I wrote this on another paper declutter video but it needs repeating. We were military and I created a tabbed binder with ALL “life paperwork”. Including wills, 401k investments, passports, life insurance. We also had pet info when we had pets car titles, registrations, house hud statement. It lives In a fire proof safe but the bag would work perfectly. So when we pcs’d aka moved, the binder went with us. When we had to shelter for tornados and hurricanes it went with us along with our “bug out bags” with emergency supplies for each person. I highly recommend creating it. And although a safety deposit box is good, if you both died it would be a nightmare getting into it. So putting all that into your bag would be smart. The military also suggested having a current and previous copy of orders as well as a paystub to show rank/pay deductions. I would also mention that I kept a binder for my husbands military paperwork orders, eprs, certificates and awards starting from his first day. He received 2 bronze stars and during promotion time they had a software update that only showed 1. They told him that they could not update it unless he had “proof”. Thankfully the paper certificate was in his binder. But I wonder what would have happened if we didn’t have it?? Yes declutter but as Americans and being military there is a ton of stuff to keep. I also recommend keeping the final bill for utilities that have been turned off during a move. 3 years after we moved we got a collections bill. They messed up and never shut out the account and used it for the new tenants. Thankfully I had the final bill showing turn off and 0 balance.
I love that you emphasized and showed your first pass and just focused on getting things in zones, and then refined the active systems. You are so far ahead of a year ago! And you're this organized in your new home already!! Way to go!
That bag is fire resistant for a short term exposer to a certain temperature and water resistant (not fireproof and waterproof). Water will leak into it and ruin your items (if you empty it out and just put blank paper in there and spray it with a water hose in the yard it will have water in it) and that’s just a yard hose, just imagine a fire hose. My husband is a firefighter and he said these things don’t really work. Because obviously they use water to put out fire and these normally do not hold up. I just wanted to let everybody know so they don’t 100% count on these bags that you do have a back up. I scanned everything and save it to the cloud so I don’t have to worry about it. It was a lot of work, but once it’s done it’s super easy to keep up with and worth it. I had my husband help me because after all it’s his papers to!
They all have ratings usually on the packaging or the box. Fortunately passports, birth certificates, marriage certificates can all be repurchased at your local government building. Losing something that is of importance to each individual is never easy, but when it comes to a fire our lives and our loved ones truly are the only thing that matters. If God said to me hey your house is going to start on fire, but I’m gonna give you five minutes to get everything out that is important to you. I’m going to get all my family out, all my animals out and I’m not going to care less about any of my stuff/things.
That is freaking smart to keep your 'life documents' (aka ID) in a fireproof waterproof bag. I am totally going to do that!! Thank you, Erica🌷 "We support each other with kindness in the comments" ❤️❤️🔥❤️
A few years ago I had become immensely overwhelmed by paper clutter. It was all together but piled up into boxes, tubs and even a couple of laundry baskets. I paid a friend who was great at organising, to help me deal with it all completely over 2 days. I hired a commercial document destruction bin as I knew there would be too much to shred. It is so time consuming because I literally had to look at every single item and decide if it needed to be filed, recycled or shredded. I sat while my friend brought me pile after pile of papers (7 years worth) and on the first day we had narrowed down all of the papers to the filing/keep pile. On the second day we sorted the paperwork and filed them in the relevant files in date order, while also removing older papers from files that we no longer needed to keep. By the end, the destruction bin was fill to the brim, as was our recycling bin. I kept up the good paper habits for about 3 years, but I am back to having 2 baskets of paperwork that needs sorting. At least now I know how to tackle it, it’s just finding the motivation and a daily system that works for me so I can stick to it long term!
Do you think part of Rebecca's recovery is due to your decluttering? I have SEVERE dust mite allergies, that were undiagnosed until 2019 (I was 43). Once I buckled down and REALLY decluttered (with you 😉), my asthma got so much better.
My allergies GREATLY improved after I replaced carpet with laminate flooring, declutter Ed books and papers, and had my furnace inspected and repaired. Oddly, the furnace had originally been installed totally incorrectly, which made its filter system almost useless. Plus, I replace my bedroom pillows yearly. Good luck to you!
I was wondering the same thing! My son also has light environmental allergies - I just realized he hasn’t been sniffing and snuffing like he used to! 😱
Some rainy day, when you are looking for something to do, 😁 sort your medical paperwork by person (then by date, from oldest to newest, if you are especially bored 😬). You could be very glad you did in the future.
I took inspiration last year from your sorting this stuff. It took the best part of 6 months but my family paperwork is now entirely in one binder. (Minus sentimental) I am so pleased I can go directly to this and file anything that comes in straight away and not have random drawers and boxes full of it anymore.
