Tax TIme - Avoid the Stress Next Year

It's April 15th - Did you file your Taxes?

A lot of people wait until the very last minute to file their taxes. It's something that everyone hates doing. It takes a lot of time - especially if you didn't keep all of your needed receipts or records in an organized system where they were easily accessible.

So....what did you learn from this?

Do better next year !

You can start now by making up a few folders and putting anything tax related into them as they come in. That alone will save you a lot of time, frustration and stress next tax season.

A few quick ideas for file folders:

• Tax related
• Medical / Health Care
• Donations
• Investments
• Mortgage info
• Banking

Just by having these few folders and putting anything related into them - you will have cut down your tax preparation time tremendously.

Get into the habit of filing these important papers into the appropriate files as soon as they come in - you will save yourself a lot of time next year. Time that is well spent this year.

Getting organized and staying organized is a lot of work.  But well worth the effort!




Organizational Consulting Services

www.organizationalconsultingservices.com

Spring is Here - Getting Your House Ready for Sale

Moving - when is it a good time?  A lot of people think that spring and the beginning of summer is a good time to sell your house and buy another one - especially if you have kids.  Once the kids finish school you can pack them up and move them without disruption.  A great plan - if you are organized and leave yourself plenty of time to acccomplish everything needed to make it happen.

Start by going through each closet and cupboard and sorting through a lifetime of possessions.

Decide what you really need / have to have / want to pay to move.  Moving is expensive, so for some things it makes sense to leave them (donate or sell) and to buy new after you get settled. Things like a ten year old washer / dryer - when the newer models are more energy efficient and more cost effective.

Get rid of mismatched dishes, clothes that don't fit or are worn out, toys that the kids have outgrown or are broken and anything else that you really have no use for. Be honest with yourself. Do you really want to pack and then unpack things that you are going to throw away once you get to your new home?

All of this takes a lot of time and energy. And....it is a very emotional process - even if you think you are prepared and ready to move.

So - leave yourself plenty of time and your move to a new home will go much smoother and be less traumatic.
 

Happy House Hunting !



Organizational Consulting Services

www.organizationalconsultingservices.com

Get Outside and Organize Your Yard

It's warm and sunny and beautiful out!  So don't stay inside....get outside and enjoy the weather!  And while you're there you can get your yard ready for spring.

O.K. ....some of us enjoy it more than others.  I love being outside and digging in the dirt.  It's relaxing. Well. for some of us it is.  As my kids say, "Really? It's not relaxing, it's work". 

But, as with anything, once you have done the hard part, getting everything cleaned up....you can enjoy the fruits of your labor all summer.

Does your yard look the way you want it to?  Do you want to plant more flowers or a vegetable garden?

Make a list. Go over it numerous times so that you haven't forgotten anything before you go to the garden store.

Is your garden hose in working order? Do you need any landscape bricks or borders?

Do you need mulch?  How much?  Or fertilizer?  Or any nutrients for your yard?

What type of plants do you want to grow?  Do you want to have vegetable starter plants? What materials would you need for that?

Thinking about all of this before you start will save you time and running back and forth to the garden store.

Organizing your yard work is the same as organizing anything else. One step at a time. Make a plan. Go over your plan. Make corrections.

Be realistic about what you want to accomplish and what you can accomplish.

Having a yard that you can be proud of and is low maintenance will let you enjoy your summer all the more.

Now go and have fun and get dirty!

Happy Gardening !



Organizational Consulting Services

www.organizationalconsultingservices.com

Company is Coming - Let's Clean & Organize

A lot of people out there only think about cleaning or organizing their home when they have visitors. In fact, some people will use their "lack of cleanliness" as an excuse not to have people over to their house.

This is just another example of how disorganization and lack of time management can affect your life.

Everyone's idea of clean is different. But using the excuse of  "not having a clean house" to avoid having people over to visit brings up a lot of other questions. Such as - "what are you really trying to avoid"?

Having an impromptu gathering should not be a stressful moment. Not everyone was taught how to clean and organize - so put that out of your mind for a moment. To get ready for company when you only have a few minutes there are a number of shortcuts that you can use.

First, get a basket and go through your main living area and put everything that does not belong in that room into the basket. Any toys or books or dishes....put them into the basket and get them out of there. 

Grab a duster and quickly dust the surfaces. The less clutter that you have on your coffee table the easier it is to dust and clean.

Fluff some pillows.  Light a candle for some nice atmosphere.

Enjoy your visitors and relax.  They are not going to know that you just had a whirlwind de-cluttering session. 

Is this the "normal" way to clean your home on a weekly or daily basis?  No - but being social is sometimes more important than being perfect.

Having friends over can help relax and de-stress you.

But remembering the rule about "if it does not belong in the room - take it with you when you leave" is a great and easy rule to remember. Using a basket to go from room to room and getting everything picked up in one fell swoop is another easy way to get yourself organized.

