The only paper stuff I really have is my papers from when I got my Veterinary Assistant certification, the dog and cat's vet records, the important papers like birth certificates, soc. cards, divorce papers, etc, and a small box full of years worth of old cards that the kid and I got for holidays, birthdays, etc. No idea why I saved em, I should cut the fronts off and send em to that St Judes card recycling program. Oh, and there's a manila folder with all the guides that go with the stove/fridge/water system/etc/etc. Have to keep those. All other paper gets tossed, I don't save any mail or catalogs or anything, and all bills and stuff get tossed as soon as they're paid. My mom yelled at me for that, she saves all bills, bank statements, anything and everything for at least 7 years. I save none of that. The electric company has the record that we've paid, so no need to save em. Bank statements, no need to save those, if for any reason we need one, we can go to the bank and request a copy of the month in question.
The paper I do have that needs worked on is a small box with about 6 months worth of a few different magazines in it. My mom gives me her old magazines when she's done, and the ones I have no interest in go in a box to take to the library, they use em for crafts and stuff, and what they don't want, they put in a Paper Retriever bin and it's like a fundraiser, they get so many cents for so many pounds of paper. But, the ones I did save to read got shunted aside while we moved to the new place, and the box is under the living room table, but I haven't made any reading progress yet. The ones I do get read go to the library too when I'm done.
I have well over a thousand books, but that to me is not clutter, they are my beloved collection, and when I look at them I feel like Gollum, all 'my preciousssssss'. I re-read a lot, so the ones I loved I keep. The ones that didn't impress me, if they are in good shape, I put em on paperbackswap.com so I can trade em for new ones, and the ones that are in not so good condition go in the yard sale box. We do a huge yard sale every summer over at my grandparents, so that's where most of the stuff I don't want anymore goes. My OM probably doesn't see my collection like I do, but oh well. :tongue2:
The other answer I checked is the cords and cables. I have one of those plastic tote boxes full of extra cable, extra cords to the Playstation, extension cords, random USB cords that I don't know what they go to or came with, extra ethernet cable, and so on. I did manage to offload a bunch of em last summer, but I still have more than I should have.
Otherwise, I'm pretty good at keeping up with stuff I don't want no more. Old food gets tossed right away, I don't let anything moulder in the fridge. Clothes that don't fit me I get rid of right away, either yard sale or one of those drop boxes in the grocery store parking lot. The kid's outgrown clothes all go to the yard sale, and then whatever doesn't sell my grandma takes to the county clothing center.
Oh, one more paper thing I just thought of... I have about four or five Sunday papers worth of coupons stacked up I need to go through and clip out. They fell behind the cedar chest and I forgot about them. More than half are probably expired by now, so it shouldn't take me too long.
