Friedbeef’s Tech

Let’s be honest, when we come home with a new shiny toy, we just want to unbox it and have a go at it.  Manuals, receipts and warranties get shoved in a drawer somewhere and are long forgotten…that is until you need them… and you can never seem to find them. 

Here are 3 practical ways to deal with these documents in an efficient manner.

1. How to organize your warranty information

Warranty Elephant allows you to organize your warranty information quickly.  After entering a few key details, you can upload a copy of your warranty itself and your invoice, so you have a softcopy of it.

The best part is that it will send you reminder emails at 6 months, 1 month and 1 week before your warranty expires. This will remind you to check your item and ensure it is in good working order. If it is not, you will have all the information needed, right in front you, to arrange for warranty service

2. How to find manuals for anything

Seriously, who reads manuals?  While you can get most devices up and running right out of the box, reading the manual actually allows you to discover the finer points of your device and gives you the chance to push it to the limits.  Of course when you feel like doing that, you can’t find the manual any more :) 

SafeManuals/Diplodocs is a huge resource of authorized manuals with more than 1.2 million manuals uploaded for almost everything you can think of with a manual – from domestic appliances, TV & Audio equipment, phones, to computers, cars, watches and digital cameras.  

3. How to dig up old receipts quickly

Evernote allows you to capture information, and makes this information accessible and searchable at any time.  Some people think of it as an extension to your brain. 

One of the key features is it’s ability to recognize and index TEXT within pictures.  What this means is that you can snap a picture of your receipt from your phone, and Evernote will index it and make it searchable so you can find old receipts in a hearbeat!

Bonus tip: Flatten your boxes: If you plan on selling your electronics on eBay, you’ll find that having the original box is a big plus to potential buyers, and you can typically demand a higher price.  Of course, storing the box can be another space headache as well.  To get around this, flatten a box by simply cut along the taped join at the bottom and fold flat. Your box will be kept in good condition until it is ready for reuse.

Would you use any of the above services?  Tell us in the comments!