Five Basic Steps to Getting Organized

You probably know that being organized reduces your stress levels. There's less to maintain, less to clean, and you're less likely to lose things.  So what's keeping you back?  Most don't know where to start.  There are hundreds of products that can help, and just as many solutions.  So rather than confuse you more, let's start with the Five Basic Steps to Getting Organized:

1. One In One Out - Being organized isn't about getting rid of everything and never shopping again.  Shoes wear out, children outgrow clothes.  You have to go shopping.  But make it a habit of removing one item from your home for every new item you bring in.  That way, you'll never accumulate too much.
2. Just Say No - When someone tries to give you something, if you really don't want it or like it, then refuse it.  You don't have to take furniture from your great-aunt's home if you have no need or space for it.  You don't have to take the scarf your friend is cleaning out of her closet.  The less you bring in, the less you have to care for.
   
3. Clear It Out - The more you have, the more you have to care for.  So clear out what you don't need.  Get rid of kitchen appliances you never use, or coats you never wear.  They're just taking up valuable space that could be occupied by something you love.
4. Plan Ahead - Get ready the day before. Decide on your outfit, pack your lunch.  Do the same for the rest of the family.  Also, schedule time for yourself to take care of chores like filing or laundry.  If you keep on top of things, they won't pile up.
5. Deal With It - Take care of messes and problems when they happen.  Clean up the spills, put away the laundry, sort the mail, etc. as it comes in.  There may be a day or two where you don't have time, but if you've kept up with tasks all along, the piles won't grow too large to overwhelm you.

Keep this list posted in a place you'll see it as a daily reminder.  It's really that simple.

Tax Preparation Tips

Tips for Tuesday

It's already March, which means tax day is just around the corner. If you haven't prepared your tax return yet, here is a list of what you will need to prepare the return or bring with you to your accountant.

PERSONAL INFORMATION
Have on hand for each of your family members:
• Name and address
• Birth Date
• Social Security Number
Have on hand the following:
• Name, address, Tax ID or Social Security Number of child care provider
• Amount of alimony paid/received and Social Security Number of recipient

EMPLOYMENT AND OTHER INCOME
• W-2 forms for the tax year
• Unemployment compensation
• State and local income tax refunds
• Rent income from personal property
• Partnership, S Corporation, Trust, Estate income
• Pensions and annuities
• Social Security benefits
• Recovery of bad debts deducted in a prior year
• Alimony/Maintenance
• Scholarships/fellowships
• Jury duty pay
• Gambling and lottery winnings
• Prizes and Awards

SELF-EMPLOYMENT INFORMATION
• Business income
• Partnership SE income
• Business-related expenses (with receipts)
• Employment taxes and other business taxes paid

OTHER FINANCIAL ASSETS
• Interest income statements
• Dividend income statements
• Proceeds from broker transactions
• Retirement plan distribution

HOMEOWNER/RENTER DATA
• Mortgage interest paid
• Sale of your home or other real estate
• Second mortgage interest paid
• Real estate taxes paid
• Rent paid
• Moving expenses

EXPENSES
• Gifts to charity
• Unreimbursed expenses related to volunteer work
• Unreimbursed expenses related to your job
• Investment expenses
• Job-hunting expenses
• Job-related education expenses
• Tax return preparation expenses
• Adoption expenses
• Child care expenses
• Alimony paid
• Medical savings account
• Tax return

OTHER FINANCIAL LIABILITIES
• Auto loans and leases if vehicle used for business
• Student loan interest paid
• Early withdrawal penalties on CDs and other time deposits

OTHER TAX DOCUMENTS AND INFORMATION
• Federal, state and local estimated income tax paid (have payment records or vouchers)
• IRA, Keogh and other retirement plan contributions
• Medical expenses documents
• Casualty or theft losses documents
• Personal property tax information

Remember, if you want to claim it, you should have proper documentation. You should collect these receipts and papers throughout the year in an income tax file. This will make tax preparation much easier when the time comes because everything will be together.

Setting Up a Filing System

Tips for Tuesday

Even if you don't own a business, you should still have a filing system for your personal files. Everyone has financial, medical and possibly legal papers. It is important that you are able to find them when you need them.

Setting up a system is simple if you follow a few rules.

First,sort your papers into broad categories. Put school, work, medical, bank, credit card, home maintenance, etc., papers into piles. Further sort them into specialized categories. For example, you should have individual medical files for yourself, your spouse, each of your children, and your pets. Each person should have their own folder.

Next, create folders for each of these piles. If you are a visual person, use different colors for each broad category. Name each file. Use only a few words that clearly identify the contents. This will usually be a noun and verb, and perhaps a year. "Tax documents 2011" for instance, or "VISA Chase."

Place your files in a cabinet or drawer close to where you use them. They may not all be in the same place. File them by category or alphabetically—whichever works best for you.

If you are file challenged, then purchase a system that categorizes and indexes everything for you, such as Viewables from Smead. Use their colors, or customize your own labels.

Finally, keep on top of filing! File papers as they come in, and purge old ones you don't need.

What Can You Do in Two Minutes?

Tips for Tuesday

One of the most common excuses for not being organized is not having enough time. But what if I told you that you needed only two minutes to be on your way to getting organized? Mind you, not completely organized, but on your way. After all, it took weeks, months or even years to accumulate your clutter. It won't go away in two minutes. But you can get on top of the situation.

