Paper Clutter: What to Keep
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It’s so easy for paper clutter to accumulate in our homes, whether it’s in the kitchen, the home office, on the nightstand or in our kid’s rooms. So often, paper accumulates because we don’t know what paper we should keep, what should be shredded or recycled, and how long we should keep certain papers. This handy guide is a great start to your paper organizing journey. The hardest part will be getting started and going through ALL the paper. But once you have a system in place, it will be easy to maintain going forward.
Generally, you want to keep paper copies of state and federal importance for easy access (and they’re a pain to replace!). For other items, like bank statements or utility bills, you can often sign up for digital delivery and save these on your computer. Another great way to digitize is to take a photo or scan from your phone (I love using the Notes app to quickly scan and save as a PDF), and save to your computer. The goal is to become as paperless as possible! Be sure to create a system of folders on your computer to keep the digital statements, and then sign up for paperless delivery wherever possible.
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Follow these guidelines to help you determine what to keep, to scan, to shred and to recycle:
90 DAYS OR LESS
ATM receipts | everyday receipts
ONE YEAR
bank statements | pay stubs | quarterly investment statements | utility bills
THREE YEARS
cancelled insurance policies | insurance paperwork | investment statements | medical bills | records of buying/selling a house | records of buying/selling stock
SEVEN YEARS
brokerage statements | business and personal income tax returns | records of satisfied loans | social security statements | tax return documentation
WHILE ACTIVE
disputed property tax records | home improvement records | insurance documents | pension and retirement plan records | personal and business contracts | property records | stock certificates | stock records | warranties
INDEFINITELY
adoption papers | birth and death certificates | business license | green cards| house deeds | ID cards | living wills | loan documents | marriage licenses | mortgage documents | passports | pension plan documents | personal identification | powers of attorney | retirement statements | social security cards | vehicle titles | wills
SHRED
airline tickets | bills | expired credit cards | expired driver’s license | expired passports | expired visas | miscellaneous receipts
RECYCLE
junk mail | receipts from consumables | old receipts | old taxes
Don’t forget! If you want a printable PDF cheat sheet on paper organizing, send us an email and we’ll send one to you!
If you’re ever unsure, take into consideration how difficult the document would be to replace. If you need to head to a government office, wait in line, spend an inordinate amount of time on the phone to replace an item, it’s probably a good idea to keep it. If you can easily access the item online, you don’t need to keep a physical copy.
From receipts to airplane tickets and so much in between, your shredder should be your best friend (or at the very least, it should be easily accessible). Unfortunately, shredded paper isn’t usually recyclable because the shredded paper can jam the machines, but you can still feel good about protecting your identity. So, consider shredding anything that has personal details, like your name, address or phone number. And certainly, shred anything with your personal bank account information.
And voila! You have now set yourself up for paper success! Nicely done!
Please note, some of the items on this list may vary by state. Please check with your tax accountant or attorney.