Do you color code your files at home? - Page 2

Snicks1 · ‎07-28-2012

Not color coded, but in hanging pendaflex file folders which are tabbed and labeled, in wooden file cabinets. I recently went through all the files and burned/shredded a lot of things that were no longer necessary (maybe never were, lol).

"To each their own, in all things".

151949 · ‎03-09-2010

Actually , my DH the hoarder , does keep every receipt and scrap of paper, he keeps every bill after he pays it, every letter we get in the mail. He has boxes and boxes of files. He has ALL the income taxes he has ever filed - and he has had a full time job since he was 16 & he is now 72. Anyway , though , in all that mess of papers, miraculously - he has them all tidy & neat and COLOR CODED and in boxes by the year.When we sold our house in Pa he had each and every owners manuel from every appliance in the house as well as all the things that had come with the house from the builder like garage doors and garage door opener, heat pump, roof warranty, gutter warranty etc etc etc. He made 2 file boxes of information for the new owners - owners manuels and warranties for just about everything in that house.Also what tradesman we used for each and every need - painter, roofer, windows, gutter cleaner, gutter installer, carpet cleaner , yearly service items like the heat pump - who to call for that.

We threw away about 60 boxes of stuff that we no longer owned the device he had the manuels and warranties for.

Snowpuppy · ‎03-09-2010

@MalteseMomma wrote:

files?.......what files?

I have a 2 drawer oak filing cabinet and went thru it today. I think there are 4 hanging folders.

I do have about a gig of stuff saved to a jump.

Desertdi · ‎03-13-2010

My ma had papers from 1939 thru 2011. I'm STILL going thru them........

♥Surface of the Sun♥

MalteseMomma · ‎03-09-2010

@Desertdi wrote:
My ma had papers from 1939 thru 2011. I'm STILL going thru them........

I think ,but I really do not know..........you can just shred or throw away most of them and only go through the last 7 (maybe less) yrs...........

I think my kids will have to do this too........lol I just throw everything into a cardboard box yr after yr....BUT, I know what is in in there.......lol..

I have boxes since my DH death in 92..........

BUT one yr and I have told this story "add nausem" (sorry for the spelling) One time I was so happy I did this..QVC (of all people) was after me for $ 4,000 saying I did not pay my bill............lol I have ALWAYS paid my bill in full the minute I get it..............they said I only paid $4 on a $4,000 Bill .......lol I had to get my bank to fight it and of course I won!!!! I always pay my bill in full (30 yrs) on the very day I get it......... it was their billing person that made the mistake and only posted $4.00 payment on my acount.....

Bridgegal · ‎03-09-2010

@151949 wrote:
Actually , my DH the hoarder , does keep every receipt and scrap of paper, he keeps every bill after he pays it, every letter we get in the mail. He has boxes and boxes of files. He has ALL the income taxes he has ever filed - and he has had a full time job since he was 16 & he is now 72. Anyway , though , in all that mess of papers, miraculously - he has them all tidy & neat and COLOR CODED and in boxes by the year.When we sold our house in Pa he had each and every owners manuel from every appliance in the house as well as all the things that had come with the house from the builder like garage doors and garage door opener, heat pump, roof warranty, gutter warranty etc etc etc. He made 2 file boxes of information for the new owners - owners manuels and warranties for just about everything in that house.Also what tradesman we used for each and every need - painter, roofer, windows, gutter cleaner, gutter installer, carpet cleaner , yearly service items like the heat pump - who to call for that.
We threw away about 60 boxes of stuff that we no longer owned the device he had the manuels and warranties for.

OMG!!! I don't know when I've been as shocked by something. My mouth is literally wide open in amazement. Wow!!!! I don't know whether to say 'great idea' or 'lock him up'.

Katcat1 · ‎07-21-2011

I will say it nicely - heck no. If I was younger I could have gone into that but not now. I bought a file at Target for hanging files that is a very hard cardboard and it works out perfectly for me. I guess if I was bored one day I could go all out with colored tabs attached to the hanging file but I am never bored. I have found that I get more mail that I don't want from my supplemental insurance with monthly reports. Omg!

kindness is strength

JB116 · ‎10-12-2016

No because everything is digital and the drive is shared by myself and my sons so if anything ever happened they wouldn't have any issues finding it all.

I HATE hard copies of anything unless it's ABSOLUTELY necessary.

noodleann · ‎06-10-2015

@151949 wrote:
Actually , my DH the hoarder , does keep every receipt and scrap of paper, he keeps every bill after he pays it, every letter we get in the mail. He has boxes and boxes of files. He has ALL the income taxes he has ever filed - and he has had a full time job since he was 16 & he is now 72. Anyway , though , in all that mess of papers, miraculously - he has them all tidy & neat and COLOR CODED and in boxes by the year.When we sold our house in Pa he had each and every owners manuel from every appliance in the house as well as all the things that had come with the house from the builder like garage doors and garage door opener, heat pump, roof warranty, gutter warranty etc etc etc. He made 2 file boxes of information for the new owners - owners manuels and warranties for just about everything in that house.Also what tradesman we used for each and every need - painter, roofer, windows, gutter cleaner, gutter installer, carpet cleaner , yearly service items like the heat pump - who to call for that.
We threw away about 60 boxes of stuff that we no longer owned the device he had the manuels and warranties for.

You can tell Mr. 151949 that he has a fan. I've been having an intermittent argument with someone who's got all the "OHIO" and 7-year rules memorized, and wants me to part with my tax returns and appointment and address books, which date from 1977. They're in the garage, doing no one any harm. I can't understand why this bugs her.

I also have all the manuals, and sometimes the packaging, for all the tools and appliances and many other home items I've bought over the past 35+ years, including stuff for all the homes I've had except the info I left with new owners. Plus the packaging for most of the cosmetics and toiletries I've bought. They don't take up much room.

There are people who get anxious having stuff" and people who get anxious without it. If you're in the latter camp, organizing it is your second-best defense. The best defense, of course, is having vital information no one else does because they tossed it or don't know where they put it or believe that "all manuals are on the internet," which is definitely not the case.