Tax Season…Shred Season February 17, 2012

I hope you are getting ready for your taxes (I know you have until April 15^th but doing them sooner than later ensures you have time to pull the missing pieces together and take care of surprises).  It is also the time the year to really declutter your files.  I am asked all the time what to shred versus recycle.  First, if you need it for tax purposes, it should go with that tax year prep for that year and be kept for 7 years.  Don’t clutter your everyday files with items that are just needed to support your taxes.  Archive it with your taxes in a separate filing box or cabinet.

If the paperwork is not needed for tax purposes, it is time to decide if it can be recycled or shredded.  Shred anything that has a signature, account number, social security number, birth date, your mother’s maiden name, online password information, or medical or legal information as well as credit offers.  Essentially, any document containing information that you don’t want others to have should be shredded.  I recently heard of a client’s husband seeing someone going through trash for paperwork – identity theft is out there!

Here is a list that you may find helpful:  Shred the following

1. Financial Documents

a. Obsolete financial records

b. Loan applications

c. Investment transactions

2. Medical Documents

a. Personal medical records

b. Physician statements

c. Insurance forms

3. Bank Documents

a. Bank statements

b. ATM receipts

c. Cancelled checks

4. Bill Related Documents

a. Credit card statements and utility bills

b. Receipts for purchases

5. Tax Documents

a. Correspondence from state or federal tax agencies

b. Tax preparation worksheets

6. Mail

a. Pre-approved credit card applications

b. Mailing labels from magazines

7. Other Documents

a. Pay stubs

b. Old driver’s licenses or passports

c. Legal documents

d. Expired insurance/membership cards

If you end up with a mountain of papers to shred, I highly recommend taking it someplace to be shredded.  The time it takes to process in a small home sized shredder is not worth it.  There are local shredding businesses like 3N as well as office products stores like Officemax do shredding.  It is all secure and cost effective.

So, let go of some paper clutter and have peace of mind that your information is kept safe.

The Important Things February 5, 2012

I have been reminded multiple times in the last few weeks about things and importance.  I am reading Organized Simplicity by Tsh Oxenreider, which is great about challenging you on simplicity in all things and concentrating on what is truly important.

In this book, I was surprised by some statistics.  In 1950, according to the US Census Bureau, the average family consisted of 3.67 members.  In 2002, it was at 2.62 members.  With that, the average home size in 1950 was 989 square feet but in 2004 it was up to 2,349!  Do we really need 900 square feet per person?

The clutter in our homes is not a space problem at all.  It is a stuff problem.  The ease and speed we acquire stuff if huge.  If you had to evacuate your home in 20 minutes, what would you take? Really think about it.  It would have to fit in your car first of all, you are evacuating.  And second, most “things” can be replaced, what can’t?

Besides the obvious of my family and my pets, I know I personally would grab a bag of clothes for every member of the family – a weeks’ worth and our favorite pieces – that is survival.  I would grab my photos and photo albums – those can’t be easily replaced. I would have the kids pick their favorite toys and books – about a bag’s worth because their piece of mind is important to me.  I would then grab any memorabilia/décor that means a lot to me, one favorite dogs ashes, the comic my Dad mad of me when I was little, you get the idea.

Wow, to really go through and think that through makes you look at all the other stuff as just stuff!  It is truly amazing how much is really not worth anything to us yet every day we let it overtake us.  We move it around, clean it up, maintain it, and sometimes pay to store it.

Really take a look around and anything that that you don’t actually use and don’t love, consider simplifying and letting it go.  Try and live a more simple life focused on what is truly important.

Take care of your Taxes January 21, 2012

It is unfortunately that time of year!  Within about 10 days you should have all the papers mailed to you that are required to be sent to you.  The rest of the stuff you need to pull together, which means finding it all.

Congrats if you can easily pull out your papers and files in 5 minutes.  That means you have a good system and stayed on top of it all year long.  If you can’t do that, immediately establish a home (system) for your 2012 papers.  I find the easiest thing to do is have one hanging folder, basket or magazine folder easily accessible that you put items in throughout the year; a paid tax bill, a donation receipt or slip, whatever.  Come January, the first step of collection is done!  You can take that a step further and create sub-categories such as donations, income, miles and such.  If you have very little throughout the year, one bin is enough.

After you gather it all up , you need to sort it out for easy totaling.  Group items but type: income, expenses, deductions, & statements.  After you do this, you can subdivide.  Everyone’s sub-categories will be different, but some common ones are Banking, Charitable Giving, Childcare, Medical Expenses, Business Expenses (this would be home bills if you write off a portion of your home), Investments, Property Taxes, Interest.

