• slide-garage
  • slide-help
  • slide-office
  • slide-pantry

Welcome!



Celebrating 18 years
of Organizing Atlanta!




Sign up for free tips!

Paper everywhere: Keep it or toss it?

Article posted on Monday, January 23rd, 2023 at 12:09 AM

Organize My Home Office

 

As an Organizer, the most common question I hear is “how long should I keep documents?” Here’s a guideline on residential record keeping.

 

Save for 1 month:

  • Credit-card receipts
  • Sales receipts for minor purchases
  • Withdrawal and deposit slips.  (Shred after checking against your monthly bank statement.)

Save for 1 year:

  • Paycheck stubs (Shred after your W-2 arrives.)
  • Monthly bank, credit-card, brokerage, mutual-fund, and retirement-account statements
  • Utility bills

Save for 7 years:

  • W-2s, 1099s, and the other “guts” of your tax returns
  • Year-end credit-card statements, brokerage and mutual-fund summaries
  • Canceled checks relating to tax records

Save indefinitely:

  • Tax returns (after 7 years you can shred the guts – see above)
  • Receipts for major purchases (or for as long as you own the item)
  • Real estate and residence records
  • Current wills and trusts

Sources: IRS.gov, various

 

 

Comments are closed.

Copyright © 2011-2024. Laura Ray Organizing, LLC. All rights reserved.