Organization Tips: Conquering A Year’s Worth of Receipts

If you’re like me you keep every receipt for every transaction on all of your plastic throughout the year. Wait, does anyone else do that? (I know, I’m a little Type A, you don’t need to tell me.)

I separate all of my receipts into two plastic folios: one for my debit card and one for my credit card.


At the end of every year I take everything (receipts and bank statements) out of the folios, organize by month, and file away in a box.



This is a lot of stuff to keep. A lot of paper to be specific. Ahhh!


So this year I thought I’d cut the clutter and really sort out what I need to keep and what I can toss. I found some great advice online (thanks LifeHack and Oprah!) but ultimately came up with my own system I thought I’d share. Here goes.

Domestocrat’s Receipt Rules

Keep Receipts For: Anything returnable (clothes, appliances, electronics, etc.), banking transaction receipts, anything medical (including Rx receipts), gifts, really expensive items of any kind, gym membership, car repair/service, parking tickets, reimbursements, and anything someone else owes you money for.

Recycle/Shred/Toss Receipts For: Gas, everyday items (Target, etc.), food/groceries/meals out, events/shows/tickets gone by, and any clothing item that’s been well worn, thrown out, or donated already.

Sticking to these “rules” dramatically reduced the amount of paper receipts I saved from 2011. Where I would normally have a whole box of receipts for one year, I only had one 8×10 paper envelope for 2011. Yippee!


How do you keep your receipts/finances organized? Do you organize them at the end of the year at all?

Author: Domestocrat


8 thoughts

  1. Good tips for average receipt hoarders, but I’m a freelance photographer, so I keep the receipts for gas. :) You are so organized…I am currenly avoiding eye contact with my receipt filer…it’s bright pink, so it is challenging!

  2. I tend not to keep my receipts unless it’s for a large item. If I wear a piece of clothing and wash it – I’ll shred the receipt. I also keep my bank statements on-line and can pull them if needed. As for taxes, I get some statements in the mail and I print the rest of what I need on-line. Easy!

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