Boring home admin question!

[Snowstorm]

Having put off doing any kind of filing for a couple of years, I'm now facing a rather intimidating pile of receipts and instruction manuals for household appliances, furniture and stuff.

I know this is a rather basic question ... but am on the wine ... So, how do you organise your stuff (other than filing it in the bin)? Do you keep receipts and manuals together and do you shove them in a box or put them in a file or what?!

Yours embarrassed at asking such an embarrassing question but hoping that someone will answer with something that I can copy, which will spur me on ...

Snowstorm

I use a concertina type file. It's around here somewhere.

Boxfile for receipts/manuals/guarantees. Folder for cars. Folder for pets. Ring binders for everything else. Right now the house is one giant intray

I put them in random piles that then get shoved in a carrier bag and put in the attic, seriously think my ceiling is about to come down!! Lol

Maybe a box file is the way forward then ...

Instruction manuals can be binned, you can get them on the Internet. I keep receipts in concertina file with other paper reminders for hospital spots etc (1-31 file). Only keep last paper bill, chuck or shred all the others. Much account info can be found online too. The madness really starts when you try to keep original boxes for things. DH dies this a lot in case he wants to sell something e.g. Cameras and in case he wants to return something. Our lift is full of empty boxes! I keep telling him it's s fire hazard to persuade him to get rid

Manuals are all together in the kitchen drawer, smaller ones in one poly pocket to keep them tidy.

Receipts - current receipts are filed in a poly pocket (I like poly pockets) at the back of statements, so for example I have my CC statements in a ring binder. They go from 12 months ago at the front through to current one, then a poly pocket with credit card receipts. Then a coloured divider, then current account statements starting with 12 months ago through to latest one, then a poly pocket with current account receipts. When I get another statement I go through the receipts and cross them off my statements. Then receipts I need to keep (for electrical stuff, clothes, whatever might need to be returned for whatever reason) go in another poly pocket at the very back of the folder, and the rest (for general food etc) get binned. Then every six months or so I take out statements that are older than a year and swap them to another ringbinder that has only statements in. So basically I have one ringbinder with the previous 12 months stuff in ie March 2014 to March 2015 - banks, bills, school stuff, rent, anything that is ongoing, and other ringbinders with old bank stuff in, all in date order. I'm too scared to throw any away.

I usea concertina file for a year or so, then when it's getting full go through it and anything that needs to be kept longer term goes in a ring binder or box file (house stuff, car stuff, tax stuff, pensions etc). When a box file or binder gets full I clear that out too, keeping only essentials. As a rule anything related to tax gets kept for 7 or so years, everything else I'm quite ruthless with, for example credit card bills are checked when they arrive and binned immediately unless there's a big or expensive purchase on them (all paid by direct debit).

Another concertina file user!
Receipts are slid under the cutlery tray in the kitchen drawer so I know where they are and know are the receipts I need to keep/check. Throw them away when I've had the product for a while.
I bet half the stuff in my file I don't necessarily need, ha!

I have a shelf above dp's desk with box files on. We have one each for:
Cars
My professional stuff
House documents
Finances
Instruction manuals
Misc items
Sentimental items

I keep a small plastic file for any items I will only keep for a couple of years (bank statements and so on) which I seal at the end of the year and dispose of the old docs.

I also have a concertina file for each of the kid's art work.

Thank you so much for taking the time to get back to me - you fabulously organised people - I really appreciate it. I feel much clearer headed about the dreaded task now and finally ready to tackle it.

You have motivated me to go something about my appalling lack of household organisation and yesterday I bought a concertina file. Go me!! Lol

Definetly bin manuals. I was getting really pissed off with the boiler manual always wedging the drawer shut so I binned it and downloaded it onto my phone.

I can [very smugly] suggest buying a 2-drawer filing cabinet (on offer in Staples at around £45. I have now consolidated various concertina files, which fall open, won't close properly etc etc, into one location. I have a file for each child, one for the dog, and then separate files for everything else (ie Visa, boiler, water, rates, pension, insurance, operating manuals...)

I found that with concertina files you end up with several lots of paperwork in one folder, which is confusing, ie boiler, british gas, building works.

I'm very pleased with myself.

Receipts all in one folder. Heater/boiler manual on shelf in airing cupboard. Manuals for washer, dryer, cooker in small drawer in kitchen. Rest of manuals in plastic snap folder with all other paperwork.

My filing system is FAR more basic streamlined than all of these.

I have a box (a nice one, it is from Ikea and is a duck egg colour).

On the front is written '2015'.

If I have something I think I need to keep, it goes in the box. At the end of the year, I tie it up and chuck it into the attic. 6x years stays at any one time. Manuals go in a drawer in the kitchen.

Very simple and saves on the piles in the kitchen waiting for a decision to be made on them!

Boy do I know about those (filing) piles in the kitchen ...

I have one case thing for guarantees with receipts,manuals etc. All our new build certificates etc.
A file for all utilities etc
A file for all my stuff to do with bank,tax.

LBOCS - I like your style :)