Suggestion:take the time to put each kids exisitingg paper medical records into separate binders. Add tabs in them to separate illnesses or bloodwork and testing done. Oldest dates in the back to newest dates on the top, Then store them in the bins. If you are found to need emergency hospital care, it is easier to grab than sorting through piles while during a highly stressful time. Don't think you have time to do this? Set a timer weekly to make it a project till it is done. Just 30 minutes to an hour will get it completed.
It’s so amazing how much you have done in a year!!! You are amazing and should be so proud of all you’ve done and do every day. I love your videos and family. So glad I came across your channel🥰
Thanks! Maybe my paper situation is better than I'm giving myself credit for... everybody keeps telling me to throw that crap away, but I have repeatedly referenced things that most minimalists would trash... With those medical papers, --- Last year, I put ours in 3 ring binders, one per person, in close-ish to chronological order. It's been quite helpful as I've switched pediatricians several times. The docs were seriously impressed. 😉
Excellent video, Erica! I'm always eager to watch whatever you post, as soon as I can. One suggestion re: the kids' medical records: keep in mind they may need at least some of the summary info even as adults, particularly any hospitalizations, surgeries, and of course immunizations (retired nurse talking here, lol!). Thanks so much for all you do! 👍😉💕
so true. My daughter had some neuropsych testing a couple yrs back and they needed sooo much medical info- her personal medical histoty, my pregnancy medical info from when i had her, even family medical info. it was soo overwhelming, esp looking up drs she had seen over a short period when she was a baby or knowing about family stuff. You just never know what drs will need to know.
Agreed. My now adult daughter had surgery as a baby, and she has needed that info for current health care needs. Medical records must be kept by the provider for a long time, but they are stored and take a long time to get if you need them. I kept a pared down collection of what might be needed as she grew up: surgical notes, specialist reports, hospital discharge summaries. I gave them all to her when it was time, and she was grateful to have them.
Omg is it really a year since you did that HUGE pile of paper??? 😮 it’s a job I find very difficult to do. Thanks for the great tips and ideas. Stay safe and healthy. Mary
Would love to hear why you think your current process hit a snag (and led to the pile). I get a lot out of learning others’ thought process. Well done on your progress!
I LOVE LOVE LOVE the fireproof document bag and I'm ordering one from Amazon today. I have a safe deposit box but it can be a pain in the neck to manage and I really don't need all of my important documents to be stored in that. This document bag is such a great idea. Thanks for the tip!
Paper was always an issue for me but thankfully it is much more manageable since both my kids aged out of school. I reckon about 85% of all the paper we had cluttering up our home was school related, even though I switched to getting emails instead of paper. It was a terrible waste of trees I reckon. 12% is junk mail I keep being sent and the last 3% is actual useful paperwork. That 3% is easy to keep track of nowadays so my paper nightmare seems to be finally past. Yay! :)
Most knowledgeable techies recommend keeping three digital copies of anything you value, which would include important documents and pictures, for sure. Keep one copy in the Cloud for easy access from anywhere, one on some kind of accessible media like CD/DVD, and another on a flash drive or portable hard drive. You can scan your items to your computer, then have it automatically back up to both the Cloud and a portable hard drive to make things easier. It is a good idea to store a copy with a trusted friend or family member, or in a safe deposit box, as well. Once scanned, you can easily transfer items you'd like to review or enjoy often to Media that works with your home devices (DVD player, for example.)
I am so proud of you! I came across your channel 7-8-9 months ago, when your husband came home. I was impressed then (mainly how sweet you and your husband were together), but you have really updated your channel. WAY TO GO!!! Glad to see you on the January declutter!
We have a “bug out binder”. Started it when we lived on the base in Cuba. So if there was ever an emergency evacuation of the base we could pack quick. It is a zip up binder so nothing falls out!
I feel like if you had just a couple folders on your desk labeled short term, long term to match your closet system this pile wouldn't happen. When the folders get full you can take it to your closet and put them away but you aren't likely to do it every piece or day.
@@melissatamer9193 Hi. I got mine from amazon. It’s the “KeeQii fireproof/waterproof bag”.My apologies; I’m not very tech savvy lol. I tried to link it. They have many different ones as well. Hope this helps:)
Erica, you have 3 children. I am single with no kids. Sometimes I watch your videos and get tired just seeing how much you do in your day. Don't ever call yourself lazy again. I am lazy.
Your paper pile's "twin" is sitting on my desk. (hahaha) all good intentions, long to-do list, however the pile is not as daunting as when we started - right? Thanks for the videos! (never long enough bc I enjoy watching your journey, reminds me of mine started years ago and is always a work in progress. Always looking forward to the next video you post and how far you've come.) Enjoy the day!
