Organizing paperwork at home can be completed much quicker than you might think. With an experienced team who can provide ideas and solutions that have worked successfully for others, you can have the task of organizing household paperwork completed quickly.
Know What to Keep
The documents you should never get rid of:
- Birth and death certificates
- Social security cards
- Pension plan documents
- ID cards and passports
- Marriage license
- Business license
- Military discharge papers
- Any insurance policy
- Wills, living wills, and powers of attorney
- Vehicle titles
- Loan documents
- House deeds and mortgage documents
Also recommend you permanently keep:
- House records: cancelled checks for major home improvements and maintenance (for the length of home ownership)
- Medical records
- Photos/video of valuables
- Tax return copies and worksheets
- Income tax payment checks
- Annual IRA or other investment contribution statements, pension/profit-sharing informational returns
- Keep physical copies of these documents in a safe place, such as a safe deposit box or a fire-proof safe—one single location that’s easy to grab in case you need to evacuate—and also make digital copies for off-site backup. To keep track of your valuable information and share them with your loved ones, see our “in case of emergency kit”.
Create Binders for subcategories
Sorting paperwork at home into binders make finding what you need much quicker. Take the time to sort paperwork one time and then continually add paperwork to it as you receive it and you will a system to keep your work areas productive and looking organized.
Medical – This binder is where your family’s medical records are kept. If you ever need to go to a new doctor or if you have a complex medical diagnosis, everything is organized in one spot.
Pet – This binder should contain your pets’ medical records, shot records and medications.
Auto – This binder is designated for all car repairs, maintenance records and car insurance papers.
Manuals – Store your manuals in one place in this binder. You can even separate the binder by sub-categories, such as appliances, electronics, garden and house.
House – Store all house-related information here, such as maintenance, pest control, security system and contact numbers for handymen.
Personal – This binder can store anything else that doesn’t fit in another category or file
Documents to keep as new ones arrive
With every new investment statement, renewed insurance policy, or many other regularly recurring documents, you can keep just the latest version. Specifically, you can shred these documents when you get the new one. Keep your documents to be shredded and look for shredding events near you.
Monthly or quarterly investment statements
Social security statements
Annually renewed insurance policies
How Long to Keep Paperwork
Organizing paperwork at home can be a time consuming task and we all know that we know maybe one person who has their paperwork organized and accessible. Storing paperwork at home is convenient as long as it is organized and out of the way otherwise, as we have seen before, piles multiply if not managed on a weekly basis.
Keep 1-3 Months
- Utility Bills
- Sales receipts for minor purchases
- ATM and bank deposit slips
Keep for 1 year
- Checkbook ledgers
- Paycheck stubs
- Monthly mortgage statements
- Expired insurance records
Keep for 7 years
- Bank statements
- W-2 and 1099 Forms
- Receipts for tax purposes
- Cancelled checks
- Disability records
Ready to learn more? We would love to support you through your transition. Connect with us and we’ll discuss your options with you.
