SIMPLY

ORGANIZED with Nina

Simply Organized with Nina
CA 94611
ph: 510-482-1619

Tips

 

 

Simply

Organized

with Nina

Id Theft and knowing what I need to Shred?

ID theft is big business and one that you want to avoid.  It can take up to a year to recover from ID theft with countless hours of time spent reclaiming yourself.  One of the best actions you can take to control your private information is shredding.  We are not yet a paperless society, so manage the paper that holds your personal information and protect your ID.

Here is a guideline list of documents and mail that you should shred to protect yourself from ID thieves.

(Use a Cross-cut shredder)
  • Any paper that has your Social Security Number.
  • Credit, Debit or ATM card Offers which are pre-printed with your name and address.
  • Old Credit, Debit and ATM card statements.
  • Receipts that show your Credit or Debit card number and your signature.
  • Bank Statements
  • Old Checks
  • Investment Statements
  • Old Passports
  • Medical Statements
  • Tax Returns(except any accountant will tell you to keep all your old tax returns forever)
Thieves are looking for two pieces of information:  Social Security Number and your name.  Add that to any bank, credit or financial statement and you are toast.

When in doubt, use good judgment and stick it in the shredder.

Financial Reasons to Get Organized

Being Organized saves time.  Your time is worth money, so stop wasting it looking for things.  An organized home or office functions more efficiently and you will not be looking for things over and over. 

Pay your bills on time and stop paying late fees.  Open your bills daily and set a time on your calendar to pay them on the 1st and 15th of the month.

Stop re-purchasing things you already own.  Save money by using what you already have.  An organized home or office will allow you to find your things quickly.

Keep track of your gift cards and use them before they expire (or the company goes under).   

Stop paying storage fees.  Ask yourself if you really need those things that you have not looked at in several years.  They cannot be that important if you have not needed them all this time.

Make room in the garage to protect your valuable assets:  your cars.

It takes allot less time to clean a de-cluttered house.  Whether you do it yourself (remember, your time is worth money) or you have someone come in, time saved is money saved.

Heating a de-cluttered home is more efficient and less expensive than a space that is filled with stuff.

Cut down on impulse purchases.  An organized home means you know what you have and you will purchase only what you need.  Be sure you have a weekly meal plan with a specific shopping list.  Cluster errands to save time and money, and stick to a shopping list.

Find things you forgot you had by de-cluttering.  There are some crazy stories about Professional Organizers that have found tons of change on the floors, checks that were never cashed, and even forgotten matured bonds.  One Organizer found a mature bond with a current valuation of over $160,000.  My favorite story is the man who several years ago stashed away an envelope after his vacation and forgot it.  There was $4000 cash inside.

Some quick Mail Tips
Paper in general is a common problem as we try to meet our organizing goals, but MAIL specifically stands out.  The mail keeps replenishing 6 out of seven days a week.  Here are a few key tips to reduce the stress of your mail.
 
1.  Deal with your mail daily...don't let it pile up.  Choose a time each day and be consistent.  Maybe it is while you are eating lunch, or dinner is in the oven, or at 4:00 daily.  Whatever works for you is fine.
2.  Be committed to make decisions immediately.  The piles accumulate because of delayed decisions.  The first choice is keep or toss (recycle please)...toss immediately by having a recycle can very conveniently placed where you sort your mail.  I know people who sort outside the house and don't even bring the junk in to the house.  Kudos to them!   The second choice is where to put the keepers.
3.  Have a destination for the items you are keeping:  a box or file for bills to pay (or reconcile), a place for any items that need action (phone call, research, follow up), a place for catalogs and a place for magazines..preferably where you will look at these, like a basket next to the sofa. 
If you have old piles of mail, pull out the important items (bills for example) and toss as much of the third class mail (i.e. junk mail) and old catalogs as possible. Contact me if you want some help with junk mail reduction.  There are a few great resources to help you reduce your third class mail. 
If you start with these 3 tips, you are going to get a handle on your mail flow....start today and make a change going forward.

 

Want some more tips?  Sign up for my FREE Tip of the Week Newsletter by clicking on the link below.

http://visitor.constantcontact.com/email.jsp?p=oi&m=1102441253074

Copyright this business. All rights reserved.

Web Hosting by Yahoo!

 

Simply Organized with Nina
CA 94611
ph: 510-482-1619