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Diana Luetkemeyer, Professional Organizer from FreedomOrganization.com, helps us organize our paperwork at home. How long so we keep tax returns? Where should we store important documents? What in the world should I do with all these digital pictures? Diana explains the benefits of how organization helps her deal with stress and how she helps others who just don’t have the time to keep things organized.
Some of the highlights:
- Get all the paperwork in one area
- Decide what to file, toss, or decide what are the “action items”
- Use Online BillPay (usually free with your local bank) to reduce paperwork
- Don’t use a safety deposit box for souvenir items
- Printed copies of photos are the best backup
How long to keep paperwork:
Monthly bills: 1 year
Tax returns: 7 years or longer
Real Estate receipts and documentation: Forever
Retirement/Investment: Quarterly until year-end statement arrives
Paystubs: During the year until W-2 arrives
You can find a complete list of these items in her post How Much and How Long? Financial Paper Retention Guidelines
Cool products to help protect, store, and organize:
The Vital Records PortaVault system (coupon)
Shutterfly (store photos online for free)
The PictureKeeper digital photo storage
