NEW YORK (MONEY Magazine) -
While slogging through masses of paper, it's hard to shake the nagging feeling that you'll need something again. Chances are you won't.
Solution: Learn what you really need to save.
"I'd say that 80 percent of the paper that comes into your home will never be looked at again," says organizing pro Robin Blank, of Chaos Consulting in Boston.
To identify which 20 percent to keep, and for how long, use this guide.
- One month: Credit-card and ATM receipts (or until you get your monthly statement); receipts for small-ticket items as long as they can be returned (likely 30 days).
- One year: Paid utility bills; monthly and quarterly bank, brokerage and credit-card statements (or until you get the year-end one); and paycheck stubs until you get your W-2.
- Seven years: Tax returns, receipts for major purchases and year-end credit-card, bank and brokerage statements.
- Indefinitely: Medical records, receipts for home improvements, mortgage documents, current insurance policies and warranties until they expire.
Once you have a clean slate, your last job is to minimize the paper inflow. Take your name off mailing lists by signing up at dmaconsumers.org.
Shift to electronic statements for your frequent-flier, brokerage and fund accounts. You can often opt to receive bills by e-mail as well.
Investment: Hours to sort through years of paper.
The payoff: You'll have tamed the paper dragon -- and maybe even freed up a room in your house.
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