Get Organized!

[Tumbleweed]

O.K. I did my research using 8 different sources. I may have forgotten some things but it is a pretty good list taken from all the experts I could find.

What to keep permanently

Please keep these items in a fire proof safe or saftey deposit box

• Marriage certificates
  
• Birth and death records
  
• Adoption papers
  
• Citizenship papers
  
• Copyright/patents
  
• Divorce decree
  
• Letter of "Last Instructions" to executors or heirs
  
• Medical illness and vaccination records
  
• Passports
  
• Wills
  
• Power of Attorney
  
• Social Security cards
  
• Status of pensions and retirement benefits
  

What to keep for tax purposes.

Anything needed for tax purposes should be kept for the current year and 6 years prior such as:

• ATM slips (if applicable)
  
• Annual Bank statements
  
• Credit card statements - if tax related purchases on statements, otherwise until annual interest statement is issued
  
• Canceled checks - (medical/dental expenses/charitable contributions)
  
• Certificates of deposit
  
• Records of the date and purchase price of:
  
  • Stocks
    
  • Bonds
    
  • Mutual funds and other investments
    
  
  
• Contracts
  
• Charitable contributions
  
• Income tax returns
  
• Lease and loan records
  

As long as you own it you should keep:

• Insurance policies
  
  • Disability
    
  • Medical life
    
  • Personal property
    
  • Umbrella
    
  • Auto
    
  • Homeowners
    
  • Liability
    
  
  
• Receipts
  
  • Appliances
    
  • Art, antiques, collectibles
    
  • Furniture
    
  • Big ticket items
    
  
  
• Property bill of purchase
  
• Warranties and instructions
  
• Automobile records
  
  • Titles
    
  • Registration
    
  • Repairs
    
  
  

What should be carried on your person?

• Drivers license
  
• Name of person to notify in case of emergency
  
• Credit cards
  
• Health Insurance card/info
  
• Accident and Auto Insurance card/info
  
• Info on allergies, health problems & blood type
  
• Organization membership cards
  

What should I make an electronic copy of? (Memory sticks are great for this)

• Everything you are putting in your fire proof safe
  
• Any of the above items if you feel ambitious
  

Is there anything else I should keep long term?
Yes, keep any receipts for home improvements and any records relating to your home 6 years after you sold your home.

What can I throw away?

• Small purchase receipts (clothes, groceries, misc) once you know the return policy has expired unless you are keeping for budgeting purposes (Please toss anything over a year old)
  
• Magazines more than a month old
  
• Newspapers more than a day old
  
• Junk mail - immeditately
  
• ATM receipts unless needed for tax purposes and/or once they are reconciled with your bank statement
  
• Credit card receipts once they are reconciled with your credit card statement
  
• Credit card statements (unless there is a tax related transaction on the statement) once the annual statement arrives
  
• Bank statements once the annual statement arrives
  
• Utility bills unless they haven't been paid or you are tracking your usage (Anything over a year old should be tossed)
  
• Warranties that have expired or for items you no longer own/have
  
• Car manuals/titles/insurance papers for a car you no longer own.
  
• Manuals/instructions for items you no longer have/own
  
• Phone numbers with no name attached and you have no idea who's number it is.
  
• Canceled checks unless needed for tax purposes and/or after you receive your bank statement and all checks are reconsiled.
  

[barb]

Thank you. Thats the most comprehensive list I have ever seen. It will make it easier to figure out what I can get rid of.

[Becky]

This list really helped. Thank you.
I usually want to shred everything, I never know what I should hang on to.

But question, why should you keep any receipts for home improvements and any records relating to your home 6 years after you sold your home?

[Tumbleweed]

Mar 12, 2009 4:37:03 GMT -6 Becky said:

This list really helped. Thank you.
I usually want to shred everything, I never know what I should hang on to.

But question, why should you keep any receipts for home improvements and any records relating to your home 6 years after you sold your home?

Anything that is tax related needs to be kept for 6 years. If you are audited they can go back several or more years. If you got a tax break for home improvements you have to prove you had the work done. And of course if you profited from the sale that would/could be a tax issue.

Another reason, although not likely to happen, is the new owners may find that some work that was done was sub-standard/dangerous and may want to take it up with the contractor who did it and you would be the one who has that info.

[tridlette]

I wish I had this whole list 2 years ago, before DH got sick and died. There are some things that I still am struggling over.

The one that was most difficult to deal with: THE SAFE COMBINATION! DH knew it. I was fortunatate enough that when he first became ill (with a brain anuerysm), he had a short remission, and was able to tell me a few things that I needed. He couldn't tell me the combination, but he told me where he had written it down.

My "lessons learned" would be to send a note to a trustworthy person, not living nearby, telling where those important things are located. DH also had the computer administative privileges password protected, but he left me a crazy "hint" that made no sense to me for a while, but I finally had an "Aha" moment.

The information in the safe is great, and putting the list of the safe contents into distant hands makes life easier. In my case, I gave the information to one of my siblings and one of his siblings.

I got a dozen manilla envelopes, labeled them for each month, and I shove those little receipts into the current month. That way, I feel like I am being careful, but it is all together in one place. I can take a few minutes a month later, and throw out that stuff I don't need and file the rest.

I really can't tell you how important it is to actually have a "plan" to follow, to keep the important documents safe and organized for yourself, or for whomever has to sort out your life next.

And having your "next of kin" updated on your medical status is huge also. Let that someone know when you change medications, doctors, etc. and if you are up to date on vaccines, including the current flu shots and tetanus! (My DH became an organ donor, and I had to provide huge amounts of information about him to the coordinator... meds, illnesses, habits, family history of his grandparents, etc. By sharing that information with me over the years, it made it easier to find the right recipients for his liver and kidneys ~ who are all doing quite well!)

[Tumbleweed]

You are so right Trid! I'm so glad you brought it up. You can be Ms. Organized but it helps no one if they don't know where to find all this organized stuff. We just don't know when we may leave this earth. It could be in the next minute or next week. And you stressed how important someone has this information. There is nothing worse that I can think of is someone grieving but having to try to find important documents/info in the middle of the grieving process. So thank you so much for pointing that out.

I know, before I did this research on how to organize your important papers I didn't have a clue really. If I died no one would know anything, such as; how to get into my bank account, who holds my morgage loan, did I have any sort of funeral arrangements made, a savings account, life insurance and even the minor things like if someone wanted to keep this web site going, they'd have no way to do it.

I have since, given some of this information to my sister but I still need to get more organized down to those little things.

Sorry, I'm so late seeing your post. My attention hasn't been on this site lately. My life has been a big pile of stress and craziness lately.

[crawfordstuart]

They find crunched up masses of papers in the bottom of the backpack or a torn-up mess in the locker at the end of the school year. With preparation and organization assistance, these students' odds of success would improve greatly.