Still in upheaval

A few weeks ago I suddenly became determined to organize my house and get rid of anything unnecessary.  Almost every day since then I have worked on that project.  Yesterday, for example,  I spent all day organizing those records that everybody has to keep for a certain number of years.  The files I ended up with look suspiciously slim.  Have I gone overboard?

I had consulted the internet beforehand.  Some items, like statements from bank accounts, should be kept "a year or indefinitely" according to the website I ended up on.  Correct me if I'm wrong, but there's a big difference between a year and indefinitely.  I opted for the year.  Why?  Because I'm sick of stuff, including paper stuff.  And what's the worst thing that's going to happen to me if  I'm caught not owning a piece of paper from 10 years ago?  Good heavens. 

Apparently our society has not gone paperless at all.  I have a workplace retirement account which gives big fat quarterly statements (fat with paper, not with money!) which I receive at work, whether I want them or not.  On another account which I'm in control of, I went online to see if I could reduce the paper influx.  Then I caught myself, remembering I that I might be applying for a mortgage soon, if things go my way.  I found a website explaining what's needed to apply, and found out that some mortgage companies will not accept statements printed off the internet- they insist on real, old-fashioned paper statements- the kind I just hauled to the recycling bins yesterday.  Uh-oh.

Ironically, this project originally started with pure intentions.  I just wanted to be organized and efficient.  Then I learned that the last house I tried to buy downtown has been slated for sale again in July at a sheriff's auction.  So the project's purpose morphed into "clearing out space to make room for change in my life" (not to mention the practical aspect of making moving easier).  And now I may have disposed of the very paperwork I needed to apply for the mortgage!  That's no small matter, since mortgage companies are now regarding any applicant with grave suspicion in the wake of the housing/mortgage crisis.

I'm going to keep on purging.  The mortgage company can receive up-to-the-minute information about me and my finances on the internet, whether they want to admit that or not.  I know they love to see their customers jump through hoops, but I think it's more important for me to jump through my own hoops right now.

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