In the past I have always kept my manuals and warranties in a plastic bin. If I needed anything, I just shuffled through until I found it. The important step for me was that annually I would look through the paperwork and discard anything that I had replaced or trashed. If I gave away a space heater to a friend, I could find the manual.
Now that I am putting my house on the market, I am rethinking my system for a couple of reasons.
I want to separate all paperwork that will stay with the house.
I want to clean up extraneous paperwork on my personal items
First, I sorted my entire product related paperwork putting like with like and stacked it into categories, such as appliances, computer/office, tools, cameras.
Next, I did a cleanup. I tossed out anything on items I had gotten rid of this year, any expired warranties, instructions in French, or any other information I no longer needed. I kept the model, serial, and other important numbers on the front of the instruction manual. I kept the receipts stapled to the paperwork so that I can keep track of when/where I bought the item and how much it cost.
Then I stored the paperwork into two labeled containers – one for the house and one that will stay with me. I did make some exceptions. I kept all car warranty information in my car folder in my desk. I kept the answering machine manual under the machine as I make changes to it fairly often. I left the furnace manual on the furnace as the people who do maintenance work refer to it. I also have some directions on how to make adjustments to my alarm system near the keypad.
I am counting on this saving me time and reducing stress in the upcoming move. If something does go amiss on an appliance, I should have all the necessary paperwork to put it right.
Jonda S. Beattie Professional Organizer