This year, perhaps more than ever before... we have realized the importance of clearing out,
using things as much as you can (and in new ways)... and of salvaging and fixing things up.
To this end, I thought I would do a series of posts on clearing out and organizing, and living a simpler life.
I hope to do one once a week (Check out previous posts on Thursdays!)
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One of the hardest items to work on clearing out... is paper.
It's hard because, there are times when it is necessary to keep papers; like tax returns, receipts, licenses
... so the inclination is to keep more than is perhaps needed.
Generally speaking, most folks recommend 3yrs worth of bank statements, tax returns and such to be kept on file.
Things like medical records, marriage license/ divorce papers, birth records, immunizations... should be kept indefinitely.
Then there is personal stuff... love letters, cards, mementos... that is the hard stuff...
And each person is different. Some folks can toss cards out willy-nilly... some folks (like my mom) keeps every card she ever got.
As a photographer, I have troubles with film prints.
Yes, I have the negatives... so I can always make a new copy if desired. But I still have difficulty throwing out prints. I hope (one day) to get them all scanned so that I have digital copies... but that is a process that is going to take me a very long time.
My other weakness is art materials.
This week I have been going through magazines and tubs of clippings... fodder for future collage work. And it can be exhausting. There is the desire to save it all. What if I need a picture of a chair... or a car? or a cat? ... >>sigh<<
At some point you have to say, enough is enough... and if I need it I will look online for a print.
No one can tell you what your "enough" meter is... but I will tell you that most organizers tell folks to err on the side of less.
Keep plugging away at it!
See you all tomorrow.
One of the hardest items to work on clearing out... is paper.
It's hard because, there are times when it is necessary to keep papers; like tax returns, receipts, licenses
... so the inclination is to keep more than is perhaps needed.
Generally speaking, most folks recommend 3yrs worth of bank statements, tax returns and such to be kept on file.
Things like medical records, marriage license/ divorce papers, birth records, immunizations... should be kept indefinitely.
Then there is personal stuff... love letters, cards, mementos... that is the hard stuff...
And each person is different. Some folks can toss cards out willy-nilly... some folks (like my mom) keeps every card she ever got.
As a photographer, I have troubles with film prints.
Yes, I have the negatives... so I can always make a new copy if desired. But I still have difficulty throwing out prints. I hope (one day) to get them all scanned so that I have digital copies... but that is a process that is going to take me a very long time.
My other weakness is art materials.
This week I have been going through magazines and tubs of clippings... fodder for future collage work. And it can be exhausting. There is the desire to save it all. What if I need a picture of a chair... or a car? or a cat? ... >>sigh<<
At some point you have to say, enough is enough... and if I need it I will look online for a print.
No one can tell you what your "enough" meter is... but I will tell you that most organizers tell folks to err on the side of less.
Keep plugging away at it!
See you all tomorrow.