Purge Weekly

Purge items once a week. Usually at the end of the week, take the time to shred and throw away any unnecessary paperwork.

Keep in mind that you always want to keep financial documents for five to seven years. However, any other files that do not contain pertinent information to your business or personal finances should be tossed each week. A shredding machine would be perfect for this purpose as it properly destroys documents and important papers. There are large shredders as well as smaller ones if you don't have papers to shred on a regular basis.

Different brands have different amenities, so the best way to choose the one for you is to peruse your local office supply store and have an employee demonstrate for you how several different types work.