Paperwork Peace: An Organizer's Guide to What Documents You Actually Need to Keep (and for How Long)

If you have a drawer or a box in your house that you secretly refer to as "The Paper Abyss," you are in good company. We've moved past the era of overflowing filing cabinets, but that hasn't made us feel any more organized. In fact, for many of us, the "Paper Abyss" has simply moved from a file folder to our Downloads folder.

As a professional organizer in Kelowna, who also happens to be a licensed pharmacist in BC, I’ve realized that many people keep everything because they are afraid of the "what if." What if the CRA audits me? What if I need to prove I paid this bill in 2018?  This is a contributor to cognitive overload and makes paper organizing and filing even more challenging. Even if you can't see the pile, your brain knows there are unfiled tax receipts, digital bank statements, and sensitive PDFs scattered across your devices.

A quick note before we dive in: I am a professional organizer and a pharmacist, not a tax lawyer or accountant. The following are general industry guidelines for paper organizing and filing. Please consult with your accountant, financial advisor, or local tax laws (CRA) to ensure you are meeting the specific requirements for your personal or business situation.

The pharmacist's "Prescription" for Document Triage

Instead of keeping everything "just in case", we need to apply a protocol to our documents to lower our mental load.

1. The "Forever" Documents

These should be kept in a fireproof safe or a very secure, designated "Life File."

• Identification: Passports, birth certificates, social insurance cards.

• Legal: Marriage/divorce papers, adoption records, wills, and powers of attorney.

• Real Estate: Records of home purchase and major home improvements (these are vital for calculating capital gains if you sell your Kelowna home or Big White property later).

2. The "7-Year Rule" (The Tax Standard)

In Canada, the CRA generally requires you to keep your records for six years after the end of the tax year they relate to. I often recommend keeping them for seven years to be absolutely safe.

• Income Tax Returns: Including all supporting documents like T4s, T5s, and charitable donation receipts.

• Business Expenses: If you are a freelancer or small business owner in the Okanagan, keep all business-related receipts and logs.

3. The "One-Year" Hold

• Bank & Credit Card Statements: If you have digital access, you can shred the paper versions once you've verified the transactions.

• Investment Statements: Keep monthly statements until you receive the year-end summary, then shred the monthlies.

4. The "Until It’s Gone" Category

• Insurance Policies: Keep only the current policy.

• Warranties & Manuals: Keep only as long as you own the item. (Most manuals are available as PDFs online. Find the link, save it, and toss the paper!).

• Vehicle Records: Keep maintenance receipts until you sell the car; a well-documented service history is a great selling point!

5. The "Shred Immediately" List

• Utility Bills: Once the payment is confirmed on your next statement.

• Credit Card Offers: Shred these immediately to prevent identity theft.

Why Digital is the New "Filing"

For many of my clients, intentional living means moving toward a paperless home. If you have a scanner (or just a smartphone), you can "file" 90% of these documents in a secure, encrypted cloud folder. This saves physical space in your home and makes searching for a document ten times faster.

Paper Clutter Accountability

Tackling a mountain of paper or digital decluttering is one of the most mentally draining tasks. If you’ve been staring at a pile of mail for weeks, join us for a virtual Focus Session. It’s the perfect time to sit down with a shredder and a recycling bin while having the decluttering support of others doing the same thing.

You don't have to be buried in paper. Let's create a system that lets you breathe.

A Quick 2-Minute Win: Go to your filing cabinet or paper pile right now. Find three instruction manuals for things you no longer own (that old toaster? the VCR?). Shred them. That's one "minimum payment" toward a clearer home!

-By Anissa, RPh and Co-Owner of Oh My Good Mess