What to Do With Excess Paper in Your Home

Roanoke Real Estate Podcast with Damon Gettier

Today, I’d like to return to our series on things to do when selling your home. This time, let’s talk about paper. For some reason, many people feel the need to save away every little piece of paper they come across. Really, there’s only a couple of things you need to keep. Tax returns, bank statements, and some bills are essentially all you need to hold onto. Unless it’s something like a birth certificate, wedding certificate, or another important document, you only need to keep most old mail and records for about three years. After that time, it’s usually okay to throw some things away. “Unnecessary paper can really be the Achilles’ heel of a home you’re preparing to sell.” When you do get rid of important papers, though, don’t just toss them. Make sure you shred anything that could have your personal information on it. If you don’t own a shredder, there are many places you can have this done. You can even come down to my office if you need something shredded badly and don’t know where else to go. The bottom line is this: get rid of unnecessary paper when you clean your home. Most of it isn’t important to keep, is a fire hazard, and is just taking up space. Paper causes a lot of clutter. It can really be the Achilles’ heel of a home you’re preparing to sell. If you have any other questions or would like more information, feel free to give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.