Organizing Paperwork

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You want to be more organized but where do you start? Here are a few organizing tips to implement today to get you on the road to a more organized life.

*What about a gift that you received but do not love? Well, after you say thank you, you are the new owner, and it is your choice to do with it as you choose. The giver of the gift would want it to be used which means that you could “re-gift” or just give it to someone who will love it and make use of it. Don’t let it add to your stress by becoming a “clutter” item—an organizing tip to use on a daily basis!

*What about items that belong to family members that have been left for you to care for and store? This might be a child who has moved out or another family member who has simply asked you to store something on a temporary basis. Since your home is not a storage facility, set a date with the person to get the items or send you money to have them shipped to them. After that date you can (without guilt) take the items to charity where they will really be used.

*What about those items that at one time interested you? Remember, our tastes and interests change with age, time and experiences. A basic organizing tip is to live in the present and buy and keep only those things that interest you at the current time.

*What about all of those books that won’t fit on the shelves? Box some of them up and store them away. Make a note in your daily planner a few months ahead to remind yourself to rotate the books. It will seem as though you have a new collection of books!

*What about all of the photographs you want to display? To keep your tabletops from becoming cluttered with photo frames, an organizing tip is to hang photographs on the wall in attractive arrangements which will free up space on the tabletops and make them look less cluttered.

*What about the magazines and newspapers that clutter the living room? An organizing tip for any home is to use a small basket near the couch to store your current reading material as well as the TV guide. The TV remote can also be placed in the basket when not in use.

These organizing tips will help you start the process of getting your life organized and are just a few of the endless suggestions that will help you accomplish that goal.

By: Lynn Cressy

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Technorati Tags: home organizing, organizing, organizing process, professional organizer

As a professional organizer I am always helping women in their homes by organizing clutter. Sometimes we hang on to our clutter and then we feel guilty and we feel bad that we hold on and then that we feel guilty. Let’s start organizing clutter by getting rid of it.

Do you say: but I can’t get rid of it because it is wasteful to throw things away? Which is better to hold on to it and continue to feel guilty and have less space and not like what is around us or to let go? Here are a couple of ideas on how to let go:

1. Sell your guilt. Do this by having a yard sell. Even better get your neighbors involved and have a block/neighborhood yard sell. If you do have a yard sell all of the things that are not sold you can give to charity.

2. Donate your unused, unwanted, items to a charity. Just think of all the people who will benefit from your generosity. It makes it easier to get rid of clutter in your home if you are thinking of all the people you will be helping by donating your items. Some charities come right to your home to pick up items making it really easy for you to donate. Some organizations that welcome donations are: women’s shelters, homeless shelters, churches, preschools, day cares and animal shelters.

Have you ever said: but I spent money on it? Do you feel guilty because you bought an item and you feel if you get rid of it as you are organizing clutter that you just wasted your money? Let me tell you, just keeping it around cluttering your home and making you feel guilty for buying it is not going to bring your money back. It will just make your feel bad and add clutter to your space.

Keep in mind your goal of organizing clutter as you decide if you can or cannot part with an item.

Do you feel held back with all of your stuff because you have to spend so much time taking care of it? Do you wish you had more time to do fun things with family and friends? Keep this in mind as you are organizing clutter. The more stuff we have the more time it takes to maintain it. When you let go of clutter you will have more free time to enjoy being with family and friends.

A classic reason I hear as a professional organizer for holding on to things that women don’t want to keep and that clutters their homes and lives is: “but it was a gift”. The person who gave it to you will never know you didn’t keep it. Most people give a gift they think you will like but they also give it without strings. Once it is yours it is your decision whether or not to keep it. If you truly don’t love it and won’t use it there are other things you can do with the gift to honor it and the giver.

·Re-gift it; just make sure you don’t give it back to the person who gave it to you. Once I was given a book with an inscription in it. I gave it back to the person thinking she probably would want the book back from her friends. She thanked me and gave me a different book with the same title—only that one was also personalized to her. I didn’t say anything the second time.
·Donate it to a charity.
·Sell it on line or at a yard sell
·Throw it away (if it is so tacky you know no one would want it).
·Exchange it for something you would like and could use.

When we are organizing clutter it helps to keep our goals in mind, get rid of the guilt we feel by having other options of what to do with our possessions. By getting rid of clutter we are more peaceful, happy and enjoy having more time for ourselves.

