I Need Bigger Shoes

Accountants who used to complain about ‘shoe box bookkeeping’ are in for extra big headaches next year. I’m going to be one of them- headache, that is, not accountant.
Washington State doesn’t have an income tax, so beginning last year, we were allowed to deduct sales tax from our federal tax. So this year I’ve been saving sales receipts on the chance that they might add up to more than the standard deduction.
A shoe box just isn’t going to do it. Especially since March when I found out that I could get receipts from fast food joints. Currently I am using a flower urn, but it’s full.
So I thought I might total the sales tax so far, and then jam the receipts into a new and separate place. I sat down with my calculator and pile of receipts and began to add them up when I noticed that some of the receipts, especially the ones printed on old fashion ink cash registers were starting to fade.
So now I have three questions: Do I have to keep these receipts for three years in case I get audited? What it the ink totally fades leaving me with only blank slips of register paper? If so, will I have to pay an income tax penalty for undocumented deductions?
Perhaps standard deduction is the way to go- especially considering how much my accountant charges per hour.
Nancy Sherer