Prepare soon!  Starting in February so you can have a late February or March appointment (if you pay a tax professional) will give you time to gather any missing pieces and still get your taxes in ahead of the deadline.

Once you have submitted your return, go back again and make sure the system you set up for the current year meets your needs.  This time will save you time and stress next year.

Lastly, celebrate!  Another tax season is done.  And, here’s hoping there are no problems and nothing owed!

New Year to Get Organized January 10, 2012

I hope my last entry got you going on some good goals for this year ahead.  If you haven’t done any yet, hey, we are only 10 days in – you can still do some!

One of the top goals or “resolutions” is to get organized.  Well, the mess you are in didn’t get that way overnight.  There is just no way you can go through it all in a day.  So, why not pick some focus spots throughout the year.  Here is a monthly hot spot to tackle:

January – Your Seasonal Decorations

February – Your office/papers

March – The Kitchen

April – The Living and/or Family Room(s)

May – Kids Room(s) and Toys

June – The Garage and/or Basement

July – Outdoor spaces (sheds/toys/patio/deck)

August – Linen and Coat closets

September – Your Bathroom(s)

October – Your Dining Room

November – Spare rooms

December – Your Bedroom

Within each month, try to put some 2 hour sessions on your calendar early in the month to get started.  Pick days and times that are achievable.  Enlist help if needed. Some areas may have very little to get done, but I find even with small projects they don’t get done if you don’t make them a priority.   Maybe you spend the time just deep cleaning under the bed but at least you know that room is done!  Keep adding sessions to get it done in that month.

And, to go along with that, here are my top 10 tips to live by to lead a more organized life!

1. Live by the one in – one out rule.

2. Set atleast 3 goals for this next year.

3. Post those goals in a visible spot.

4. Everything needs a home.

5. Store items WHERE you use them.

6. If you take something out, put it back.

7. Touch it once.

8. Troubling focusing? Set a timer for 15 min and just give it a try!

9. 10 min pickup nightly.

10. Plan out your day.

I am list person, so print these out and post them around so you can get to work!

Get your Goals Going December 27, 2011

I love the start of a new year.  It’s a great time to reflect on what you did and didn’t get done over the past year (note – don’t beat yourself up too much on what you didn’t get done!)  New Year’s resolutions I find are very deceiving.  They are usually way to broad and too big to tackle.  So, what happens shortly after making these resolutions is that we get frustrated, fail and give up.  This tends to be only a short time into the New Year when we still have plenty of time to get it done.

I like think in terms of goals; short term for the current year, long term for 2-5 years and lifetime goals – no specific date.  To determine your goals, you need to first sit down and think about what is truly important to you.  What do you want your life to look like? In the next year?  In the next 5 years from now?  What is your vision for yourself?  Once you have that clear picture, you can write out your goals.

The key is to start with 3-5 short term goals in different types or areas of your life.  Your choices are:

Goal Types:

• Business / Career – training, get a promotion, find a new job, increase clients
• Contribution / Giving Back – doing more, finding an organization to donate time and/or money
• Financial – save X dollars, reduce spending, invest more
• Health/Fitness – start exercising, goal weight, marathon
• Relationships – vacation w/ spouse, friend get-togethers
• Home – remodeling, fixing items
• Personal – religious goals, working on an attribute such as patience, etc.
• Other

Creating goals in a balance of areas will make you really push forward to your ideal life.  If you have a lot in one area, pick the top three and push the rest to your long term goals.   The short term goals should be broken out into steps.  These steps then become to-do’s that you should place in your planner.  Add due dates too if you find deadlines help in getting things done.

I recommend creating an inspiration board to post all of your goals so they are constantly visible.  If one of your goals is to have a beach house, find a great picture of one and put up there.  Or to redo your home office, find pictures of the type of furniture/set-up you want.  The board should remind you daily of the greater picture.

Now, right them out!  And most of all; enjoy the process.  Planning for success and feeling successful will give you momentum in all areas of your life.  Check in monthly with your list of goals and make tweaks as needed to complete each goal.  Life has a way of getting in the way so refocus often and keep pushing forward.

Decluttering your Financials December 15, 2011

Decluttering doesn’t just happen with your physical stuff.  The baggage you carry financially can be just as bad to your overall well-being as the stuff sitting on your dining room table!  I am no financial consultant, but what I do know is that giving yourself a financial audit can be eye-opening and liberating.  With the new year coming, one resolution that hits a lot of lists is save money.  If that is you, keep reading!

