Paper purging prep

Papers. We all have them. We all know there are some that are important and need to be kept. But organizing them and keeping them straight takes some work!

I haven't been able to file papers for several months because my file drawers are over stuffed. Before running out to buy another file cabinet or file box I don't have room for I started to wonder if I really needed to keep 10 years worth of cell phone bills, 13 years worth of pay stubs, and many other papers. I didn't even know exactly why I was saving all these things! So, I did some research and discovered I have lots off papers I can now shred!

Here's what I learned:

• Bank deposit slips & statements should be kept for 6 years.
• Current contracts & leases should be kept for the life of contract + 10 years.
• Insurance records should be kept for the length of plan + 10 years.
• Legal correspondence, including marriage & birth certificates, should be kept forever.
• Paid bills should be kept 1 year. The exception is bills for big purchases including cars, furniture, and computers so you have proof of value if you need to file an insurance claim.
• Pay check stubs should be kept 1 year and tossed once they match up with your W2.
• Credit card receipts should be kept 1 month and then tossed if they match your monthly statement.
• Retirement & savings plan quarterly statements should be kept for 1 year. Keep annual statements until you retire or close your account.
• Tax returns & supporting documents should be kept for 7 years.

I'll follow these guidelines pretty closely, but with a couple of exceptions. I will probably save receipts for 3 months just in case since some things have 90 day return policies. I also plan to save my first and last pay check stub from each job I've had so I have a record of dates I worked there as well as starting and final salary.

I'm not looking forward to going through all our papers, but I am excited about the results we will have!

Do you save too many papers, not enough, or just what you need? Do you have any tips on what papers are important to keep or ways to organize them?

Pretty file folders above are these from Target.