Organizing instruction manuals?

PickyNikki · September 2010

Hi! I don't usually post on this board, but DH and I recently bought a house and are finding ourselves with even more manuals -- for the lawn mower, the fridge, etc.

I hate the idea of stuffing them in a filing cabinet. I tried an accordian file and organizing by type of item, but that filled up quickly and is quite bulky.

Does anyone keep only electronic versions? Many manuals are available online, so I had tried downloading those and filing them on the computer. Is there a better way? Or is this the way to go if we don't want all the paper clutter of the physical manuals?

Thanks!

edielaura · September 2010

If you can find it online, I would just toss the hard copy.

blue_elle · September 2010

I keep them in a magazine file. I rarely need to look for one, so I don't worry about organizing them within the file, but I plan on providing the house related ones to the next home owner if/when we sell, and I resell things (kitchen appliances, cell phones, etc.) when we upgrade, so it's always nice to have the manual to give the new owner.

straymo · September 2010

If the book has non-English sections, we remove all that. Then 3-hole punch the book and put in binders. We usually attached the receipt and/or write the date and place of purchase on the book. Helps to know how long we've had something and if we go to sell something, we always include the book. Not all manuals can be found online and if they are, they may not always be there when you need them.

We have separate binders for Household appliances (fridge, dishwasher, etc) and outside equipment (lawnmower, power washer, etc.) and DH's work electronics. I've had to pull the binders out more than once and it makes it so much easier.

Temp6313048411121614 · September 2010

That's what I do. As soon as I get a manual, I check google, if it's there I save it and toss the paper copy.

shanaboo1 · September 2010

If you really like the idea of keeping a paper copy, you could try doing what I do. I bought a box of the plastic inserts (the kind that go in a 3 ring binder) and I put each booklet in it's own insert. Then I tape the plastic insert onto the appliances that I can (like on the back of the refrigerator, or the side of the washer and dryer.. the back of the microwave..you get the idea). Then I had only a hand full of booklets left for appliances that I can't do that with (my blender, food processor), and I put those in a file cabinet. Good luck with whatever you try.

KathyGee · September 2010

We have a portable filing box/large accordian folder for ours. We rip out the non English parts. We have them organized by room, so, if we need something for the kitchen, we just grab the kitchen section to find what we need.

PickyNikki · September 2010

Thanks for all the ideas. I like the idea of keeping the hard copies for larger appliances that we may sell (and keeping the receipts stapled to them).

lmdbww · September 2010

I have 2 really big notebooks for this stuff. One for stuff that would stay with the house if we sell (appliances, furnace, a/c, water heater, etc), and one for all of our own stuff. I put then in the plastic binder sleeves like a pp mentioned.

Let's just say that the notebook for "our stuff" is breaking the spine of this 5" binder, it's so thick. Half of the stuff I could probably get rid of but I do reference it pretty frequently. Having the paper copies is just more handy to me because everything is just all in one place...

Organizing instruction manuals?

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