I am big fan of Peter Walsh (Oprah’s professional organizer).  He really tells it like it is.  His newer book, Lighten Up, dives more into financial clutter and getting it in order.  I highly recommend it if this blog entry hits home to you.

To paraphrase some of it, using money of your own and money that belongs to someone else are two very different things altogether.  There is a big difference between money you have and money that you have access to, like credit cards and loans.  We continue to think that the acquisition of material possessions will afford us happiness, but it is really the journey of moving forward that makes us happy.  Owning less stuff and having more access to the money we do have is the real secret power.  Money that doesn’t have to go toward debt, but to what is really important is empowering!

When you need to clear a space, I always state you must have a vision for the space.  What do you want from the space?  What do you want to do with the space?  The same goes with your money and life.  What is the vision for the life you want?  What is your financial vision?  If you don’t have one, this is the time to draft it.

Peter states some financial goals that he has seen people make, such as:

• Downsize to a smaller home with a more manageable mortgage (1 yr)
• Zero credit card debt (5 yrs)
• Zero student loans (5 yrs)
• Max out retirement contributions each year
• Vacation fund for an exotic trip (5 yrs)
• Pay for child’s education (10 yrs)
• Go back to school (5 yrs)
• Be happy with what I have NOW

Some goals are not something you can attain in a short time; break out the financial goals by this year, 5 years, 10 years.  Calculate the dollar amount for each goal and put that next to it.  These are now your financial goals.

How many times have you had to put aside your dreams and opportunities due to lack of funds?  Well, no more.  To achieve those financial goals you just listed, you must dive into where all the current money is going.

To do that, gather up bank account statements, credit card statements, mortgages, and your monthly bills.  Make a list of the money you have – checking and savings accounts, investments, retirement, cash, etc.  Then make a list of what you owe – credit card balances, all loans, unpaid bills.  This gives you a picture of your net worth, subtracting what you owe from what you have.  This alone is good to know but doesn’t really tell you how you are spending your money and what can go so you can start saving for your goals.

Start today tracking every expenditure; every day.  Keep a notebook in your bag, or get receipts and load into an excel spreadsheet.  For you digital people, there are phone apps that can assist in logging these as well.  Mint.com is also an online site that can be of assistance.  Whatever way you choose, track for a full month.  At the end, tally up each category – food, out to eat, car, home mortgage and bills, clothing, dependent care, personal care, and more.  In Peter’s book, he has several pages of categories!   When you see how much you spend in a month on some of these, you will be unpleasantly surprised.

Armed with your goals and where the money is going, set up some spending limits and with the freed up money, start applying it to some of those goals.  Definitely set up some kind of continuous tracking system to ensure that the money is getting there and you are keeping to your budgets in all areas.  Because it is all in the numbers, seeing the numbers going in the right direction will create positive changes in all areas of your life!

I hope this will give you the courage to tackle your financial issues.  Whether you are doing well and just want to save for one thing, or you are in debt and behind on everything; taking charge and getting the facts will only help in conquering the financial clutter.  Knowledge is power, use your money knowledge to move forward and become financially independent.

7 Ways to Reduce the Amount of Clutter you Bring In December 1, 2011

I have a entire shelf of organizing books.  I really do utilize them quite often as reference and to give people random tips.  I really like 1000 Best quick and easy organizing secrets by Jamie Novak.  It quickly and efficiently gives you tips for every area.  What I really like is the section in the back that gives  Simple Sevens for Success, it is a whole chapter on 7 tips for tons of things.  I liked the one I am including.  It is appropriate for this gift season as well as a great outlook to enter the new year with.

7 Ways to Not Bring More Clutter Home

1.  Have the attitude that you value money more than stuff.

2.  Do not buy mismatched items – for example, a skirt without its matching shirt because it is on clearance.

3.  Ask for consumable gifts like tickets or gift certificate.

4.  Remember how many you have at home before you get more of something (hello black shirt).

5.  Don’t buy things just because they are a good price.

6.  Make a shopping list prior to going to the store and stick to it.

7.  As you attend grand openings and conferences leave what you don’t need behind.  Pick up only what you really need, stopping yourself from grabbing it just because it is free (think of all those pads with logos, pens and cups!)

I think these tips really will help you bring less in.  Now all you have to do is try and reduce what you already have!

Thankful for your Stuff November 24, 2011

It is Thanksgiving; a day to be thankful for what we have.  Family, friends, our roof over our heads and our stuff.  Well, most of it I think.  With having stuff, it means taking care of it all.

