How to Organise Every Document in Your Home

Warranties, insurance policies, receipts, manuals, registration papers — every purchase adds another document to the pile. Here's how to tame it.

The problem with paper

Paper documents get lost, damaged, or buried in drawers. When you need them — during an insurance claim, a warranty return, or a sale — you can't find them. Digital documents aren't much better if they're scattered across email, downloads folders, and cloud drives.

A simple system that works

Step 1: Categorise

Every document falls into one of these categories:

• Receipts — proof of purchase, price paid
• Warranties — coverage terms, expiry dates
• Insurance — policies, certificates, claim numbers
• Manuals — operating instructions, safety guides
• Registration — vehicle rego, product registration
• Service records — invoices from mechanics, tradespeople

Step 2: Link to the asset

Every document should be linked to the thing it's about. The receipt for your washing machine should be attached to the washing machine. The service invoice for your car should be on the car's service history.

Step 3: Set expiry reminders

Warranties expire. Insurance policies renew. Registrations lapse. Set a reminder 30 days before each expiry so you're never caught off guard.

Going digital

Snap a photo of paper documents with your phone. Keep-Ready automatically extracts text from photos and PDFs using OCR, so you can search for "Bosch warranty" and find it instantly — even if the document is a photo of a receipt.