simply-org.com Blog

You have completed the “rough sort” and got rid of the junk, and you sorted your big pile into smaller ones.

Third Step: Breakdown your categories and set up files

Take the piles from last week’s first sort and start breaking them down to smaller groups. The financial pile now becomes your individual banks, credit cards, investments, etc.

(What about those papers that don’t fall into obvious categories? Make one pile personal items and deal with those later. This might include magazine articles for day trips, an item you might want to buy, a hairstyle you want to show your stylist, information about different counter top materials…you get the picture. We are focusing on financial papers right now. We will come back to these personal papers later….)

Next week we are going to make file folders and put them in a place that makes sense (not the kitchen table or the floor)

Here are a few good links to help you with your tax preparation.

selftax.com online tax preparation from FREE….
Dennis Middleton CPA If you are looking for a CPA to help you with your taxes, I recommend Dennis.

Last week you completed the “rough sort” and got rid of the junk. If you still have questions of what can be tossed, see the IRS link below.

Second Step: Sort Like with Like

*Take that big pile from your quick “rough sort” and start to break it down.

*Use BIG categories like insurance, auto, financial, medical.

*Don’t get hung up on smaller categories and the specifics (yet). Those will come later.

Most likely you will have several types of insurances, but for right now celebrate the fact that you got all the insurance paper in one place. The same is true with financial: banks, credit cards, investments, etc.

Next week we will move to step three: setting up files

Incredibly useful links for Tax Preparation

Click on these links below for useful information for tax preparation.
Self Tax.com This site has FREE through very inexpensive online tax prep.
Dennis Middleton CPA.com If you are looking for a CPA to help you with your taxes, I recommend Dennis.
IRS.gov IRS guidelines for paper retention Here is the source from the IRS.

Tax Paperwork; Where to Start

It may only be February, but it is never too early to start organizing to prepare your taxes.

First Step: get rid of the junk

Wherever you keep your paperwork: the kitchen counter, dining table, home office floor, all of the above…it is time to sort through it and get to the important stuff. Keep in mind a main purpose of getting organized is to find things later. It is really hard to find the important things when they are burried under those that are not important. That is the clutter.

Do a “rough sort”.
1. Quickly start tossing the junk.
2. Pull out catalogs and magazines you will read later.
3. Keep a big pile of everything you are keeping.
Don’t get bogged down with what those things are and where they will go. Just slug through this “rough sort” and get rid of the junk.

What is the Junk?
Third Class mail, any solicitations you did not request, and coupons you will never use.

BONUS: You can see your counter, table or floor and even use it.

Next week we will move to step two.

We are into the second month of the year…Are you still working on that resolution to get organized?
*Keep it small.
*Keep it achievable.
*Keep plugging away at one thing at a time.

Even if you didn’t finish all the things you wanted to get done by now, keep going. Just like a diet, one day of falling off the wagon doesn’t mean you should give up.

I have another kitchen organizing example that you could accomplish in less than the time it takes to cook those chicken parts.

This week how about Organizing Your Plasticware.

You know what I am talking about. All those plastic containers with lids that are in many cabinets of your kitchen. You can’t find the lids that match, some are cracked and some are just plain OLD.

Collect all the containers and all the lids to the kitchen counter or table…spread them out so you can see them…yes, all of them.
Sort similar bottoms together and begin to match up the tops.
Toss the bottoms that should have, but you can’t locate, tops. (If there is no recycling arrow on the bottom, they go into the trash.
Stack and nest as many bottoms as you can. Keep the corresponding lids nearby
Chose ONE cabinet or drawer to house the keepers.
If you still have too many containers, donate or toss them.
Put away an organized, neat grouping of containers.

If you have kids and they have outgrown some of the plastic items like sippy cups, items with Disney characters, etc., now is the time to get rid of these too.

Ahhh…another bit of clutter under control.

We had a great time this weekend discussing organizing solutions and tips. IKEA is a great place to find stylish and affordable containers. Our panel fielded questions from shoppers. I look forward to doing this again. Stay tuned….

New Year’s Resolutions…get fit, lose weight, stop smoking, and get organized. These are the most typical resolutions made in January and also the most common that fail by February. Why? Because they are too big and vague for anyone to succeed.
The idea of a New Year’s Resolution is great as long as you set yourself up for success.

Make your resolution achievable and well defined.

It is too hard to “Get Organized”, but it is achievable to organize one thing at a time.

Here is a real, achievable example. This week you could plan to organize your utensil drawer. Notice, I did not say organize your kitchen or even bigger, the entire house. By addressing one drawer or cabinet a week, you will have the entire room finished within two or three months.

You would empty the contents on the counter, review what you have, donate or toss what you have not used in ages, and put away the good items you need and want to grab quickly. In about 5 to 10 minutes one kitchen drawer is organized.

By making smaller, well defined achievable goals you set the scene for success. Start with one small thing to organize. It could be a drawer, shelf, area, or closet. Set a time and get it done. Then celebrate your success. You will be ready for another small area to tackle next week.

In February you can reflect on each small success and use these as motivation to continue the organizing process. Happy New Year and may you reach your organizing resolutions!

What about a Buddy?

