Back in 1995-97, I fell on hard times (long story!) and ended up having to declare bankruptcy-- first for a business I owned, then on a personal level.
Not only was "being down and out" not much fun, but the whole bankruptcy process also required extensive record keeping... and for the business, it involved filing long financial reports for a number of years.
The Stuff We Have to Keep
Poppies in the sun
Then, of course, followed the legal requirements to keep all the boxes of paperwork for years and years, "just in case" something would come up, and something in the case would need to be reviewed and re-examined by the court.
For years-- and through several moves-- I dragged several large plastic "filing bins" around with me, filled with all the old documentation from the bankruptcies. I was always afraid to throw anything away, you know, just in case that "just in THIS case exception" would suddenly show up... and I would have to prove that certain things happened, even after the statute of limitations had run its course.
This morning, I stubbed my toe on one of the bins while trying to find something in the closet... and concluded that I really don't need to hang on to those old papers anymore. There is no legal reason to and besides... I realized that I have also been hanging on to the "memories of ruin and failure" they represent. After all, it has been over 20 years, and all the assets have been sold and the legal filings completed.
Creative Re-use... and a Sense of Weights Lifting
Pink wild rose
Rather than just throw everything away (or burn it, as I was tempted to), I instead started cutting the sheets of paper into quarters, so I could use the blank backsides as "scratch paper."
I use lots and lots of small pieces of scrap paper to jot down ideas for blog posts and articles, and there's something oddly rewarding about all that "depressing" paper now being used for creativity, with the ultimate intent of creating income.
It feels good to finally let go of this piece of the past! Whereas I realize it is little more than a psychological illusion, I definitely felt "lighter" as I started to cut up all those papers...
How about YOU? Are there any "remnants of the past" you have been hauling around, well past their "useful life" or "legally required" date? Are their things in your attic or basement that have been there for a long time, but you just have never "gotten around to" throwing away? Is there some reason you are still hanging onto them? Would you feel relieved if they were gone from your life and you no longer had to deal with them? Do some of the things in your life feel like "weights," even if they are just ideas, rather than physical things? Leave a comment-- share your experiences and feedback-- be part of the conversation!
(As usual, all text and images by the author, unless otherwise credited. This is original content, created expressly for Steemit)
Published 20170920 17:35 PDT
That sucks hard man. I hope you did not personally sign and take responsibly of said debt on a personal level from the company. I forget the correct name for it. Banks just love to talk people into doing that when it’s not needed.
That’s an interesting way to go about using past failures to move forward. I just hope you have been saving to burn or shred the notes later on. It’s shocking anymore anyone would do old school identity theft even more so after all that Equifax mess.
As far as a filing system and keeping things. Well I did try and be an accountant once in life. So I do in fact have and store things of legal tender. I burn things once in a while its good fun.
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"Personal guarantees?" Yeah, I had a few of those... one of which ended up as a $27,000 bill owing to the IRS. But that's all water under the bridge, now.
Burning is usually my favorite way to get rid of old documentation... it's a lot more satisfying (and less work) than shredding.
The notes I have been cutting up don't contain any identifying information... just endless columns of numbers that would have no meaning, absent a context to wrap them in.
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Sounds about right word. I am far too tired to recall.
I might have a slight hatred towards banks and the way they word things toward people they claim are their "clients" ….
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We are required to keep so many papers "just in case of review". Boxes and boxes of unadulterated crap. What exactly would happen if say, there was a flood, tornado, hurricane or fire and you happened to lose all those pieces of paper? Even if it is only for seven years. Even if the person dies the executor of the estate needs to keep papers. What would they do if you lost said papers? Put you in jail for being careless? And what about the effects of you carrying around the excesss baggage in your mind? Taking up starage in a closet, basement or attic, or heaven forbid a storage locker...
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They would tell you should have kept important papers in a security deposit box at the bank. I do believe here in the USA at least they give a tax deduction for cost of security box but I’m not a tax professional.
Oh the IRS… Never mess with the IRS… they love their papers, and documents of old formats.
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Yeah, never mess with the IRS! They can always find "exceptions" and "circumstances" that prove you didn't follow the requirements for documentation as well as you could have.
What annoys me most about them, however, is that they will pursue someone who owes $1200 to the ends of the Earth but if you owe $200K they'll negotiate and let that person off paying $25K. Where the hell is the equity in that? They could USE that $175K so they wouldn't have to waste the salaries of revenue agents to collect all those smaller debts.
