A Beginners Guide To Organizing Important Documents
With over a decade of experience as a professional organizer, I can confidently say that organizing important documents is one of the most commonly overlooked areas when it comes to getting organized. It’s not only that most people are unfamiliar with + really don’t know the best ways to go about organizing important documents but SPOILER ALERT boo, their procrastination comes from not knowing exactly what to keep vs. what they should get rid of.
In other words, most people struggle to create a system for organizing all of their important information so they can not only find it but, if need be, someone else can find exactly what they need — when they need it.
Sound like you? Keep reading.
And have fun exploring what organizing important documents is all about.
Which Important Documents To Keep?
The first thing to iron out is exactly which “important documents” you should keep. And quite frankly my friend, the answer to this million-dollar question is going to be a little different for every single person (as it should be) but there’s no need to keep filing cabinets full of papers–– there are some general commonalities.
Documents such as:
Vital Records
These are documents such as birth, marriage + adoption certificates, that among other things, are often needed when enrolling in school, claiming benefits, or applying for a passport.
Passports + Identification
These are the documents required for international travel, provide proof of citizenship + lets not forget about your social security card, friend.
Wills + Deeds
In the event of an unplanned + extremely unfortunate accident, a legal Will is incredibly valuable for your desired asset allocation to be handed out as you’d like but proof of ownership which means property titles fall into this category of important documents to keep.
Medical Records
Medical records include any documents pertinent to your medical history, things like annual physical exam results, which may be important as you age.
Insurance + Other Pre-Need Policies
These include documents you may need for proof of insurance but also for any benefit claims that you may be entitled to.
Financial Records
From annual tax returns + proof of income to stock certificates, retirement plans, pensions, and other financial documents, the list of financial records to keep is vast but extremely important to keep.
Employment + Educational Documents
Many of your employment documents are likely already covered under insurance policies or financial records but it’s important to consider anything that may be pertinent to your current workplace as well as educational documents.
Vehicle Information
This includes anything such as licenses + registrations to keeping maintenance + repair records for your vehicle.
Passwords
Not to be overlooked is having a single place for all of your passwords (when properly protected) Not only is it beneficial to those moments when you forget your login info but in the event that someone else, like a spouse or close family member needs to access those accounts you can have peace of mind knowing that they can find everything they need –– in one place.
Home Documents
Likely, much of your home documents are covered in Deeds, Insurance policies and financial records but when it comes to home what we’re actually thinking about is warranties, owners manuals, maintenance checklists + a comprehensive inventory list of all the contents living in the humble abode of yours.
How Long Should You Keep Important Documents?
Well, honestly that to depends, not from person-to-person, but rather from category to category.
Documents to Keep Forever
Vital Records like birth, marriage, or adoption certificates.
Passports and Identification.
Wills + Beneficiary documents.
Deeds (as long as you own the property)
Medical Records
Insurance Policies (as long as they remain active)
Financial Documents like tax returns, mortgages, retirement and pension records, trust documents, investment (year-end) statements.
Educational Records
Vehicle Information (as long as you own the vehicle)
Home Documents (as long as you own the home or warranties are valid)
Documents to Keep for 7 Years
Deeds (on any sold property)
Insurance claims (settled)
Financial Documents like bank records, W-2 and 1099 forms, receipts related to tax purposes, and sold stocks, bonds, or other investments.
Documents to Keep for 1 Year
Medical Bills (in the event of an insurance dispute or a mistake in the billing department of the hospital)
Financial Statements (monthly debit, credit, investment accounts as well as employment paystubs)
Documents to Keep Less Than 1 Year
Honestly, there’s always going to be things that don’t quite slide into the categories we’ve outlined.
Receipts... oh the clutter these little guys can create! Which is why you should really only )keep receipts until you’ve reconciled your financial statements –– then they’ve gotta go)
Bills (you should keep bills until they’ve been paid + you’ve verified the payment on the next bill)
How To Save Space When Organizing Important Documents
Go Digital
There are certain things that you should hold onto as hard copies: vital records, identification documents, wills + deeds, vehicle information.
But for the things that can be digital like:
medical records
insurance documents
financial records
employment + other important educational documents
Passwords
home documents (like warranties, manuals, inventory checklists)
receipts
...we recommend going paperless + creating digital copies.
Which is waaayy easier than you might otherwise think. From Adobe Scan to a handful of Android and iOs applications — you can quickly + easily snap a picture using your mobile phone, or even a tablet, and right before your eyes boo, the magic of technology converts any important document into a PDF file.
Then what?
Well, you can store these on an external hard drive + encrypt them with a layer of password protection for security.
Or you can simply use a cloud storage company to store files on Google Drive, iCloud, or Dropbox.