If you are still having trouble making progress with organizing, get help. An organizing buddy can be a friend, relative, or Professional Organizer who can help you define your goals and break the process down to achievable steps. By setting your goals with another person you are setting up accountability which will help you follow up. Your buddy can help you break through some of the emotional attachments and push you to see things more objectively. They will help you stay focused on your goal when you get sidetracked, which is a very common issue that holds so many people back.

Clean up Holiday Decorations while you unpack.

It is a great idea to clean up Holiday décor every year. What I mean by this is to acknowledge that you don’t love or use everything you have in those boxes and that they are really clutter in your life. Follow these simple steps and you will have a clean, clutter-free set of your favorite decorations for each year.

As you unpack each box, set aside your favorite items that you love, cherish, evoke wonderful memories, are really functional, or are just simply pretty. These are the items you look forward to seeing every year.
Separately, look at the items which are left behind. Ask yourself to honestly answer if you really want or need these. Do they address the emotions or practicality listed above?
With the decisions made as to what you no longer want to keep, box or bag these up and set a date to make a trip to any one of the great places to donate your re-saleable items. Charities that have stores want these items right now in season. Toss the rest in the trash or recycling.
Let me give you a real life example. I recently helped someone unpack their holiday items and we came to an entire box of holiday tins. This gal used to attend a yearly cookie exchange and received a new tin to take home her shared goodies annually. The result was a large collection of at least 15 tins. The party has fizzled out over the years. Once she realized that she truly didn’t need that many tins, she selected her favorite three and donated the rest. That is good clutter reduction.

We did the same process with wrapping paper, especially the leftovers from many years ago. She acknowledged that she didn’t want to use certain papers because her tastes had changed and she likes some new patterns better. We put the old papers in a bag and donated them to a local pre-school who will use them for craft projects. Now she has a reasonable amount of wrapping paper and will use them this year. Think about ribbons, gift boxes and more that you have in abundance.

The same process will work with other holiday items. Look for ornaments you don’t really love, serving dishes that aren’t right, light sets that don’t work…you get the picture.

Holiday shopping is a huge project. Did you remember everyone? Did you get the right gift? Are you running in too many directions and not getting things done?

The best advice I can offer is to prepare your thoughts and make a comprehensive list.

* List everyone you want to recognize with a gift including family, friends, teachers, service providers, neighbors and more. It might take more than one pass to remember everyone.
* Jot notes with potential ideas, sizes (if needed), favorite hobbies or activities to jar some gifting ideas.
* Pre-shop or make purchases on-line to save time.
* Take advantage of Free Shipping on-line this season…I hear there are going to be allot of these offers.
* Choose stores or websites that match the recipient.
* Plan your shopping geographically to maximize your time out in the stores.

The worst time waster is to arrive at a store with no written notes and your brain goes completely blank. Prepare ahead of shopping and have it in writing.

Some people use the same list year after year (you might consider putting it on a spreadsheet). This way you can see what you gave each person in years past, have their vitals like sizes and interests at the ready, and more.

Your list can be as simple or sophisticated as you like. The important thing is that it works for you.

It is so easy to misplace coupons and Gift Cards, or they expire before you remember that you even have them. The key to managing these items is to know where they are and to have them with you when you are at the store.

Keep Gift Cards and Store Coupons in one place,
IN YOUR CAR

Put all your gift cards and store coupons in an envelop in the door pocket of your car. That way you always have them with you when you are at the store.

Here’s a great example because we all have this one. You receive a large blue and white coupon from Bed, Bath and Beyond every month. (I see them in all your houses). How many times have you found yourself at the store, but the coupon is at home? By keeping the coupon in your car you will always know where they are and they will be with you when you are at the store.

As we come in to the holiday buying season chances are you are going to give and receive gift cards. A word of advice is to use them quickly, don’t sit on them. They may expire. The store may go out of business. Who knows? Keep them with you in your wallet or car so they are available at all times.

Are you having trouble getting started preparing yourself and your family for emergencies? Do these two things to get a jump start.

1. Buy extra water while shopping this week.

Water is the single most important item you need to sustain yourself during an emergency. Dehydration will slow you down and take you out. Plan at least 4 gallons per person for 7 (that is seven) days.

Bring home large gallon containers and flats of individual bottles to store in the garage, trunk of the car and other places around your house, car and office. Our family drinks the bottles in the car and replenishes as needed to keep the water fresh.

You can also fill your own containers with water if you already have some good storage containers.

2. Pull out your Cell Phone RIGHT NOW and enter these Emergency numbers.
If you dial 911 from your cell phone you do not get your local emergency dispatch. It is so important to have your local emergency phone numbers in your cell phone.

* Use ICE as the persons title (In Case of Emergency).
* First name: (town)
* Last name: service (Police, Fire, etc).

I will list the key numbers for Oakland and Piedmont. For other towns and cities the emergency numbers are listed in the front of the phone book or on the home page of your town’s police and fire departments.

Oakland Police Emergency 777-3211
Oakland Police Non-Emergency 777-3333
Oakland Fire Emergency 444-1616
Oakland Fire Non-Emergency 444-3322
Oakland Medical Emergency 238-6957

Piedmont Police (24 hour dispatch) 420-3000
Piedmont Fire 420-3030