When our stuff is piled, hidden, stored, stacked, stuffed, what do we have?  Clutter.  When we acquire something new, something else should go.  When we buy a new piece of clothing, it should now be the best thing in our closet.  If not, why are you buying it?  If we honor and use our belongings, we appreciate them and know we have them.

On this holiday of reflection of all we are thankful for, consider what you have and what you truly love and use.  I bet with less stuff and more time to spend with those we love and doing what we love, you would truly be thankful for the simpler lifestyle.

Be thankful for what you have.  What you have should have a home, be used, and /or loved.  That is what organization is all about.  And that is how we home full of stuff rather than a home full of clutter.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Season of Sharing November 10, 2011

With the Holiday Season pretty much here (I heard Christmas music playing in Kohl’s already), it becomes a sea of purchases, receipts and parties.

I think it a great time to share what we have but don’t need.

Create a season of sharing by letting go of belongings no longer loved or needed with those that can love and use them!

Got too many clothes? Coat drives, homeless shelters, domestic violence shelters, job training programs, hospitals and disaster relief organizations

Too many toys? Children’s hospitals, police departments, ambulance corps (cleaned stuffed animals), day care centers, preschools, domestic violence shelters, books for doctors offices

Books or Magazines? School libraries, day cares, literacy centers, hospitals

Furniture?  Churches, schools, homes for families in transition, disaster relief organizations

Sporting Equipment? Scout troops, disabled athletes organizations, camps for sick children, schools

Computers?  Schools, senior citizen centers, electronic clubs at schools

Crafting Supplies?  Day care centers, scouting organizations, schools, homeless shelters, domestic violence shelters

Pick an area or two you purge out and then find a few organizations that give those in need items.
Nothing gets you more in the spirit than helping others.

Banish the Clutter in your Bathroom October 27, 2011

Locally in Clifton Park, Saturday is Prescription Drug Take-Back Day.   When doing a bathroom decluttering job, it is crazy how many unused,
unfinished and/or expired products we find!  With a background in chemical engineering, I can’t stress enough the importance of letting go of expired pills.
The effectiveness is not there and sometimes the components can break down and be toxic.  If you get sick again, just call your doctor up for a new script.

The bathroom may be the smallest in the house but talk about a used room!  Bath products have a way of accumulating – bulk purchases, cheap items, and products promising to do magical things.  And, let’s not mention all the meds; there is a product for every ailment.  Here are some useful tips to manage this small space:

• Containerize!  Have very little on the counter and what is there should have adequate storage.  If you leave out what you use daily, make
  sure it is in a caddy so putting away can be quick and easy.
• Use drawer organizers to separate out products like make-up, brushes, shaving equipment.
• Over the toilet cabinets are helpful for adding extra storage.
• Shaving products, meds and cosmetics are best stored in dark, not extreme heat/moisture areas.
• Store extras in a home –centered location for all extras, shop there first before going to the store.
• Sort/Purge medications quarterly.  Remove labels for privacy if desired and then recycle pill containers.
• If the bathroom is used by a lot of people, get each person their own caddy for personal supplies such as shampoo, toothbrush, brush, makeup and such.  It will be a lot less stuff in the bathroom clogging it up.  And, have them hang their towel in their room and bring it in to shower.
• Make-up standards; lipstick 1-2  years, blush 2-3 years, mascara 4 months, liquid eyeliners and eye shadows -6 months, eye pencils good until whittled down, foundation 6-12 months (if you dip your fingers in), compact powder 8 months; if there is a change in color or smell – definitely throw it out.
• Other Standards: moisturizer 1 year, self-tanner 2 years, sunscreen 1 year, anything you used during an infection/rash / etc should be discarded if it can’t be sterilized
• In general, if you tried it out and you didn’t like it or hated the smell or consistency – let it go right away.  If you don’t, it will only take up valuable space and you will feel bad that you wasted your money every time you look at it.

The take back program is being held 10/29 from 10-2 at the Clifton Park State Police Barracks, 5 Municipal Plz #1.    They will take unused, expired and unwanted
prescriptions as well as over-the-counter tablets and capsules.

If you can’t make it, do not flush but empty into a bag of old coffee grounds or kitty litter and throw out in trash – make
sure garbage cans are sealed tightly to keep animals out.   Flushing is not recommended as they can get into our water supply.

Most bathrooms I have done only take 1-2 hours, so tackle it today.  You’ll be surprised how much easier it will be to get ready in the morning and how nice it will be to find what you are looking for when you need it.