Hi and welcome to my super fun world this week – purging, organizing and shredding the contents of our overstuffed filing cabinet!! Who wants to come help?? You know you do!! I have wine coffee!!!!
So tell me, do you have a system for doing this extraordinarily joyous task??? I have tried lots of things over the years as far as incoming mail, monthly bills, and long term household paperwork storage. Somehow, even though I have a love affair with the recycle bin, I still end up with piles upon piles of saved documents. Over the years we’ve bought and sold 5 houses and refinanced a bunch of times, opened and closed credit cards, and bought, used and disposed of many an appliance or gadget whose manuals I have held onto every.single.one. The time had come.
I consulted this Consumer Reports guide to decipher what to keep and what to toss and thought I’d share some snippets with you, in the event that one of your new year resolutions was get more organized at the old homefront!
Keep for a year or less and then shred:
- Bank deposits and ATM receipts (keep until you reconcile with monthly statements).
- Credit-card bills (unless you need to prove a charitable deduction or warranty).
- Insurance policies (keep until your new policy comes).
- Monthly investment statements (shred when new statements arrive).
- Pay stubs (keep until you reconcile with your annual W-2 form).
- Receipts you’re not using to itemize tax deductions or return merchandise.
Keep for a limited time:
- Receipts, if you are keeping track of your spending habits, may return the item, or itemizing tax deductions.
- If something you buy has a warranty on it, keep the receipt with the warranty until the warranty expires and then discard both.
- Investment purchase confirmations. Save until you sell the investments, and then move the document into the file for that year’s tax returns.
- Closing documents for a loan. Dispose of when the loan is paid off.
- Savings bonds should be placed in a secure location until cashed in. They can also be converted to an electronic form via www.treasurydirecty.gov.
- Vehicle records, including purchase information, title, registration and maintenance should be filed until you no longer own the vehicle.
- Birth and death certificates.
- Marriage license.
- Divorce papers.
- Military discharge papers.
- Estate planning documents (will, guardianship of your children, etc.).
- Current life insurance policy.
- Social security cards.
Keep these documents at home
| Documents | When to toss them |
|---|---|
| Bank deposit slips | After you reconcile your statements |
| Banking statements | After a calendar year; store with tax returns if they will be used to prove deductions |
| Brokerage, 401(k), IRA, Keogh, and other investment statements | Shred monthly and quarterly statements as new ones arrive; hold on to annual statements until you sell the investments |
| Credit-card bills | After you check and pay them, unless you need them to support tax filings |
| Employer defined-benefit plan communications | Never |
| Household warranties and receipts | After you no longer own the household items |
| Insurance policies | After you renew them |
| Investment purchase confirmations and 1099s | Hold until you sell the securities, then keep with your tax records for an additional seven years |
| Pay stubs | After you reconcile them with your W-2 |
| Receipts | After you reconcile them with your credit-card or bank statement unless needed for a warranty |
| Safe-deposit box inventory | Never, but review and update annually |
| Savings bonds | Cash them in when they mature |
| Social Security statements | When you get a new statement, then shred the old one |
| Tax returns and supporting documents | After seven years |
Keep these in a safe-deposit box
| Documents | When to toss them |
|---|---|
| Birth and death certificates | Never |
| Estate-planning documents | Never |
| Life-insurance policies | Never, or when a term policy has ended |
| Loan documents | After you sell your home, automobile, boat, or whatever the loan was for |
| Marriage licenses and divorce decrees | Never |
| Military discharge papers | Never |
| Social Security cards | Never |
| Vehicle titles | After you sell the car, boat, motorcycle, or other vehicle |
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Simply LKJ says
I feel for ya girlfriend! We did this a few years back, and it feels so good to have it behind us. Hubby also works in a field that requires TONS of personal files, some of which we had at home. I MADE him finally go through them all. I think we destroyed a few shredders in the process. Now when things some in, I determine if I need to keep them, if so…immediately I file them, if not…they get shredded. So much easier than dealing with massive piles. I know some say not to even save manuals to things as you can find them online, but I do because I make a copy of the original receipt since they tend to fade and attach it to the inside cover. Believe it or not, I have had to use them more than once to get things replaced that were still under warranty!
Val says
You are amazing. This is so impressive and very helpful.
Elizabeth @ The Little Black Door says
We have a shredder and there is nothing I love more than getting a big pile of old documents to shred. Makes me feel so good! 🙂
Vel Criste says
ugh! I have this horrible problem too, I'm a reciept hoarder and my hubs easy scanner does not help either! Have to be better at this for sure (After my son's party). thanks for this great guide Lisa dear!
Susan Maclean says
That's a great list to keep as a reminder, Lisa, thank you..
For those of you who want to be tidy but don't know how to start, this is what I do. I have a current (this year)concertina folder where all paid stuff goes in. At the end of the year I take everything from the concertina file and put it into a big plastic folder with that year as a label. I then take out the folder with three year old "keeps" and we shred the lot all at once, giving me an empty envelope for next year! So by keeping 3 years worth, that satisfies the worry-warts, and takes up next to no room.
Calypso In The Country says
Ugh…not my favorite job but luckily since my husband pays the bills, he stays pretty organized with that end of it. I have been organizing my personal papers and kids' papers. I keep way too much of their school work and projects so I have to keep bins to keep them organized. Good luck getting all your stuff done!
-Shelley
Andrea says
Lisa, this is great. I need to do the same thing and this information is so helpful. I hope you're not buried under all the paper. If we don't hear from you for a few days, I'll come shovel you out!
pam {simple details} says
Yes, I should definitely go through some old files, but I always find something else that's a higher priority, like thrifting or re-styling my bookcase! 🙂 The wine offer is pretty tempting!
Kim says
Boy do I need to empty my filing cabinets … I have a little shredder … I think I need a bigger one!! Thanks for the tips! xo
Kris @ Driven by Décor says
I went through a TON of paperwork and pitched a whole file cabinet full before our move. A horribly boring job but feels so good to be rid of it! I love the "when to toss" chart – will be pining to refer back to!
Adelina Priddis says
I really needed this list of what to keep and toss! I feel like I'm constantly going through our filing cabinet, but never seem to get rid of anything either.