When household appliances are bought, packaging, instructions and warranty with check are always attached. Moreover, the packaging for the warranty case should be stored at least a year. As the practice of my clients showed, not everyone has a place and a desire to store boxes from the TV, refrigerator, washing machine and other things. Most likely, if the thing works fine for the first couple of weeks - then for the year it is unlikely to break. So packing can be thrown or immediately, or in 2-3 weeks.
Instructions are rarely read, more interesting to experiment and press buttons at random, getting the desired result. Yes, and from most functions, only a few are used that are quickly learned. As a result, the thick book on ten languages can also be safely thrown out, pass the fireplace on the waste paper or delay it. If you suddenly need to learn the combination of keys or a special device mode, on the manufacturer's website there is always a version of PDF - on its search and download will take a couple of minutes.
A check and warranty can be left for a year or three: put in a separate transparent file to such checks, and several such files are in a separate folder-folder or a cardboard box. At the same time, the old content can be viewed if something is already outdated - throw out.
If this is not related to work or analysis of changes in products for several years, most checks from shops should be thrown out immediately. True, if your personal finance is conducted before throwing out, first copy prices and data to the appropriate program or table file.
For checks by rent, different utility payments, taxes, duties, fines are convenient to have a folder with files for each of the categories. It should be stored for a year 3-4, a maximum of 10. Yes, and then such a shelf life has more of the color of psychological comfort.
But for different treaties, insurance, real estate documents and vehicles, diplomas for education, documents from the registry office and their photocopies are better to create a special place. And such documents should be stored in separate transparent files, in a folder-folder or in small boxes for papers, not forgetting about color separators with signatures, so as not to spend time on the search for paper from the desired category. It is also desirable to have a scanned copy of all documents (with the relevant names of electronic files and folders) - at least on the hard disk of the computer and, if necessary on a CD, flash drive or cloud service for files (very convenient travel and with frequent traffic).
For most documents that are rarely used, and other things will recommend a box of dense cardboard with lids - Durable, occupy a little space and their excellent capacity.
Andrei Ksenoks, Consultant on Issues, Guidance, Organization of Space, Time Management