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