Reduce tax time stress with planning and organization

I filed my tax return today! And all 2009 documents are filed safely away with my tax return. Because of my organized filing system, it took less than an hour to gather everything together. This is a huge improvement over past years when I didn’t have any system in place. Every year I procrastinated until the last minute because it was such a chore to find everything and organize it before I could even begin working on the return.

Are you guilty of procrastinating when it comes to doing your taxes? Is it because avoiding tackling the mountain of receipts and documents that have been piling up for the past 12 months? Follow these easy steps to make this season less taxing.

Tax time is inherently stressful for people because they realize that they need to organize their important documents but they don’t know where to begin. In reality, tax time is the perfect opportunity to get organized and to develop a system that will work for you for years to come. This is what made the difference for me.

With the tax deadline looming, try these suggestions to make this season less stressful.

1. Prepare for tax time by making an electronic checklist of documents you will need based on your returns from the last few years. Create the checklist by reviewing your tax returns from previous years and attach it to the inside flap of your tax folder. Also, organize your documents by category such as income, deductions, exemptions and miscellaneous. For instance, deductions would include mortgage interest, property taxes and residential energy credits. Exemptions could include vehicle registration and taxes, medical expenses, contributions to IRAs and student loan interest paid. By checking off the items as they are received, you will know which documents have arrived and which ones you are still waiting for.

2. Purge files of monthly bills from the previous year and set up a filing system for the current year that includes receipts, credit card and bank statements, medical expenses and utility payments. It is best to shred any documents before you discard them. Only keep prior year documents that are needed to support a prior year tax return.

3. Place current tax records and other important documents in files that are clearly marked and easily accessible. After your tax returns have been filed, place your copy of the return and all supporting documents into a secure file, preferably something with a closed top like a Smead Expanding File, label it for the tax year, and store in a secure location with previous years’ returns. If you prepared your tax return electronically, place a disk with backup copies in the file for safekeeping. The picture shows what I use and it has worked great for many years.

4. Plan ahead for next year by setting up a filing system for documents and receipts for the current year. In January, get a jump start on this year’s tax return by setting up an expanding file with sections labeled for income, expenses and taxes. Place documents like payroll stubs, 1099s and statements from your financial institution in the income section; receipts for tuition expenses, real estate transactions and donations in the expense section; and receipts for tax expenses in the tax section. If you store the file close to where you sort your mail and file the documents as they are received, the papers will be ready for you when you begin working on next year’s tax return. I love the FileSolutions Home Filing System, a ready-made colorful home filing system that makes filing easy.

5. Preserve tax returns indefinitely and store supporting tax documents (which can be destroyed after seven years) in a file labeled with the year and the destruction date. Be sure to check with your tax advisor before destroying any documents.

6. Put Your Feet Up and know that you are ready for next year!

With April 15th rapidly approaching, hare a few free sites that offer free filing services:

• http://free.free1040taxreturn.com/
• http://www.fileyourtaxes.com/Alliance
• http://www.eztaxreturn.com/scriptsez/start.exe/eztax/p/alliance2009/start.html?r_link=www.irs.gov
• http://www.efiletaxreturns.net/home.aspx
• http://www.completetax.com/FFAindex.asp?welcome=GY1318083
• http://www.taxactonline.com/index.asp?sc=0850302
• http://free.123easytaxfiling.com/
• http://www.1040now.net/freefile.htm
• http://www.free-tax-return.com/2008/
• http://www.icanfreefile.org/
• http://www.taxslayer.com/americanpledge/default.aspx?source=ihtffgtsd
• https://www.taxsimple.org/index.aspx
• http://onlinetaxpros.com/index.php?linkid=ff
• http://citizentaxfree.com/
• http://www.esmarttax.com/freefederalfile.asp
• http://www.olt.com/main/oltfree/default.asp
• http://turbotax.intuit.com/taxfreedom/
• http://www.freetaxusa.com/
• http://www.hrblock.com/taxes/partner/index.jsp?otpPartnerId=180

 Here’s to a tax season with less stress!!

