I’ve (finally) started to think about decreasing the paperwork (and photos) hidden in our dresser cabinet. The three box files (pictured below) contain guarantees and old paperwork relating to our house purchase. Obviously we need to keep a copy of all the important stuff so I’m beginning the (long and arduous) task of scanning everything; I’ll then move it onto _ _ _ _?? Which is where you come in: What do you think is the best frugal way to digitally store paperwork?
The pink box in the photo above contains the extra photos from our wedding. Dh would like to keep a hard copy of these, so I’m going to sort them all and place them in an album. Upstairs (lurking in our box room) I have another box of photos which will need organising too. This is something that I’ve been ignoring for a very long time….I’m not even sure how many pictures there are, but it all needs doing as I’ve procrastinated on it far too long!
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{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
Hey Laura,
I tend to use my googlemail account like an online storage facility. I am sure someone will point out the flaws in this but for me it is an easy option. Alternatively you could go for a USB stick or harddrive and keep them in a fireproof box along with passports etc.
Amy x
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Laura Reply:
July 8th, 2011 at 2:40 am
Thanks for the suggestions Amy! Using g mail for some items is a great idea.
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Small point… and not really on the point, but ‘photos’ is a plural and doesn’t need an apostrophe.
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Laura Reply:
July 6th, 2011 at 12:33 pm
oops thank you!
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oooh. I have to do this too! I have a whole closet full of pictures and papers that need to be addressed, and purged. Thanks for the reminder!
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Laura Reply:
July 8th, 2011 at 2:41 am
Hi Sharon…it’s such a BIG job to complete. I’ve decided to split it into small parts! Good luck
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Ever since computers became a part of everyday like, I have accumulated more paper clutter. I was always told it should be the opposite. Working on it though
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Laura Reply:
July 8th, 2011 at 2:43 am
@Francesca Good point! I remember when we first got laptops at work..somehow we still had as much paperwork to complete!? I’ll never know why
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We did the same thing when we moved abroad. It was great. We scanned everything in…time consuming. However it was good because we threw out what we didn’t need and kept what papers really mattered. We originally used google docs, it is free and you can put passwords on specific documents, etc. We really enjoy being able to access our docs anywhere. We had to deal with some mortgage issues back in the states while in China and it was very very good we had all of our information. We keep our originals in a box with some family back in the states.
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Laura Reply:
July 9th, 2011 at 2:33 pm
Thanks Paz..I’m just realising how time consuming it all is! Seems like it will take forever to complete
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Ohhh, paperwork and photos! These two things are my nemesis with decluttering! I have a home printer/scanner which is quite slow, but I do now scan all my bills, mail etc. I upload everything onto Dropbox. It costs $10 a month, but was soooo worth it when my laptop died this month. I would have lost all my Uni assignments, recent photos etc. except for the online backup!
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Laura Reply:
July 12th, 2011 at 8:22 pm
@Fiona Thanks for the drop box tip Fiona!
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I’m currently in the process of organizing all of our photos. I rarely order prints these days, but I have a lot of photos from the past that need to be put in albums. My entire kitchen table is covered!
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Laura Reply:
July 12th, 2011 at 8:21 pm
@adoseoftlc Isn’t it such a big job organising photos……my table is covered too!
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I’m horrible at any kind of paper organization, including photos. My desk is always in a state of random scraps and scribbles. It’s a constant struggle that I have not managed to overcome yet. I’ve gotten loads better but there is still so much room for improvement. If you have tips I would love a post on it.
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Laura Reply:
July 12th, 2011 at 7:56 pm
@ Sandy. I have a feeling my ‘little’ project is going to take a while. Paper clutter has to be the hardest one to clear! I’ll post on my progress as I go along….if I can fix my camera I’ll do some pictures.
I’ve trained myself to write all my scribbles/notes in a little notebook that I carry around with me, previously I had scraps of paper everywhere.
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