By: Marilyn Bohn

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Technorati Tags: organizing, organizing clutter, organizing tips, professional organizer

Family vacations are a great time to have fun, take a break from the everyday routine, see new sites and recharge. It can also be a time of stress – preparing and planning, traveling and returning home are all high stress points for many. I’m sharing my top five organizing tips to help ease some of the stress that comes along with taking a family vacation.

Tip #1: Make Lists
Lists will definitely help you reduce your stress while you are planning your family vacation. Rather than trying to remember it all, I suggest creating master lists on your computer that you can print and use each time you take a trip. You will be able to greatly reduce your planning time and stress for the next vacation and lessen the chance of forgetting any details.

Start with the list of the things you need to do to get ready to leave on your vacation. Do you have to make arrangement for the mail and paper? What about pets and plant watering? Will you be using a house sitter?

Next, make lists for the items you need to pack. Give children their own lists to be responsible for. Help create lists for younger children by using pictures, numbers, and words of the items they can gather.Keep your printed lists with you so you can easily jot down ideas whenever they come to you. Take time to update the master lists as needed.

Tip #2: Clean and Organize that Vehicle
If you will be taking to the road, be sure to take the time to clean out that messy van or car. Pick a day, preferably the week before you will depart, to get your vehicle fresh and ready to go. Most people tend to feel more relaxed in a clean and organized space. There are some neat car organizers that make it easy for the kids to have items, such as coloring books, crayons and games close at hand.

Tip #3: Set a Budget and Stick to it!
Take time to create a budget for your vacation. How much will you spend on lodging, fuel, travel expenses, food and souvenirs? It’s so easy to say yes to unplanned purchases when you are in the joyful moments of your vacation, but can that expense be justified when you get back home or get your credit card statement? Keep in mind that kids will remember the experiences, not the stuff.
 
Tip #4: Copy the Contents of Your Purse and Wallet
Photocopy the credit cards, driver license and other documents that you are carrying with you while on vacation. Keep this information in another location. If your purse or wallet were lost or stolen, you would have that information at your finger tips. I also try to limit the items in my purse I take with me on vacation.
 
Tip #5: Schedule Returning Home and Downtime
I think this is an area that many families overlook. I would suggest allowing at least one full day of recovery time before you get back to your normal schedules. Just think about the tasks there are to do when you return home. How long will it take you to complete those? There’s laundry to wash, the car to unpack, mail and email to go through and you barely have the energy.

Remember to focus on one task at a time. If you look at the big picture, you’ll get overwhelmed and that’s when that stress level rises. Don’t schedule appointments or play dates in the first few days after your return. Give your family time to adjust and get caught up.

About the author: Paula Constable, professional organizer and speaker, works with families who want to make their daily lives easier through organization. She is the owner of Stuff 2b Organized, LLC and she brings understanding, support and solutions to help calm the busy lives of the families she works with.

As The Organizing Expert for Moms, Paula provides her organizing services both in-home and virtually. She holds her teleclasses and Virtual Workshop, Paper Organization for Busy Moms, on a regular basis.

Author: Paula Constable

Technorati Tags: organizing services, organizing tips, paper organization, professional organizer

Being organized is the key to doing it all. When you are organized, you are ready for anything that may come your way. Learning how to be the best that you can and be ready for things when they happen is one way of being organized. You should explore your options and think about what you need to do to better yourself and be more organized for life.

There are different steps that you can take to better prepare for you for work, home and school. You have to get yourself organized so that you are able to keep everyone else organized as well. It is going to make things easier in the end when you think about it. You can be ready for anything and this will help you keep on schedule and keep your family moving along in the right direction too.

When you are looking for tips to keep you organized, you will want to make sure that you are reading up on the topic. There are different articles that will help you maintain the goals that you are looking to keep. It is going to be better for you so that you are able to stay on the right path. There are different ideas that you can apply to your everyday life and in the extreme situations so that you are able to keep on track of where you are supposed to be and what you are supposed to.

It is not going to happen overnight. Being organized is something that you defiantly have to learn and it will take a little while to get on the right path. You will find it hard at first to keep up with the things that you want to do so that you are organized and ready for anything. You will want to also make sure that you are doing all that you can to kick the old habits out of your system. When you are able to let them go, you will find it easier to bring the new organization skills into play. This will be something that can be frustrating at first, but once you learn it, you will find it easier to make it work in your situation.