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Simple if I owe 200k and I spend 100k to only pay 25k then I profit 75k. So in reality trying collect on someone willing to spend money is going get very costly.
1.2k I don’t even think gets you a court date anymore in this country. They can put you on a string and make you dance because you can’t afford anything else.
Makes me sad how many times I have seen them destroy the little guy while letting the big one away. Heck they even offer from time to time some forgiveness for not paying taxes on huge sums of money and hiding it overseas. They want that money back into the country and they are willing to play the game.
It’s very messed up I will admit.
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So very messed up. The big guy can afford to tie something up in litigation for 20 years... it's a simple thing. Makes them "difficult" to collect from.
The US is SUCH a strange place. It's amazing how many things you can make "go away" if you ask nicely... on law firm letterhead.
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Same works for airports, and hotels with fancy business cards hehe.
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Yep that is totally how it works, and is totally unfair!!
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It all seems rather nuts-- and I honestly don't know what the rules are anymore, now that we're in the "digital age" where so many transactions are paperless. What is "adequate documentation?" I don't really know... I have multiple (active) businesses and I do know I have a LOT less paper floating around than I used to.
Fortunately, I don't believe we have "Debtors Prison" in most countries anymore...
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OMG, I know how you feel on the paperwork thing. I had a back log of old docs, statements, default account info, business papers, etc that needed to be shredded and got totally out of control.
I needed to do it but it seemed overwhelming so I just dragged the boxes from apartment to apartment and finally to our house. After clearing up that part of my past, I finally took the time to shred all that crap last year. It took me 4 solid days to do it. But I feel great having that past gone.
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Definitely IS a load off to get those things taken care of... until I got started on this, I didn't realize that this stuff actually "occupied space" somewhere other than my closet... also in a small corner of my mind called "what if." Nice to have it gone!
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That's true - the "mind" space issue was a big one to clear out. Like a fresh start.
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I call myself"the reformed hoarder," and that's not hyperbole. I totally had the psychological issue. If you had given me another decade or two at that rate, I could have been on the show.
But then I moved into this apartment, with little storage, and couldn't hide it anymore! It was stacked up in my face, driving me insane. So I slooooowly began to work on it, both in the psychological as well as the physical purging of stuff sense.
I do feel SO much lighter now. It feels so good. Every bag or box that is out I feel that much freer. It is so good for the psyche.
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Moving always seems to be the best reason to tackle these buildups. I have a period in the late 1990s where I moved five times in three years, and I actually managed to get the size of my life reduced down to what comfortable fit in a 1-bedroom apartment and a small storage unit.
Then I got back into a relationship and we moved to larger spaces and it seems like we inevitably grow to fill the available space... the kids have left home now, so there's a sincere incentive to downsize again, because we really don't need this big house anymore, and there will soon come a time when it feels like "too much work" to take care of all this.
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Been there done that when Obama killed my trucking business.
I thought it was only seven years.
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Sorry to hear that.
I think you're right about the seven years.
One of mine was a Chapter 11, so it was seven years from the last "actionable" item (a payment to a creditor) and then things just got left over... "because who has time to look through 5000 pages of documents to see which are older and newer."
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when Obama wiped out everything I'd been working for most of my adult life time...
...I kinda ....lost interest in trying to make a lot of money so I could pay a lot of taxes...
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I hold on to revenge a lot. I don't do stupid shit to get in trouble. I have even accepted apologies.
But when I am alone I ruminate and indulge in getting back at my wrongdoers in my head. For reasons I don't even comprehend yet, I feel like I need to see it with my own eyes that they at least got punished.
It's my toughest challenge yet, but indeed, letting go
Is always ultimately the answer.
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Sometimes letting go can be really hard.
There's an old saying: "Anger is like acid, it only corrodes the vessel it is IN" which has helped me develop a sense of perspective over the years.
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Honestly I've heard these tropes before, the more common one being, "Anger is like holding onto a hot piece of coal you want to throw at someone."
But they don't work on me no more.
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Yes, the past is part of our history, sometimes when we remembered the bad old things from our past life, we can note it as a good experience for stepping to our future. Nice :)
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Hopefully we can learn from the things that happened in the past so they don't repeat themselves!
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I don't burn it all up but I use some of it as campfire starters!
I also enjoy putting it through my shredder.
Darryl @
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By any method, it feels good to get it all out of the way.... don't need those reminders anymore.
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Glad you are doing away with some of the ugly hurtful past. I like the idea of making something useful from junk. Funny how time changes everything, whether it was good or bad...hmmm this might be an idea for a post.
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