Paper Organization (nerd alert!)

I've read a few blogs lately discussing how people do paper organization. I think everyone has a system that works for them, so I thought I'd put mine out there as well. Because I'm a nerd and this kind of thing excites me.

Before: When Bills/Receipts come in, before I pay or file them, they sit here, under my paperweight (not a very high tech system)

About 2x a month (or more if i'm feeling ocd) I sit down and pay my bills and file everything in the pile.

Bills/Statements go in this filing cabinet. First section: pay stubs, giving, 401k/IRA info; then credit cards; followed by car stuff; and finally house bills. Nothing goes into the filing cabinet until it is paid. (or I would never look at it again). Once a year (around tax season) I purge the previous year, always keeping at least 1 full year (ie- i just got rid of 2009 statements that I don't need to keep).
The bottom drawer has medical insurance info, manuals and warranty information, and a some files from my days of full time ministry that I still reference on occasion.

I have what might be a strange method for keeping my receipts, but I've been doing this literally since I've had a bank account (14 years?) and it's worked for me. I have an envelope that I jam all my receipts into. Once a month, after that month's bank statement has come, I organize the receipts in order of date and put them in for the month corresponding to the bank statement. The current year is in the drawer, and I keep these for a few years in a box in the basement.

If I ever need to find a receipt, I just have to remember the month I bought it in. I have a weird memory that associates purchases with other things, so that works for me (ex, I bought my digital camera the month my sister was married, or I bought my tv the month I started my new job, I got the dvd player for my birthday the summer I moved). I like having all my receipts with my bank statements, because I use my debit card for so much, it's like having all of my financial records together. Since taking Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University I spend cash for most minor purchases, so I have less receipts than I used to (like when I'd use my debit card for a pack of gum). I only keep cash receipts if it was something I might want to return.

When my filing cabinet or drawers become too full, I reference an article I saved from Real Simple Magazine that tells you how long you should keep different kinds of documents (which I cannot find online). If they don't tell me I need to keep it I shred it (or give it to my parents and they put it in their fireplace since I don't have a shredder), or I file it in a paper box in the basement.

What works for you??