How many times have you had two minutes of free time? Maybe you were waiting for the water to boil on the stove. Or you were on hold with your utility company. Maybe you were waiting for your child during their doctor's appointment. All of these are opportunities to do something useful.

There are lots of little things you can do in ten minutes. Here are a few ideas to get you started.
• Go through your wallet and remove the old coupons and receipts.
• Go through your fridge and look for expired or spoiled food.
• Go through your pantry and look for expired food products.
• Go through your medicine cabinet and look for expired medications.
• Delete some old emails from your Inbox.
• Flip through a magazine and tear out the articles you want to read. Recycle the rest.
• Go through a dresser drawer and pull out clothes you don't like or don't fit.
• Line up the shoes in your closet, and get rid of a pair or two.
• Delete old messages on your answering machine or cell phone.
• Remove expired coupons from your fridge door.

These are just a few things you can do in two minutes. What other tasks can you think of to add to the list?

Organizing Project Files--Part Three

Writer Wednesday

Every project you begin needs to be tracked. You will have research files at the start of the process, documents while composing drafts, submission records, edits and marketing efforts. There will be many versions of the same project as it goes through editing phases. Therefore, you will need to keep track of all these versions.

There are storage needs for both hard copy and electronic records. They should mirror each other for easiest retrieval.

11. Perform monthly back-ups of new files to external storage such as an external hard drive, CD or USB flash drive. Or subscribe to an online back-up service that automatically backs up any new files as they are created.
12. Keep a final version of every project in external storage.
13. Copy all your files to an external source at least once a year (even if you have online storage.)
14. Exchange back-up files with a friend for safe off-site storage.
15. Keep a hard copy of the final version of every project within easy access so it is readliy available for copying or faxing.

File, Don't Pile

Senior Thursday

Papers can be daunting. They come into the home from many different sources--mail, doctor visits, work, etc.. There are papers for your house, your health, your finances and your family. But where to keep them all? Many times, out of frustration, we just drop them on the nearest pile.

What happens when you need that piece of paper, though? Where is it? What pile did you put it on?

If you set up a functional filing system, you'll be able to find what you need when you need it. Here are some tips for setting up a filing system.

• Store away what you don’t use--This is anything that you need to keep, but don't need to access. Old tax returns, supporting tax documents, old receipts, and memorabilia fall into this category
• Use labels that work for you. What words would you think of when looking for it again? Would your spouse use the same description? Use something you'll remember.
• Limit the description on the label. The fewer words you use, the easier it will be to remember and read. A noun, adjective and year is often sufficient.
• Color code your folders or labels. You can categorize them by person, subject , or year. Use what is comfortable for you.
• If you are intimidated by the task of setting up a system, use a pre-packaged system, such as Freedom Filer, that comes with stock labels and an index guide. These are easy to use, and the index helps you locate items easily.
• Schedule time for filing. In order for the filing system to work for you, you have to keep on top of it. Schedule time every day or week for doing your filing. Purge your files every six to twelve months to keep them from getting too big.

Organizing Your Work Space--Part One

Writer Wednesday

Being organized has many benefits. Among them are being able to find things easily, which in turn makes you more productive. And who wouldn't want to be a more productive writer?

Here are some things you can do in your office to make it more efficient, and you more productive.

• Set aside space in your home that is dedicated to your writing. If you move from space to space, you will tend to drop notes, files, mail, etc, wherever you land next. Then when you need that note or file, you will have to search for it. If you dedicate a space to your writing, all writing-related material should land there. Thus, you will know where everything is when you need it and know what you have to do.
• Keep only those items you need on a daily basis on your work surface. Why use up precious real estate for items you aren't using?
• Create folders for the following--"TO DO", "PENDING", "TO READ", and "TO FILE". These should be on top of your desk so you can use them and reference them every day. Check these files every morning to plan your day, and every evening to anticipate the next day.
• Keep only those items you use on a regular basis in your work space. This is similar to the above, but is more about files and storage. If you have files you no longer reference regularly, pack them away and move them to a different room. Your files will begin to overflow if you keep everything in your immediate space. It will become cluttered, as will your mind and creativity.
• Set aside time each week to do your filing. This may be on Friday afternoon after putting in a week of writing, or Monday morning to clear your desk and start fresh. Write the time in your calendar so you don't forget. Keeping on top of filing will make it less painful than addressing stacks and stacks of paper every few months.

Keeping Track of Research

Writer Wednesday

As a writer , you know the importance of keeping track of your research. You may spend hours looking through books or surfing the internet on a particular subject. Then, when it's time to use that information in your current writing project, you need to get your fingers on it immediately. You don't want to spend another two hours looking for the notes you took or the copies you made. Thus, having organized files for your research is imperative.

Here are some basic tips to start:

1. Create a new folder, binder or file box for each project you are working on. Small projects such as magazine articles will have less notes than a larger project.

2. Save all work related to a project within that file. This would include copies you made from research books, handwritten notes you take from books or workshops, or articles you print from the internet. You should also place in there any project outlines, photos or maps associated with the project. For example, if you are writing a thriller set in Paris, you will have maps of the city streets, landmarks and transportation system.

3. For larger projects, create folders within folders. If you are writing an historical novel set in Victorian England, you will need to research clothing, food, geography, language, entertainment, carriages, etc.. Each of these should have it's own folder or section in a binder so it's easy to locate when you need it. For example, if a character is a student at Eton, you will need to know where the school is, what holidays they had, what they wore, and what they were taught--everything you need to make the book as authentic as possible.