Tilly - I also keep my tax returns, with related receipts for seven years. (And actually posted a question about this last week! lol). Utility bills, pay stubs, insurance (car) statements and policies get tossed (burned) every year. I keep bank statements in a binder and purge every two years. Plus, we also do most of our banking online and can print out reports for info we need, as well. Owner's manuals for appliances, large purchases, furniture, etc. I keep, with the original receipt stapled to the manual - and keep as long as we have the purchase. Medical, dental, animal health records, mortgage stuff, and investment stuff are kept and never tossed. As well as all the personal info - death certs, wills, deeds, etc. Some keep more, some less, but this is just what works for me!
I just combined DH's files and mine together into one *large* plastic file box. Everything is foldered with tabs, and easy to see. It makes it a piece of cake to do bill payment and any filing on a weekly basis, and I keep the box in the closet in our "office" - the extra bedroom. There's also a long term "overflow" box for older paperwork, and I keep it in the same closet on a shelf.
Now, it did take me a couple of weeks to finally get everything square, but it has cut way down on the paper clutter and piling up issue I've always had!
