There’s almost nothing we can do in our lives that does not involve a piece of paper. It collects and flows out of the seams of our days. There are the newspapers and magazines we save for the item we long forgot about, notebooks, message pad carbons, tax records, grocery lists, restaurant receipts, marketing material, tiny ATM statements, medical records, notes to self and the Great Novel-sized volume of mortgage and insurance docs.
One of the most time-consuming tasks is sorting through this paper collection. So typically, we don’t. It’s easier when they are in an out-of-sight-out-of-mind spot collecting under our vague adherence to a “10-year rule.” Despite our inability to let go, the fact is not everything needs to be held for 10 years. Suggestions for what to hold and what to toss — and when — follows. But first, here are some things to think about as you prepare to divorce yourself from the paper.
To protect your identity from theft, shred all documents. A consumer-level shredder for the home or office may work just fine, but invest in one that has a cross-cutting feature. Be aware that shredding a huge volume of documents in one sitting will burn out the motor in no time. So, a great practical idea that I plan to do is to get together with friends, neighbors and even invite the whole community to participate in a community shred. There are shredding companies with shredding trucks who will come to your chosen destination and in just two hours shred a ton of paper or more.
The cost is very low, especially if shared, and everyone can watch while their piles of documents are being shredded into chip-sized paper on site. And, paper clips and binder clips do not have to be removed.
Once done, the scraps are taken to a mill where Jeff Rupp, president of Incred-A-Shred in Timonium says “100 percent of all the shredded paper is recycled and made back into paper.”
And in case you wanted to know, he added that 1 ton of recycled paper will save 17 trees, 380 gallons of oil, 3 cubic yards of landfill space, 4,000 kilowatts of energy, and 7,000 gallons of water!
What to purge monthly:
- ATM and bank deposit slips, after reconciling them against your monthly bank statement.
- Credit-card receipts, after reconciling against your monthly statement.
- Monthly bank and credit-card statement (if you don’t itemize deductions).
- Monthly bank and credit-card statements, quarterly brokerage statements, after reconciling with year-end summary.
- Monthly mortgage statements after reconciling with year-end statement’s interest and property taxes paid for the year.
- Phone and utility bills if you have a home office and deduct a portion for business expenses. Otherwise — unless you have a home office, then hold for a year.
- Paycheck stubs, after reconciling them with annual W-2 or 1099 statement.
What to keep for 7 years
- W-2 and 1099 tax forms
- Income Tax Returns
- Cancelled checks and year-end statements from credit card companies
- Statements for annual mortgage interesor any other tax-deductible expense
- Year-end statements from credit-card companies
Keep Indefinitely
- Annual tax returns and year-end financial summaries (at least 10 years)
- Insurance docs and beneficiary designations
- Receipts for major purchases under warranty
- Investment purchase/sell confirmation
- Major home-improvement records
Find out more information about shredding confidential documents at www.incred-a-shred.com.