Erica Lucas you’re welcome!! Also, you were the first person that I had heard talk about your fireproof and water resistant bag- - in another video from last year. You inspired me and I spoke with my husband about it; we found one that works for us! I appreciate you sharing this knowledge with us!
@@lesliestanleyangles Yes,I bought the exact one she has on Amazon because I had everything in a metal,fireproof box but it didn’t hold as much and all the standard size papers had to be folded.Now I can put a binder with page protectors in it and it won’t be such a heavy beast if we have to grab and go.
I got one of those fireproof bags after your video last year. What I do is have a three ring binder in it. Everything paper that I keep is scanned on my computer and saved to a flash drive that I keep in the bag. Then in the binder everything is organized in clear sheet protectors. Over my winter break from school I actually went through all of my paper. Anything important enough to keep in that binder/bag, I kept. Everything else besides stuff for the current year, I scanned and shredded. At the end of 2021, I'll scan and shred or move everything from this year.
I will say the only thing I own is a car, and I am single with no children (other than a dog child) and rent. I fully get that if you have a lot more going on in your life, you might need additional storage or to keep more paperwork than me. I also have hundreds of pages of medical records that would be impossible to replace. But I found that scanning and shredding them was actually a huge relief for me.
@@lauramitchell6725 It took me two weeks to get it all done, partially because my paper shredder can't do more than 20 minutes or so before overheating. But I'd been putting it off doing it for multiple years, so it was worth it. You could always compress your scanned documents into a zip file to email to a friend, and then they can get a flash drive themselves.
Wow! This is perfect for me! It makes sense in my head! 👍❤️❤️❤️ I thought I had a system but it has never worked so I'm gonna head out to make this happen. Thank you for sharing your system! ❤️🙏🙏🙏
truth running from fire I didnt grap the binder with the life docks. but we all lived including the pets. when we were military I had given my mother and mother in law a folder with a second and 3rd birth certificate for each of us. glad I had for many reasons. we did get into the house and the binder was fine (only the top half of the house was destroyed and smoke damaged down below.
Erica Lucas, even with sentimental, i have begun to take pictures of item and download to a flash drive. i have few family and when ive posted pics, the most response is, thats nice. not what a great pic or i remember that or can i get a copy. :(
Most people don't need to keep medical records long term, unless it's a chronic condition. If it's an office visit, paid by insurance correctly the EOBs can go. Sounds like your situation is a bit different. But not everyone needs to keep these long term. It was a relief when I realized that!
A lot of them can be useful in the future if you're ever applying for disability. I have a lot of psychiatric records and treatment records that were near impossible to get but would be hugely beneficial should I go that route. Even if I don't, because you really do have to fight to get them and some of them were from private treatment centers, they wouldn't be easily replaceable.
Hi Erica, could you explain to me please what qualifications you need to be able to homeschool, and will you be homeschooling when your children are in higher education. thanks, sweetie. very informative video.
I play around with my categories a lot. I've got a folder labeled Dumb Stuff (it means something to me) and one called Annoying Ex Stuff (mostly re finances and the kids). I don't think it's one size fits all.
I purchased a fireproof and waterproof bag and have added our important documents to it - passports, birth certificate and our wills etc. It’s reassuring to know I can grab the bag in an emergency 🙂🙂
Thanks so much for this video. I really need to do this as well. You are so awesome! P.s. I have a lot of grandkids drawings, and colorings that I need to save. Should I get a tote for all of it, or use the file system and organize it by who drew and colored what? Thanks in advance!
I have something I call an "I don't suck book" that I put happy papers in. It's a big 3 ring binder with clear folders. You could do something like that for each child? I would consider if you are storing it, how often you actually pull it out to look at it, and what would make it easy to go through. Also worth considering that if you're not ever pulling it out to look at, it might not even be worth keeping more than one or two pictures or replacing pictures every six months or so. I'm not a sentimental person though so that might not be helpful.
@@c_and_l Thanks! That’s a great idea! I’m on the cusp of being a senior, so I don’t think I’ll be taking it out often. I call every coloring my treasures. Maybe I’ll do this and just let them find the books after I’ve passed on. ❤️
@@dandylionriver I would question if you won't be taking it out often how much you should really keep. I personally wouldn't care about colorings and pictures I did as a small child. So that wouldn't matter to me. But everyone and every family is different. I'm just not sentimental with regards to much of anything.
