) works really well, but that would cost around £100 depending on whether she can get the VAT free price or not, to buy on top of the pouches and box.

www.rnib.org.uk/living-with-sight-loss/independent-living/labelling/