Do a spring cleanup of your financial life

Tidying-up queen Marie Kondo has taken the world by storm, helping people declutter their lives with a methodical approach. She suggests: “Keep only those things that speak to the heart and discard items that no longer spark joy. Thank them for their service – then let them go.”

As you work through this tax season and begin thinking about financial spring cleaning, it’s a perfect time to apply some of Kondo’s advice, but with a twist: it’s time to make your financial life spark joy, not oy!

Here’s the Schlesinger method for tidying up your financial life:

There has been a lot of moaning and groaning about the new tax law. If you owed money for 2018 or received a large tax refund, use the IRS withholding tax calculator on IRS.gov. After doing so, you may want to adjust your W-4 at work. If you’re self-employed, lower your quarterly estimated tax payments accordingly.

Tax time is also an opportunity to review your investments. Did your taxable accounts generate too much income or capital gains? Did you pay too much in fees? Are you tired of managing the accounts yourself? If so, be sure to seek a financial professional or online platform that is held to the fiduciary standard at all times, meaning your best interests must come first.

Do you have orphan investment or bank accounts that need attention? By combining them, the resulting higher balance may help avoid or reduce fees and even help you get better deals, not to mention, it will help streamline your financial life. The same rule applies to old retirement or investment accounts that are looking for a home. Combining accounts makes it easier to monitor your entire portfolio and ensure that your money is properly diversified.

The world of paper is where Kondo meets Schlesinger. Get rid of some documents, but understand what you must keep.

Taxes: Investments: Old accounts: Tax returns/supporting documents:

Generally, the IRS can include returns filed within the last three years in an audit. If they identify a substantial error, they may add additional years, but the agency usually does not go back more than the last six years. Therefore, keep your returns and all supporting documents for six years. If you work with a tax preparer, ask whether the preparer will maintain electronic copies of all returns filed.

If you manage your accounts online, find out for how long your bank/investment company makes your documents available. For those still receiving paper statements, keep them for one year and for taxable investment accounts, flag any confirms of purchases or sales for tax purposes. Hold onto records that are related to home improvements and major purchases until you dispose of the asset. (Note: If you think that you may be applying for Medicaid, many states require that you show five year’s worth of statements.)

Bank and investment statements:

Unless you need to reference something for tax or business purposes, or for proof of purchase for a specific item, you can shred them after 45 days. Like the bank statements, flag what you may need for taxes, like charitable contributions.

Shred them after you have paid them, unless they contain tax-deductible expenses. Better yet, save some trees and pay bills online. It’s simple to set up these payments and you can take care of everything with a couple of clicks.

Credit card bills: Utility and phone bills: Jill Schlesinger, CFP, is a CBS News business analyst.