Cleaning doesn't have to be an all day drudgery. Having a plan that works for you - on your schedule - even a few minutes a day - can make all the difference in the world.

Now....go and GET YOURSELF ORGANIZED !!!

Organizational Consulting Services

www.organizationalconsultingservices.com

Time - Life - Balance: Is It Possible ?

 Working, a career, family, kids, volunteer work, hobbies.....  put them all into a pot and you have stew - a mixture of everything and not one thing stands out on its own.  That's life !

But - is one thing more important than another?  If so, which one?  Your job or your family?  The never ending dilemma. How do you balance it all?  Or do you?   Without a job you can't support your family - we all understand that. But after that - things get blurred.

Is balance really important? Does having a "balanced life" really have an impact?  If so, how?

All of these are really important questions - and they are all very complicated questions.

Yes, some jobs might "seem" more important than others- such as doctors, surgeons, lawyers....but does that mean that your family life, your kids, your own personal happiness and fulfillment have to suffer?

At different points of your life and your career you might make some sacrifices based on your future goals.  But - when you are older and more established or when you are retired - you might second guess the decisions that you made when you were younger.

The bottom line is - you can never turn back time.  So the decisions that you make, though they might seem "right" at the moment - are decisions that you might regret later in life.

Family and your health, both physical and emotional are something that most people take for granted - or at least take too lightly.

By "planning" time for your family and yourself - actually scheduling "family" and "you" time - you will be more likely to have a "balanced" life - and you will be more likely not to regret putting your job first and your family last.

Life goes by too quickly - don't let it pass you by.  Give your family the priority it deserves and organize your life to include your family.



Organizational Consulting Services

www.organizationalconsultingservices.com

I Want To Get Organized - Really I Do !

 I hear people say  "I want to get organized - really I do" - a lot. They say "I keep telling my husband (mother, sister,  friend...) that I am going to "organize my kitchen (bedroom, office, garage....)".

 I head it all the time.  Then I hear nothing.  Because after saying that they have all of these good intentions - the novelty of "getting organized" seems to wear off - like it's "too exhausting" to think about it any longer.

Getting organized takes planning. It takes effort.  It takes work.  It takes more than an hour - unlike the shows on T.V..  It takes getting everything out of the closet or room and making decisions.  It takes "thinking" about what hasn't worked and how you actually want things to work.  It's more complicated than most people think - yet, as an Organizer we get down to the simplest detail and build things up.  We look at the big picture and then turn if off and start small - one small area at a time in manageable pieces.

It you really wanted to "get organized"  you would. If you don't actually start the process - then maybe you weren't really ready.

You can't force someone to organize their space or their life - they have to be ready.  Only then will it actually work and be successful.

Happy Organizing !


Organizational Consulting Services

www.organizationalconsultingservices.com

Making Time Work For You

I'm sure that you've heard the old say  "You Can't Manage Time - You Can Only Manage Yourself".  It's true - but people still think that they can manage their time without any responsibility for how they manage themselves.

Sounds complicated doesn't it. But it's really very simple. If you want to be more efficient with your time, if you want to better manage your time, if you want to really accomplish everything that you put on your calendar for the day - you have to manage yourself instead of managing the time.

What that means is that you have to be responsible for your actions or in this case - your non-actions. There are so many distractions out there today that people get very easily sidetracked numerous times throughout the day and they don't really stick to their schedule or their priorities.

For a lot of the things that we have to do there is a definite time period that it takes to accomplish the task. We can't change that. But we can change the fact that we drag that time out because we get sidetracked - whether it's by checking our email numerous times during the day instead of working on a report that is due that afternoon or by seeing something that needs to be "fixed" so we stop to "fix" it as we go from one room to another in the house - even though we are working on a project in the basement.

Sticking to a schedule and getting your work or chores done, even though you don't really want to, even though other things are calling out to you, will make you accomplish your tasks in a timely manner. Then it's done and over with. And you will feel better for having accomplished the task - even though it might feel like a hardship at the time. Plow through it - get it done - and sit back and be proud of having accomplished something.

Everything in life doesn't have to be fun. We have a lot of  "normal - daily living" things that we need to do every day or every week. Putting them off just makes our job harder.

Plan your day - plan your time - stick to your schedule - don't get sidetracked - shut the door on distractions and make time work for you.

Don't let time get away from you by outside distractions. It only drags out your day and you still will have to get things done.

It might help you if you put everything on a calendar so that you can see how much time you have left in your week. Then you can rearrange your schedule to accomplish the highest priorities first and you can track where you went off schedule and where you might want to change your priorities to better fit your life.

Time should not be managing you.....you need to control how you manage your time.

Organizational Consulting Services

www.organizationalconsultingservices.com