Someone asked me what has been the hardest thing to get rid of so far. The answer is, so far, nothing has been hard to get rid of, except logistically. This is, perhaps, a statement of itself.
I know what will be hard to get rid of, though, because I keep thinking about it, dreading it, castigating myself for my irrationality for hanging on. What am I clinging to?
Legal documents.
Who'd'a thunk?
I now know that the IRS audit window is three years. I know that the IRS recommends retaining home purchase records for one full tax year subsequent to the sale. And I know that I have tax returns dating back to 1978, when I was 14 years old and my father was still submitting mine for me (unbeknownst to me). I know that these tax records are bulging out of their file box, and that I either need a new file box, or I need to get rid of some of these old files.
I also know that I have all the documents pertaining to the purchase and sale of each of the three homes I've owned. I also have the complete documentation for the condominiumization of our tenancy-in-common in San Francisco, a flat which I know has sold at least two, maybe three times, since we lived there.
When Lisa suggested I get rid of my tax records, I responded by asking her what would happen if I wanted to become Hillary Clinton someday. I was only half-kidding. I'm sure everyone remembers how she was castigated for not being able to produce decades-old records in the Whitewater "scandal." I'll never be Hillary. But what if?
The documents I'm getting rid of today are just old resumes, and print-outs of claims policies by various insurance companies, and blank forms, and expired licenses. No problem. Tax returns and house sales, though. Can it really be true that I need keep those records for two or three years?
I may need to call a lawyer, a tax accountant and a psychologist before I'm really able to let them go.
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