old paper

[adrian_turtle]

I need to do a lot of things before I move out of this apartment. The big ones, obviously, are finding a suitable* place to move TO, packing everying** into boxes***, and moving it. It won't be feasible to go look at potential apartments, nor to go get empty boxes, until the weather clears. So I am having a quiet day at home, beginning to sort through the everything.

I have 4 boxes of documents I've saved over the years, for a variety of reasons. Is there any reason to keep car insurance or purchase records when I don't own the car anymore? How long do I need to I save tax returns? Health insurance records? (I want to keep the dental insurance records because they're kind of funny.) Bank statements? Documents about my student loan, which was completely paid in 2001? I might be able to shred more than half this stuff, which would clear up a couple of boxes to start packing.


*I'd like to thank those of you who pointed me toward Sovay, who helped me redefine "suitable." We plan to share, and having an ally in the search is making the whole process less terrifying.

**Everything I expect to fit into half a large 2-bedroom apartment. That's quite a bit more than would fit into a studio, but I still need to do some culling.

***The only empty boxes currently in the apartment are shoeboxes.

Comments

[aedifica]

Oh! I have some empty boxes you'd be welcome to, and more to come as I find places for more of my still-in-boxes stuff.

Edited to add: Come to think of it, though, my boxes may be too cat-haired for you to want to use them. But the offer stands if you think that wouldn't be a problem.

[adrian_turtle]

Thank you so much for the offer of empty boxes! Cat hair will not be a problem--I'm not allergic to the beasts, just not fond of having them in my space.

Do you have a car that will make it easy to move empty boxes to Arlington in a few days when the roads are clear? Or should I start working on the logistics problem?

[aedifica]

I do not have a car. (Which I'm very happy about on days like today! [Edited to clarify: because of the snow, not because it means I can't bring you boxes. Which was probably clear already, but I wanted to make sure.])

[adrian_turtle]

I understand and agree. Having a car is a terrible burden on days like today.

[redbird]

I think it's seven years for tax returns; I suspect I am being over-cautious in using "if it's from the previous century I don't need it" as my guideline. I am shredding or recycling almost all the health insurance stuff (depending on whether it has either a current ID number or my social security number).

I don't think I have any remaining paperwork from my student loan; at most, you might keep any official acknowledgement that it's paid off.

[adrian_turtle]

Thank you, love. I've cleared out a lot of papers already. Quite a lot has been old academic paperwork. My standard there has been to throw out anything I can no longer understand. *sigh* It's kind of amazing how much that eliminates.