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Q: How long should you keep financial records and other documents?

A: In the fervor of spring cleaning, it can be tempting to do a wholesale purge of your piled papers. In general, though, it's best to err on the side of keeping, since you never know when you'll want to refer to an old receipt or statement. A whole year's worth of records can fit into a file box or an accordion folder or two.

There are some crucial documents everybody needs to keep for good. Make copies of birth certificates, Social Security cards, passports, immigration papers, marriage licenses and divorce certificates, stock and bond certificates, real-estate documents, current insurance policies and wills.

Keep originals and copies separate from one another in places like a fireproof home safe, bank safe-deposit box, your lawyer's office or perhaps a trusted neighbor's house.

Your tax returns — and all supporting documentation — must be kept for at least three years in case of an audit. It's better to keep them for at least seven years, and best to keep them permanently: There is no statute of limitations for IRS investigations that involve a false or fraudulent return. These documents, which include statements from financial institutions and annual credit-card statements, also will come in handy if you're applying for a mortgage or major loan.

Hold on to receipts or canceled checks for home-improvement projects and big-ticket items for as long as you own them.

You don't need to keep bills for non-tax-deductible items and utilities for more than a year. Day-to-day receipts for credit-card purchases and ATM transactions can be discarded (shred or tear to be safe) when the monthly credit-card or bank statement arrives.

There are also reasons for keeping nonessentials. For example, referring back to your own medical documents might be easier than going through your insurer. To establish a budget, you'll need bills and receipts to track expenditures.