Honestly, I went back to a basic accordion file with labels like “appliances,” “HVAC,” “energy stuff,” etc. It’s not pretty, but at least when tax time hits, I can flip to the right pocket and actually see the original ink.
I’m starting to think paper might actually be easier, which is wild. I bought this little scanner thinking I’d be “organized” and high-tech, but now I’ve got a bunch of PDFs named like “scan001.pdf” and no clue if it’s for the furnace or the fridge filter. My phone’s photo roll is just receipts, cat pics, and random screenshots mixed together. Not exactly helpful.
Accordion files sound kind of old-school but maybe that’s the move. At least you know where stuff is. The only thing that makes me hesitate is that the receipts fade after a while... does anyone else worry about that? I already had one from my washer that turned blank after a year. Maybe I’ll try both—scan them but also stick them in a folder, just in case. Tax credits are great but wow, they make you work for it.