Project nine, streamline your receipt system, is another one where I feel happy to know that something in my life really might be appropriately organized.
My current receipt system is fairly basic. All receipts get stashed next to my computer to wait to get entered into Quicken the next time I’m doing that sort of work. Once they’re entered, receipts for items that I will never need to think about again get dumped in my shred box. This includes items like groceries, dining out, and basic household purchases (toilet paper, shampoo, etc.)
Any purchases where I might need to return something, the receipt gets placed in an open file box that currently is on top of a bookcase (it’s waiting for a better home once we get our furniture back). Generally things only stay there for a couple of months at the most, and then they’re either returned or, if I’m keeping the item, the receipt gets shredded.
For big purchases (electronics, furniture, appliances, etc.) I have a receipts file folder and things go in there. Every few years we go through the folder & toss anything we no longer have or need to keep.
Home maintenance or improvement receipts (big things like a new garage door, or carpet) go into my home maintenance folder. It also gets purged very occasionally.
Auto maintenance receipts go into my auto maintenance folder. This helps when I’ve sold cars in the past, and it really doesn’t take up much room.
How do you handle receipts? Anyone have any other methods for dealing with receipts you need to keep? I’m always looking for new ideas to see if my methods can be improved.
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