It turns out that we all may have a little hoarder in us. I’m extremely organized and routinely purge my house and wardrobe of unused items. Better to donate them so they can get some use. That being said I was going through some of my files today and realized they were really full and needed some cleaning as well.
Let’s start with the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission, I have bills dating back to 1991. I have trash company bills for companies we haven’t used in over fifteen years. I have phone bills from the early onset of the cellular days. You know back when we used to pay per call and per minute. When peak time and non-peak time mattered. I have homeowners insurance bills for the last two or three houses (I’ve been in my current house for 14 years so that’s old). I have credit card receipts for cards I haven’t had in years. I think you get a picture!!
I realize I do have a bit of an addiction to paper trails. I convince myself that if someone needs to see my Pepco bill from 2002, I will have it so I better not trash it. Most stores ask if they can email you a receipt these days but I always insist on the paper copy. I pay everything online, I bank online and I shop online but I can’t seem to update my thinking when it comes to receipts and bills.
I have now cleaned out my files and only saved the last few years which I know is not necessary for most items but I need to take baby steps. My new problem is, thanks to identification fraud, I need a super size shredder to get rid of everything!
Think it’s safe to throw it away?
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