Sorting paperwork.

[HarrysMum]

Does anyone have any simple ideas for storing paperwork?
I have certificates in a file as well as scanned. I have a box of wills.

Then I have another huge box with all sorts of bits of info. I tried giving people their own file but it just added to the mess. If I put Mary Smith in a file, and her husband in another, how far back do I go in that file? And then where do I put their kids?

I have a lot on my computer but I hate the thought of throwing out the actual old wills or certs, etc.