Sounds to me like you should just focus on finding the other 10 - 20 per cent of the tax papers. Don't dare try to truly sort out all those piles right now. I would suggest taking each stack, starting with where you think tax stuff is most likely to be and just sort into 3 piles - tax stuff needed now for the accountant, trash (right into the wastebasket) and "other stuff to deal with later". Don't let yourself get sidetracked on the "other stuff" thinking you should really make a stack for each category like utility bills, wedding stuff etc. or you will get bogged down by it. You need the tax stuff, just the tax stuff right now - approach it like you have blinders on. Any trash you can throw away on the search for tax papers is that much less paper to deal with later, but decide quickly. If you're not sure, stick it in the "other stuff" pile and deal with it later. And once you do get all the tax papers, don't make a huge project for yourself trying to sort out everything else right away, if there's five years of papers, it's going to take a lot of little bites to do so you don't get overwhelmed. Louise has a good essay on paper on the website when you decide to begin on the "big" project.
Airual
Who also better start getting her taxes done soon. Have never
yet been late. No comment as to whether they're usually mailed after
April 10th. :)
Linda Leverance wrote:
Now, the PROBLEM that I need your help with.....I have a guest room and
office whose only guest right now is papers everywhere!!! With the time
it takes running 2 businesses, I've let things get terribly messy. I
absolutely must get all my real estate stuff ready for my accountant by
March 15th. and, thankfully, 80-90% of it is in a file folder on my
desk. It's the other 10-20% of it that's causing me fits right now. I
have so much paperwork piled in stacks in our guest room and in my
office it's not even funny. I used to be truly organized and still am
pretty much so, except for the paper! Oh, what trauma just to think
about it! It all began when our first daughter got married over 5 years
ago. I got into the bad habit of piling papers up because I was busy
with work and trying to help my daughter plan her wedding. I guess it
got to be a bad habit that still continues.
