When is the last time you needed an old pay stub? How old was the pay stub you needed?
When is the last time you needed to refer to an old utility bill, or cancelled check or medical receipt, etc.?
I used to keep old documents like this but finally went through and shredded everything. I now get all statements/bills electronically and do not print copies, unless I have a specific need to do so. For items I must receive by mail, I shred them at year end or when I’m doing taxes early the next year.
I keep house purchase docs and previously owned house docs - mortgage docs, payoff info, deed, etc. I also keep about 10 years of tax returns. All else gets shredded. I have everything, including current & former house docs, car titles, birth certificates, marriage license and tax stuff in a two drawer file cabinet. No other paper.
A question you might ask yourself is “What’s the worst that could happen if I get rid of something I later need?” My guess is it’s nothing too catastrophic.
Would you consider gathering all boxes that are older than one year and moving them to a location such as the garage, and if one more year goes by without you needing to access the records take it all to a place that shreds such material?
Now if I could just sort through, organize & scan decades of photos…definitely a rainy day project.
