As I was feeding canceled checks, 1993 tax returns and 1975 newspaper clippings into the shredder, the Dumpster and the fireplace, I was filled with the kind of satisfaction that comes only with a thorough spring cleaning. I was ridding my life of decades of accumulated paperwork. I was liberating myself from encumbrances. I was freeing myself from the dead past. I felt very Zen, assuming a person can feel Zen while staring at an old 1040-A form and muttering, “Geez, how broke were we?” But then, the horrifying thought occurred to me: Was I shredding my life?/Jim Kershner, SR. More here.

Question: How much paperwork of your past life do you hang onto?