‘How on earth’: The one task every year that Sharyn Ghidella struggles to do

It’s the middle of the year and once again, I am having trouble getting my life sorted.

Woman looking at bills and receipts on floor

If my digital calendar is correct, apparently half the year is officially over.

For someone who’s still got her Christmas lights up and tinsel decking the hallway, that’s a difficult concept to process.

I’m not sure who stole the last six months from me, but gone they are, and as we head into the start of a new financial year, that inevitably means I need to get my life sorted.

Yes, it’s tax time and that mountain of paperwork on my desk that makes Everest look like a speed hump by comparison, really does need to be filed.

There’s just one problem. I REALLY struggle with paperwork.

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You could give me a small Foot Locker store of shoeboxes to file away my receipts and still I’d feel the need to face a Royal Commission – into my own incompetence.

How on earth do you organised people manage to stay on top of things? I just found a receipt from 2007 – on the floor! How it got there is one of life’s great mysteries. I’ve actually moved house since then.

Yes, paperwork is not my strong point and when a busy lifestyle prevents you from staying on top of things, July can feel overwhelming. So where do we even start to create a sense of order?

Well, my initial plan of attack usually involves piling things into specific categories – work, personal, miscellaneous and no idea what this is, but it does look important.

I convince myself I’m making progress, until just hours later, I suddenly realise I’ve completely forgotten what each pile represents.

Worse still, I’ve left the office window open. Guess that’s what you call the “Scarlet O’Hara” method of filing – because, quite literally – it’s now Gone with the Wind.

Yes, those loose receipts scattered across the entire floor are now looking even more dog-eared than before.

Quite the achievement, given 90 per cent of them were already faded. Seriously, my fake tan lasts longer than the ink on these things.

What is it with these receipts? Why do they constantly keep ghosting me? We can still read the Magna Carta from the year 1215, but a simple receipt for four highlighter pens I bought last week is no longer visible?

Gee, it must have been one hell of a windstorm.

At least I’d said yes to the receipt being emailed to me, as well. Maybe I can just do a quick search of my inbox and print that instead.

Hmm. Define quick? Three hours has now transpired, and that elusive receipt is not making its presence known. Happy days, though. I’ve just found the invoice for the highlighter pens I bought a decade ago in 2015, along with the 50 emails asking me to review that purchase.

10 News First, Queensland - Sharyn Ghidella. Photo: Network 10.

That will come in handy – never. That’s OK. I still have options. I’ve got an account with that store. I’ll just log into their website and print the receipt from there. Hmm, if only I could remember the password.

Well, actually I can, but the computer says no, that’s now expired! Gee, aren’t company and government portals so welcoming these days.

Portal – a digital gateway. A gateway to hours of frustration and misery, and that’s just to gain entry. Wait until you actually try to find the documentation you’re searching for.

Portal? Does anyone think maybe Port-Hell would be a more appropriate way to spell it?

Now I know by now some of you are probably thinking, why doesn’t she just go digital with her record keeping.

Download one of those tax time apps that intelligent people have so effortlessly mastered for keeping track of their receipts. Just scan the docket when you buy the deductible item and all your paperwork struggles will be over.

Well, I did try that once, only to discover I actually needed a degree majoring in IT, and minoring in patience, to navigate my way around that portal.

And, sadly, that still doesn’t solve the massive paperweight I see before me, that’s bearing down on me right now.

Yes, apparently, the only adult way to deal with this mess, is to take each receipt – one at a time – and file them to the best of my functioning abilities.

So, as I sit here now contemplating this monumental task, I think I’ve finally come up with the perfect solution. Grab some wine, some chocolate and start putting those receipts in their place – using the one filing system that’s always served me well – The Too Hard Basket.

Happy EOFY, all.

Originally published as ‘How on earth’: The one task every year that Sharyn Ghidella struggles to do