What is the easy way to remove clutter ?

Why don't you scan those billing statements into the computer and shred/discard the paper copy?

I do not have a computer, printer or scanner - yes, really! Each month has a folder with bills paid. Have a file on each pet, chip info, vaccination schedule, license, etc. Each appliance has a folder with the receipt, warranty info and owners manuel. Each car has a folder, etc. Home insurance in another folder. This system works for me, easy to find when I need something.

Just take time to go through all your stuff and organize once with whatever system you choose. It will make your life so much easier.

Everything you do not need, recycle bin or shred.

I disagree with Molly because I did this once years ago and then the computer took a dump and I lost all the data I had scanned. Now I only keep the most recent billing statement until the new one arrives, then I toss the old one out.

I have large Manila envelopes for each bill/statement etc. I keep 12 months worth, then shred in January to start the year fresh...I have also switched to paperless billing for any bank statements/bill companies that offer that service,..generally speaking there will be an online version archived for 12-18 months in case of a dispute or a need to refer to something in the past

Sharon, my mom used to keep all her statements for at least 8 years! some were permanent keepers ... this is what I found to help my sisters and I sort through it all to help her out with decluttering:

http://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/what-records-keep-how-long-1267.php

I hope it helps you too. Thanks for comimg to Hometalk for a solution.

I pay most of my bills online. Since I see your post here, I know you have online access and can do this too.

Most places that bill you have websites that will show you how to pay your bill electronically, and they will offer you e-statements to cut down on your paper clutter.

If you have any bills that don't have online payments, check your online banking site; they have ways to pay all of your bills when you register them to the bank. You can select the payee (pay to the order of and their address), and the bank will send them a paper check if they don't have an electronic way of receiving payments. If you can't tell, call your bank and have them walk you through it.

Save it electronically as a PDF bill. Make your payment online. Download this free program to your desktop or laptop to make anything you save a PDF, like your payment confirmation: http://bit.ly/1It24pT

This is Cutewriter, a program that turns anything you want to print into a PDF you can save in a file on your computer, laptop, or storage. On this site, you will need both Cutewriter and Ghostscript, whose downloads are located to the right of the screen about halfway down the page. Install Ghostwriter first, then Cutewriter.

If you have a bill that cannot be paid online, then find your bank website and find their electronic payment section. If the company requires a paper check, the bank will send them one. All you have to do is provide a payee (pay to the order of) and the address. Then each month you can select the payee from a drop-down list and have the bank pay it. Then you can save your payment as a PDF. Store it on your computer or on storage media like a CD-ROM or flash drive.

We charge everything to one account. That cuts down a lot. The only receipts I save are those from our oil deliveries and that is because the price is so flexible and I would need to have that information should we sell our house. I pay all bills on line and immediately destroy paper copies. Now we even can pay our property taxes online. However I do have a lot of paper storage as I do decoupage, study genealogy, collect old letters and diaries etc. The answer is always adequate and implemented storage. I find those small plastic drawer wheeling things very helpful. I also have one in wood from Xmas tree shoppe that is good enough for living room, and holds a ton. The problem is usually not what people keep, it is how it is organized. Have you ever seen American pickers? Some of those collectors have a ton of stuff and some of them have it very well organized.