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Good morning, Marilyn. In my work as a downsizing Realtor ™ I encounter clients who have amassed boxes and boxes of papers over the years. Sometimes they keep papers out of an abundance of caution, worrying that their accountant or the tax man (or woman!) will require documents of some sort in the future. Sometimes they keep papers out of nostalgia, receipts and certificates and school notebook, as souvenirs of the happy past. And sometimes, they keep papers because they have simply forgotten what was in those boxes stacked in the basement or closet.
In our booklet, “The Decluttering Battle Plan,” I caution against getting mired in paper sorting, especially when you have a bigger concern with clutter throughout your home. That said, there is a time and place to deal with paper clutter because not every document is worth keeping.
For example, did you know that most of the time there’s no reason to keep utility bills longer than a year? Or bank statements, for that matter. As long as you have reconciled your statement items, and checked that the charges are correct, these can be safely disposed of next calendar year.
Perhaps you’ve heard that you need to retain income tax returns for 7 years. Fact or fiction? Fact! Yes, keep your returns and the supporting documents for seven years, and then these too can be chucked. Good riddance, I say!
You might ask, “Are there documents that I should keep indefinitely?” Yes, there is a small list of documents that should be retained, such as birth, death, marriage and divorce certificates; wills, vehicle and property titles; annual investment statements, and a few other documents.
If you’ve been listening to this list of documents and thinking, “My gosh, I have a ton of documents I really don’t need to keep cluttering up my home,” we’ve got a solution for you! (Of course we do! It’s in our name, SMART Realty Solutions!)
In two weeks, we are hosting our Community Paper Shredding and CHATS Fundraising event. This is an opportunity for listeners to bring their documents for secure, while-you-wait shredding. There is no charge for the shredding but we do collect cash donations, all of which are delivered to CHATS headquarters. (For those who don’t know, CHATS stands for Community Housing and Transportation for Seniors, and it’s a charitable organization that provides programs and services to enhance the lives of seniors and their caregivers.)
Our Shredding Event will be taking place Saturday, May 11th in three locations: Richmond Hill, Aurora and Markham. For more information or to register, please visit our website, smartrealtysolution.com or call me, Sharon, at 416-460-5636. You can bring your documents, don’t worry about staples or regular paper clips, and watch them being shredded. After that, the fiber will be recycled into TP just a few days later! Reclaim your living space, help seniors live independently, and help the environment! That’s what I love, a win/win/win situation!
And if you can’t make it to this fundraising event on the 11th, we still have FREE downloadable resources to deal with paper clutter. We have a paper clutter cheat sheet, and our larger workbook, The Decluttering Battle Plan, both which can be requested online or by making a call.
The number to reach me is 416-460-5636
Here are the links to register:
Richmond Hill Centre for Performing Arts- from 9:00 AM- 11:00 AM
CHATS, 240 Edward St, Unit 1 Aurora- from 12:00 PM- 2:00 PM
Markham Village Arena, 6041 Hwy 7- from 3:00 PM- 5:00 PM
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Marilyn Wetson's "From a Woman's Perspective"
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