♦Always keep warranties and accompanying receipts for as long
as the product warranty and/or return policy is intact. After that, you really
don't have much use for the warranty paperwork unless you're keeping
it for your own reasons not related to that usage. The only reason you might
keep the receipt after that period is if you claimed it as an expense on your
taxes and are keeping it as documentation in case of an audit in future years.
♦Always keep manuals for products you still own. And
you may even want to keep assembly instructions and diagrams if you're the type
of person who needs help to identify a part that needs replacement, or even an
accessory gone missing. Everyone can look for it, if you show them a picture of
it (instead of telling them you're looking for the what you call it thing that
does this and sort of looks like that).
♦A good organizational rule is keep all paperwork related to a
single product together. Staple the small paperwork by its
top to the inside cover of the manual. Now it will never get accidentally
separated.
♦Another
good organizational rule is keep all of your electronic and
appliance manuals in the same place in your home. You don't have to keep the
rotisserie manual in the kitchen drawer, the computer warranty in the office
drawer and the electric tooth brush manual in the bathroom drawer. And if you do
spread your paperwork around your home like that, things will get lost.
 >
♦I keep
the bulk of my manuals in a single bin with an easy open
latch top on a garage shelf. It looks like this
Clear Storage Box
 from Stacks and Stacks.
It's wide enough and long enough to hold any size manual. But that does mean that I spend an extra few
seconds flipping through the manuals for the one I need (which isn't often). On
the other hand, this stackable box fits well on a shelf.
♦If you want to
get more detailed in your organization, keep each manual in its own labeled
hanging or manila file folder in a portable file box. Keep the box somewhere
easily accessed by the whole family. While you can buy an open file box, you'll
find one with a lid (usually hinged with a latch) keeps the dust out (and paper
in open boxes collects a lot of dust). Plus a handle makes it easier to tote it
to the couch to look through. Find these plastic portable file boxes in any
walk-in retailer in the office supply section. The average one ranges $8-$20.
♦Another
option for storing appliance manuals and related warranties and receipts is to
put them in three-ring loose leaf notebooks using sheet protectors. I'm testing
this option now. One problem though is that these manuals can be quite heavy and
take up one or two wide binders. That can be sort of awkward to tote around and
if you were to accidentally flip the binder upside down, all of your manuals
will start sliding out of the sheet protectors. Some manuals may be slightly
oversized and stick out of the binder. But still this is an option worth
testing. When you put them in sheet protectors in a binder like this you can put
them in sections with dividers (such as for kitchen, garage, tools, office,
etc.) or place them alphabetically. You can find what you're looking for quicker
using this method.
♦Also, make sure you flip through your file box of
appliance and electronics manuals at least once a year. Your goal in doing that
is to get rid of manuals to
items you no longer own. Or make it a habit to throw out the manual when
you throw out the item. If you give the item to a friend or charity, don't
forget to tape the manual to it for them.
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