Managing Important Documents at Home
Have you ever had a moment when you needed a specific document and had to tear your house apart to find it? Or struggled to get rid of paperwork that you weren’t quite sure if it was just clutter and not practical to keep any longer? Finding useful methods to store, safeguard, and destroy documents can greatly reduce anxiety around being prepared for important events in your life. Here are a few tips to help you make the most of your space and find your documents when you need them.
Getting Started
Firstly, look at your current document situation. If your filing system can best be described as “chaotic” or “there’s a method to the madness,” it might be time to think up some true solutions. There are some essential documents that every person needs to store safely such as social security information, tax documents, health records, real estate or automotive deeds and titles, etc. Finding a proper place and method of storage and ways of destroying those records you no longer need is essential.
Ok, let’s get started. Set aside time go through your home, office, and safe deposit and gather all your important documents in one place. Now begin sorting, creating piles of categories. Personal identification documents, Legal Documents, Financial Documents, Medical Records, Employment Records, Property Records, Insurance Documents, and Education records are good places to start. Labeling your piles can be helpful in case you have to leave the project and come back to it. Maybe use spare file folders for this first step to keep things tidy. If your piles are too big for the file folder, use a basket or box to help.
Once you have your categories sorted, start with the first category and look for any expired or outdated information. In general, personal identification, legal, and major medical records are kept indefinitely, but may need to be evaluated for condition (to order certified copies to replace them) or accuracy. Make sure to set aside documents that are no longer useful or relevant in a specific, safe place while you work through things. Do the same for each category until you’re sure all your documents you’re keeping are up-to-date, correct, and in good condition, making sure to order the replacements you may need from local, state, or federal agencies.
To Keep or Destroy?
Do NOT throw away documents whole. You may think that tucking them in your trash among kitchen waste or whatever is sufficient, but “dumpster divers” look for documents you might not even consider sensitive to steal your identity. Pre-approved credit card offers from the mail, bank statements, and anything that has an account number is a potential goldmine for thieves. Have a paper shredder in your home or find a way to securely store these documents until you can properly destroy them. Your Legacy FCU is hosting a membership shredding event on April 24th from 10-2 right in our drive thru, so come drop them off here and we will get them destroyed and recycled! As time goes on and you inevitably receive more mail that needs to be destroyed, or your insurance cards and registrations expire and are replaced, make sure to keep a spot for these items until they can be safely destroyed.
For keeping your other items, invest in a fireproof and waterproof safe or document bag, a safe deposit box at your local credit union, or at the very least a locked drawer in your home. It’s a common belief that storing important documents in a zippered plastic bag in the freezer will keep them safe, but it’s not a long-term solution and may lead to moldy documents. It could be useful for a natural disaster situation or short-term relocation, however. Consider an encrypted cloud storage possibility as well to keep scanned copies of documents for easy digital reference as well. Digital copies take up no space and can be accessed remotely should the need arise.
Maintenance Phase
Once your storage solution is complete, regular re-evaluations can help you stay on top of things going forward. Sort and destroy your junk mail, replace and maintain documents as they age out, and sort new documents into your already-sorted categories. Set up a reminder on your calendar once a week or once a month to revisit these and make sure it’s secure and safely managed. Consider creating a “in case of emergency” binder for your loved ones as well in the event of death or disabling injury which results in your inability to share such things as account numbers, passwords, and PINs, as well, and store it safely as well, sharing access only to those who you deem necessary. We will cover more about this binder in a future blog post.
Finally, take a breath of fresh air! Congratulations on getting your stuff in order and making sure that if there’s any need for your marriage certificate, your automotive title, or your tax return documents, you know right where they are.
Here are some specific points as well:
- Do NOT carry your paper social security card in your wallet or on your person or vehicle. Also do not laminate the card. Your card is to be kept safely at home and your number committed to memory if possible.
- In the State of Ohio, your vehicle registration comes in a perforated form with 2 copies. Separate them carefully and keep the copy with your address on it in your home. Only store the copy without the address in your vehicle (perhaps in a small bag with your insurance card) so if your vehicle is compromised, they don’t have your address.
- Do NOT store your vehicle title in your vehicle. If stolen, this makes it very easy for the thief to pass it off as the owner to a potential buyer.
If you have any other tips or tricks, drop us a line at marketing@yourlegacyfcu.com and we might feature them in a future blog post!
