Is your desk at home piled high with bank and credit card statements, bills, insurance policies, ATM slips, and old tax returns? Paper piles up so quickly, most of us find ourselves wishing occasionally that we could just toss a match and make it disappear.

It may feel like an insurmountable task to get organized, but it’s worth the effort. With tax season around the corner, now is a great time to start. Try these steps to get your financial records in order.

Step 1: Sort, sort, sort. Divide papers into three categories:

1st - Papers to keep for the calendar year: pay stubs, credit card statements, utility bills, mortgage statements, and mutual fund and brokerage quarterly earnings statements. Keep these until you receive end-of-year summaries; once you’ve reconciled these, toss the redundant paperwork.

2nd - Papers to keep for three to seven years. The window of time during which you could be audited and will need to be able to produce supporting paperwork. The IRS has up to three years to examine your return for errors, and up to six to conduct an audit if there’s reason to suspect that you’ve underreported your income. Keep all supporting paperwork until these windows close.

3rd - Papers to keep indefinitely. Keep actual tax returns and end-of-year earnings summaries indefinitely; these can be useful for financial planning. Keep receipts for home improvements that you make—you’ll need these should you decide to sell your home.

Step 2: Throw away what you can. Keep credit card slips only until you’ve reconciled them with your monthly statement. Save receipts for minor purchases only until you’re sure that you don’t need to return or exchange the item. Toss ATM receipts and deposit slips as soon as you reconcile them with your monthly bank statement.

Step 3: Make a place for papers you need to save. Set aside a space where you can keep your financial records, a filing cabinet, a drawer, or plastic storage box.

Step 4: Be disciplined. Once your filing system is in place, stick with it. After you pay a bill or receive a statement, file it immediately. Designate a yearly tax file; when you receive tax-related documents, file them right away. When you’re ready to do your taxes, the information you need will be all together.

Step 5: Tackle any backlog. Tackle piles of accumulated paper slowly. Set aside a small amount of time daily to sort and file. Eventually, you’ll make it, and you will be amazed at the difference some organization can make.