Request Paperless Statements
When it comes to financial institutions and bills you can almost always request paperless statements. Not only will this cut down on all of the paper clutter in your home but from one friend to another, I’m here to tell you that it’ll save you a TON of time. Imagine having to manually sort, save + store vs simply uploading those documents to your digital filing system.
Organizing Your Email Inbox
Once you request paperless statements, you’re inevitably going to be inundated with emails delivering bills, records, etc. And you want to ensure you’re not deleting these emails (because most email providers clear the trash after 30 days) or dumping them all into a “bills” folder which quickly will become a black hole.
So... what you want to do is actually create labels for each company and store all your emails each month inside of that folder. This will make it incredibly easy to find and identify exactly what you need when you need it.
PRO ORGANIZER TIP: Don’t store newsletters from that company inside this folder. This is strictly for bills, statements, and record keeping. Marketing emails that you want to save should have a separate folder. There’s a ton of ways to do this but here’s an example of an efficient email filing system (i.e. Newsletters > Elegant Simplicity, Invoices > Elegant Simplicity)
Backing Up Important Documents
Backing up your digital documents, especially things of this nature, is incredibly important. This is why at Elegant Simplicity the preferred method we use for doing this is cloud storage. But if you’re using an external hard drive, saving the files on two separate hard drives can’t hurt.
Devising An Organizing System For Important Documents
When it comes to filing important documents, it really comes down to what you feel is functional.
Typically, you’re unlikely to think in terms of “how long you should keep something” and more likely to think to yourself — this is a copy of my marriage certificate, this is an investment statement, or an updated insurance policy.
So, what we recommend is to create a structure with a few basic categories like the above (vital records, medical records, home documents, etc) and then from there create sub-categories that narrow in on the specific company. (Insurance > State Farm > Year > Document).
Now, with our organizing clients we get really granular here to keep things organized but for the sake of being a “beginners guide” what you want to do is create enough structure to guide you but not inhibit your use of it.
In other words, make the system work for you.
ORGANIZER TIP: any documents that are irreplaceable should be put in a fire-safe or waterproof container.
Have A Fireproof Safe or A Safety Deposit Box
We’ve worked with clients who, one day were in one moment watching the Seattle Mariners on a sunny afternoon and in the next moment ensuring everyone was safely out of the home because the house was suddenly engulfed with flames.
Unexpected things happen. And as sad as that story is (psst… they now have a beautiful custom built home which we designed) the tragedy of losing everything including important documents is very real.
So, what you want to do is store those incredibly important documents — in a fireproof safe (our preference) or a safety deposit box (slightly less convenient because you can only access it when they’re open).
Organizing Important Documents Is Continuous
We’re big believers that everything about home is continuous. It’s not static. Home is always evolving. Things are changing and with them comes stuff. New stuff, sometimes old stuff + a lot of times stuff you don’t know what to do with *wink*
But once you create an organizing system for the important documents you want to ensure you’re using it. And if you’re not, let me stop you right there. Ask yourself, why?
Why did I spend the time, money, and energy to create a system (it was important to me then) that I’m not using now? Quite honestly, it’s likely something about the organizing system isn’t intuitive to you — so instead of beating yourself up for having all this paper clutter, reassess.
Create The “Just To Be Safe” File
This one always comes as a surprise to our organizing clients. You spend all this time creating an organized structure for important documents (both paper + digital)
Ultimately, the Just To Be Safe file is intended for you to communicate vital details to those you love + care about in the event you’re unable to.
Oftentimes, what we recommend is that you actually create a “read me” type document that’s stored in your important documents file storage (digital + hard copy). It tells the person looking for this information, exactly what to do. Who to call. Where to go –– it can be long and exhausting or as simple as “call our attorney.”
How To Get Rid Of Important Documents
When it comes to organizing important documents, you now know how long you should keep them but what’s the best way to get rid of them?
Our go-to method to get rid of important documents is to make paper confetti *wink* No seriously, with tens of millions of Americans hit by identity theft, we want to make sure you dispose of your private documents properly. Which means tearing papers + tossing them into the recycling bin isn’t enough in terms of protecting you from someone who's looking for foul play.
Fortunately, you’ve got options when it comes to shredding important documents:
Do it yourself — with a good shredder this isn’t a bad option.
Talk to your bank — many community banks + credit unions offer free shredding days where you can drop off sensitive documents to be properly disposed of.
Find a free community shred event –– usually you’re allowed to bring up to two file boxes or three grocery bags of documents.
Pay for shredding — typically there’s a place, like UPS, that offers shredding services at a reasonable cost ($1/lb).
Oh + one more thing… Here's an excellent resource that talks all about recycling shredded paper.
And there you have it...everything you need to know! And don’t forget, if you’re in the preliminary planning stages of your next project, let’s chat.
P.S. If you loved this article then you’re going to really enjoy the4 Days To A More Beautiful + Functional Home.