There are so many helpful things out there on the market today that can help you with your organization skills. You may find that there are different things that you can pick up for cheap prices that will make your organization a lot easier to keep up with. You will be able to put papers, pens, letters, and even books in a certain area all together so that they are not being messed up or getting lost. This will be a big help for you when you are really busy and looking for something important.

In addition, you can use the filing system. Everyone is going to have a different method of filing. You need to make sure that you are putting everything where it needs to be so that you are keeping it all straight. Having a place for every file and every paper is going to make it easier to find when you need it. You will not have to run all over looking for the items that you need because they will be all right there where you need them.

Once you learn the organization skills that you want, you will find it easier to talk better and be more proficient with the things that you are doing on a regular basis. You need to make sure that you are organized with everything that you are doing so that you can make life easier for you and for others too.

By: Michelle L. Green

Technorati Tags: home organizing, organizing, organizing process, professional organizer

Follow the lead of a well-organized home office. Using the checklist below, incorporate many of the organizing tips found on the list. You will have both a professional and efficient home office.

ORGANIZE YOUR BOOKKEEPING
• Prepare and send invoices to clients
• Enter monthly transactions into bookkeeping software
• Reconcile bank, credit card, and other account statements
• Send reminders for paying bills on their due dates
• Write and prepare checks to be signed to pay bills

ORGANIZE YOUR DESKTOP PUBLISHING
• Design and print brochures and business cards
• Create flyers, price lists, and other marketing documents
• Lay out, printing, and mailing regular client newsletters
• Prepare professional-looking certificates for seminar participants
• Print labels using company logos or clip art

ORGANIZE YOUR DATABASE MANAGEMENT
• Enter business card data into a database
• Send an introductory letter to new prospect leads
• Send scheduled marketing pieces to clients and prospects
• Track marketing efforts and summarize the results in a report
• Send regular follow-ups, reminders, and communications to clients
• Call people for missing contact information
• Send fax and email broadcasts

ORGANIZE YOUR TELEPHONE AND FAX SERVICES
• Receive telephone calls while a client is out of town
• Forward important messages that require immediate attention
• Retrieve voice messages and responding to routine requests
• Receive and handle faxes while a client is out of town

ORGANIZE YOUR TRANSCRIPTION SERVICES
• Type letters and memos from tape or handwritten notes
• Type legal transcripts from cassette tape
• Type medical reports from tape or handwritten notes

ORGANIZE YOUR WORD PROCESSING
• Type handwritten notes from a meeting or seminar
• Type letters, printing on stationery, addressing, and mailing
• Proofread, edit, and check spelling / grammar
• Lay out larger documents

ORGANIZE YOUR MARKETING SERVICES
• Send out the appropriate sales brochures for inquiries
• Create and mail a customer feedback questionnaire
• Track the responses to this questionnaire
• Summarize the responses and suggestions in a report

ORGANIZE YOUR INTERNET SERVICES
• Maintain a newsletter subscription database
• Post announcements and newsletter issues to the list
• Perform an internet search for an item or piece of information
• Edit or upload new information to a website

ORGANIZE YOUR MAIL AND EMAIL SERVICES
• Retrieve email and mail, sort, and get rid of junk
• Respond to routine email requests
• Forward items of importance to the client for attention
• Track and forward urgent issues while client is out of town
• Prepare packages and mail out products as orders arrive

ORGANIZE YOUR RESEARCH
• Research potential locations for an upcoming seminar
• Find which locations have the appropriate dates available
• Find which can accommodate the size and type of event
• Research the services available (decorating, food, entertainment)
• Obtain written quotes and specifications from each location
• Monitor periodicals and clip articles of interest
• Visit the library to copy specific articles

ORGANIZE YOUR PERSONNEL SERVICES
• Send reminders for annual performance reviews
• Prepare or update resumes and introduction letters
• Review resumes and summarize each in a short biography
• Sort resumes for a job according to pre-arranged criteria

ORGANIZE YOUR PRESENTATIONS
• Prepare PowerPoint slides from sketches of diagrams and charts
• Send questionnaires to seminar participants before the talk
• Track completed questionnaires and call non-responders
• Summarize the questionnaire results in a report