I have started hanging up my kids’ artwork in one spot (on the basement door in my kitchen) for each season. My “kids” are 27, 23, and 20 lol. I hang a couple items on the door from each of them for Thanksgiving/Fall, Christmas, Valentines Day, Spring, etc. during the season. I have a gallon size zip loc bag for each season, and I store the bags in a drawer in my dining room. It is so special to see the precious things they made when they were small, and very fun for me to switch it out to the next season. Confession: I am still going through their keepsakes. In addition to the seasonal bags, I also have a box (or 2!) for each of them with the treasures they created. I hope to get these into a binder that we can easily flip through. I’m still working on it! 😊 But it warms my heart to display some of these special memories seasonally, rather than having it all filed away.
I have our papers like birth certificat and like dokuments, warenties, medical, contracts organized in binders per person (6). Twice a year when my kids get new contracts for school and kindergarden I go throught them. I am really on top of it. And still last years I had a ton of paper to trash. I keep medical paper like- my kid cut her finger. It was bleeding alot so we went to a hospital. She was fine and got a bandaid. When will I ever need that? Recycle! My next task is to clear their art work. I have it in more binders than I would like to. I think I will take a photo of it, make a folder per person. Once they grow up I will give them that binders and artwork folder.
can someone please recommend channels similar to erica lucas or a hoarders heart? i like the channels of people that are decluttering what could legit be considered hoarder status. i still love erica but you aren't quite there anymore lol (which is amazing!!)
Some of "Living with Cambria"'s old videos (before she had her last baby) were about her going to other people's homes - usually hoarders - and helping them decorated.
so you know NEVER get rid of the medical records. when the kids get old enough they can take them but sometimes it is that medical paper trail that helps figure out a medical condition that would have been missed other wise. hopefully one day you will never need them.
Hello everyone! I have a question for you all. In the pass few years I have been the recipient of many photographs. My family and extended family has decided that when they pass on I get all the family photographs. Unfortunately as they pass my collection grows and my motivation to organize them diminishes. Do any of you have any tips on how to get motivated and how to organize them? Do I go by family? Or by common ancestor or what? Help!
I inherited quite a lot too. I sorted them in piles by person or family and put each pile in a big envelope. I threw out any that I didn't know who they were or the pics had no name. Then I went thru the envelopes one by one and seriously cut back. I purged duplicates, bad pic, boring pics and just saved a few nice ones of everyone. When I was done I put them in a couple albums. Don't be afraid to get rid of some.
@@poodlegirl55 that is what I feel bad about. I just have a small place and I could not possibly keep them all. I get this bad feeling in the pit of my stomach if I throw any away. It is guilt I know but why ? They all make a big deal about all the pictures and makes you think they would be upset with you from beyond the grave. I thought about scanning them all into the computer and putting them on a thumb drive but other family members say that is not the same. They make you feel bad about it yet they are not the ones dealing with the piles of photos. It is not the end my dad had 13 great aunts and uncles and eight siblings all sending pictures to me before or after they pass. Oh god it is overwhelming. I appreciate your input. I think I will have to put everyone out of my mind and decide on what I am going to do and stick to it. Thanks again it was nice to have someone let me feel it was okay to let a few of the pictures go.
@@juliegingras6459 What helped me pare it down was thinking about my daughters. They aren't going to want to inherit a mountain of pictures of people they don't even know. I don't want to burden them. I felt so much lighter when I culled it down to a manageable little amount.
@@poodlegirl55 I don’t have any children which is probably why they feel they can just dump this stuff on me. What they seem to forget that once I go there is no one to continue with the photos. I am thinking I should just scan them like I was saying. I am just starting my decluttering journey and I started with my cubby hole these are what hit me first. It might be better to put them aside and carry on with everything else that way I will be better prepared to pare them down. I put this question out there because I don’t know of many RU-vid videos that deal with specifically photographs. Unless I am not searching properly. I thought also it might be a good idea for Erica to make one.
Oh wow, there is a lot of work all on your shoulders. I would say that have them digitalized is great, I suggest you save them in a usb pen/external hardware and on cloud, like «google drive» or «dropbox» so than everyone from the family has access to them whenever they like, I think would be great for everyone. Otherwise, when are they going to look at those pisctures again? Save the actual physical ones that are most valuable (I like the ideas that suggested poodlegirl55). If they want to do it differently, then ask them to help you.. It sounds like a big project, take your time, I wish your family will appreciate your effort🤗
I feel like you like to set up systems and you like to hear yourself talk more than actually staying organized....otherwise....you would not end up having piles over and over again!!!! Not really a great manager...perhaps you should move onto things that you could be more successful in!
I think she does fabulous as she is always learning and trying things with an open mind. I love how real she is as we are all just making progress, not perfection. ;)
