IT’S A NEW YEAR!

New Year?  Resolutions?  Fresh Start?  A great time to get organized.  Office supplies and filing supplies are on sale everywhere!  Get started!  In today’s cyber and digital world, we truly don’t need to keep paper like we used to.  I had a client who insisted on keeping paper documents and tax returns that dated back to 1973.  I couldn’t talk him out of it as he was afraid of the big bad auditor!  So, with respect I organized all his boxes and files into bins safely in his garage.

The important part was moving forward.  I organized all his receipts and supporting documents all year through so when it was time to file, it was easy and quick to package it up for his accountant.  The accountant?  Loved me.  My client?  Sadly, passed away this year.  The bins in his garage entered the teeth of a shredder.  The moral of this story?  We don’t need to keep old paper documents forever.  Don’t leave these for your children to sort through.  Seek the advice of your accountant as to what to keep and what not to keep and how long.  I promise you don’t need to keep the 1973 documents. 

So, start fresh… clean out… the worn-out manila file folders can be replaced with colorful ones that will make you happy when opening that drawer… use a label maker to label the folders so they are consistent and readable… get some new pens and pencils… perhaps fun colorful desk accessories… most important… file the piles and keep up with it all year long!  That is a worthy resolution!