It's a tedious job that I do twice a year, cleaning out old data files and backing up the keepers onto CDs and memory sticks. I do small backups between times, but this is the big one.

Every bit of what I keep in a file cabinet is scanned into Adobe Acrobat documents so I can carry it all on removable media between Colorado and Las Vegas, plus put a copy in the safety deposit box at the bank. I've lost count of the times this has saved me considerable time and effort in business dealings, and never fails to impress my business associates, most of whom seem to figure I just fell off the turnip truck.

Of course I have the hard copies needed for tax purposes as backups, stored by year in boxes that turkeys came in. There is a retention policy: every few years burn the oldest papers and change the date on the box, but I'm glad I had them going back 12 years instead of the standard 7 or so.



This is my dad's legacy, and this year when we were trying to sell the farm I had to dip into each box for the historical crop information, and it reinforced what a good system it is. I learned a lot from him about organizing paperwork when I stepped into his shoes, then took it another level with the help of the computer.

Here is another picture taken during the recent snowstorm. This is Nenah's bench on the river.