ORGANIZE YOUR SECRETARIAL SERVICES
• Confirm upcoming appointments
• Schedule or reschedule appointments
• Get directions for a meeting or appointment
• Store back-up computer tapes for safekeeping
• Track birthdays, anniversaries, and other important dates
• Send out the appropriate cards or gifts for special events
• Manage lists of necessary office supplies and ordering refills
• Coordinate air travel, car rental, and hotel reservations

By: Nishanth Reddy

Technorati Tags: garage organize, home organizing, organized home office, professional organizer

While “green” and organizing may sound unrelated, promoting green consciousness is a natural extension of the organizing process. Professional organizers enter homes and businesses on a regular basis, and armed with proper knowledge, a professional organizer can assist clients in becoming more Earth-friendly. As the Chair of my Town’s Earth Day Clean Sweep for the past five years, I am well aware of the importance of reducing and recycling, and relish the opportunity to influence clients and the general public in this regard.

What can you do to get better organized in a “green-friendly” way? Here are some tips.

• Think Before You Buy – Try to transform your buying habits so that you are not accumulating too many items in the first place. Most of the environmental damage is done in the manufacturing stage, so the less consumerism, the better. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, Americans produced 254.1 million tons of household trash in the year 2007 alone. In 2008, however, as a result of the economic recession and the resulting decrease in disposable incomes, landfills reported a 30% decline in waste levels.
• Pay bills Online – According to Javelin Strategy & Research, 53% of Americans currently use online banking services, rising to an estimated 67% by 2012. The report also estimates that Americans could prevent the logging of 16.5 million trees every year if all Americans switched from paper bills to Internet banking.
• Repurpose and Reuse – Consider repurposing or reusing existing items in creative ways to avoid buying more and to give new life to forgotten items that are just taking up space.
• Recycle – Throughout the sorting, purging, and organizing process, think of the benefits of recycling. Often times, a person is unaware of the recycling guidelines in his or her particular area, or whether a particular item can be recycled at all. For a list of lesser-known recycling programs, visit the Donation and Recycling Resources page of my website.  Get educated so you can stop adding to landfills and recycle more. Consider setting up an organized recycling center in your home or business to make it as easy as possible to recycle.
• Donate – Remember, recycling includes donating items that you no longer love, need, or use often to those who could truly put those items to good use. Adopt a charity, or even a particular family to donate to (check out www.TangibleKarma.com). If you just want to unload items for free, consider giving them away on Freecycle (www.Freecycle.org). Think “green” when organizing. You will not only be able to reduce your clutter and find things more easily, you will be helping the Earth in the process.

Author: Lisa Montanaro

Technorati Tags: home organizing, organizing, organizing process, professional organizer

Take a Tour of Your Home – De-clutter to Show Its Spaciousness

Moving is one of the top stressors in our lives; now is the time for expert support from your Broker/Realtor, Stager and Certified Professional Organizer.

Take an objective person with you to assess your home from a buyer’s standpoint.

Figure out what makes the room seem full or cluttered.

Come up with a game plan.

Decide what to Keep, Toss, Give Away or Sell

Start with a room you use often. You’ll notice the differences because you’re in the room frequently. This helps you stay motivated.

Any items you haven’t used in 6-12 months? Can you donate, resell or recycle?

If you haven’t used it in a year, do you really need it? Can you borrow or repurchase?

Who else might appreciate the item? Family? Friend?

Will you need the item while your house is on the market? That’s a keep-but-store decision.

Reorganize to Release the Clutter

1. Holiday gatherings: An opportune time to pass along the tradition (and dishes)!

2. Clear out clutter-attractors — armoires, desks, hutches. Sort and reorganize. These are magnets for clutter. Shelves and drawers can seem cluttered if not organized. Group together similar items in organizers, baskets or bins.

3. Closets: Decide on a purpose for each closet. Weed/reorganize based on purpose.

4. Photos, family items, collections: Save your favorites. Memory boxes can honor memories and limit how much you can save.

5. Pictures/paintings: Clear walls and tabletops make a room feel spacious.

6. Attics: “Someday” is today! Weed out and store while your house is on the market.

Picture your rooms with nothing in them. See how large the rooms seem? Now visually start putting things back in the room. The point here is to allow you to live more simply … and for potential buyers to see how much space is truly there for all their “stuff.”

Author: Sue West

Technorati Tags: clutter organizer, home organizing, organizing home office, professional organizer