Simplifying by Purging Paper, Step 2

Today’s task for purging paper should be simple: Decide what you need to keep.

I have broken my decision making into 3 categories and then considered what kinda stuff comes into our house.

Category A: Toss It

• Till Receipts. Any receipts that I will never, ever need again (ex; no warranty, nothing to return). I hang on to them long enough to see them go through the bank account so that nothing has been charged incorrectly.
• Stuff I will never need to reference again.

Category B: Scan It, then Toss It

• Documents or articles I like or need.  I will take magazine articles I like, scan them (or snap a photo of them), and then pass the magazine off to someone else.
• Momentos. Please don’t be offended that I do not have your family’s Christmas card still hanging up. Rather I have scanned it in and discarded it.
• Kids Crafts. I love the pictures my son makes. But I don’t like the clutter. So I scan it and toss it.
• Maybe Utility and Credit Card Statements?  See the notes and references from the CRA at the end about keeping electronic documents and why you probably don’t need the paper.

Category C: Scan It, then File It

• Anything for Taxes. If it has to do with our tax return, I scan it then file it for our wonderful accountant to receive in the next few weeks.
• Utility and Credit Card Statements. At this moment I actually don’t know why I keep these after I scan them. Let me know what you do about these.
• Receipts with Warranty. Usually if you need to claim something on warranty, the manufacturer wants the original receipt. After scanning, I staple it to the manual.
• Medical Receipts. I keep these originals until I submit for reimbursement at which time I mail them away and still have the digital copy.
• Vital Statistics Stuff. Passports, birth certificates, wills, etc. Scanned and filed or put in security deposit box.

This weekend’s project (hopefully will finish by the end) will be to take our filing cabinet and sort everything in to one of those 3 piles.

Oh, and here is what I found today from the CRA about what you need to keep in its original electronic or paper form:

“If any of your supporting documents are initially created, transmitted, or received electronically, they must be retained in an electronic format. Scanned images of paper documents, records, or books of account that are maintained in electronic format are acceptable if proper imaging practices are followed and documented.”

They give some further information on their website if you are extremely concerned either personally or professionally.