Who Can Resist a Dancing Snuggle Bear?

I was contacted by a rep. from Snuggle Creme last week who asked if I would let my visitors know about this new product. Who can pass up offering a $2.00 coupon and the cute dancing Snuggle Bear. I just had to pop him on my blog. CLICK on the dancing Snuggle Bear to get your coupon.

Snuggle Creme, a new product on a mission for upliftment, just released two new fabric softeners to their lineup:

Are you in need of a little ‘me’ time? Pamper your senses with the luxurious texture and delicate fragrance of new Snuggle Crème. It leaves your clothes feeling smooth, soft, and delightfully fresh to wear. Go ahead, treat yourself and your clothes.

Available in two indulgent scents – Sweet Almond and Jojoba Essence – rich, creamy textures and delicate fragrance designed to leave your clothes feeling smooth.

Sweet Almond Essence

Liquid concentrate in 32, 50, 150 load bottles
Now in sheets! 70 count and 105 count

Jojoba Essence

Liquid concentrate in 32, 50, 150 load bottles
Now in sheets! 70 count and 105 count

Indulge your senses. New Snuggle Crème fabric softener treats you and your clothes to luxurious fragrance and softness.

Originally posted 2009-03-28 11:49:17. Republished by Old Post Promoter

How to Set-up a System to Keep Important Life Documents in One Place

How many times have you torn apart your house trying to find an important document? Often times these documents contain important pieces of your life that need to be in easy access, especially in an emergency. For most people organizing the documents and items that make up our lives is not a priority until there is a crisis. Then most will search frantically for the needed information only to waste time and increase stress.  Take it from a Professional Organizer who has worked with hundreds of clients who put this uneccessary stress upon themselves because they haven’t been proactive to design a system or were not aware that there are ready-made products available that will solve these paper clutter issues. Before the next crisis, set up a system to keep all your important documents in one place.

Ahh … imagine the relief of immediately finding any piece of needed information in the exact location you expect it to be.  I searched and found a couple of great products/solutions that solve just this dillema for my clients. Each serve as a central repository for important life and family documents, designed to be kept in easy access.

LIFE.doc  is a ready-made binder by Buttoned Up to keep all of the critical information of your life together. Life.doc has eight tabbed sections designed to organize all of the pieces of information that are needed for most people to keep one’s personal life in control.

These eight sections that encompass the most critical areas of life are:

• family basics
• in sickness & in health
• insurance
• dollars & sense
• legal ease
• caregiver information
• home sweet home
• emergency plan

It also comes with an accompanying CD-ROM with interactive forms that work with Microsoft Word (PC or MAC) making it easy to complete forms digitally and save them to a computer.

This comprehensive and bright red sturdy binder composed of 120 pages of straightforward forms for easy access are a roadmap that make it painless to get organized.  Life.doc will give you and your family the peace of mind that whatever information that you may need will be easy to find. This is the way to make sure that your house stays in one piece the next time that you need to find a piece of your personal information.

The VALUABLES.doc is another way that you can keep the things that you need in your life in one place and inventoried. This is a complete kit that will make it easy for you to catalog and keep track of all of your belongings.

• Valuables.doc binder by Buttoned Up includes:
  Eight tabbed sections for you to record all of your valuables room-by-room
• Jewelry
• Collectibles
• Family/living room
• Kitchen
• Dining room
• Bedrooms
• Basement
• Other

So, if and when disaster may strike in your life, (remember Hurricane Katrina?) you will have the necessary documentation to recoup the loss of many of the valuable keepsakes in your life.

POCKET.doc

The Pocket.doc provides simple to fill out forms that easily fit into a wallet, purse or backpack. So you have critical emergency, medical, and contact information when and where you need it.

The Pocket.doc by Buttoned Up includes:
Three sections to ensure that you have your emergency plan, medical information and important phone numbers when you need it. What’s great about this little record book is that it is the size of a credit card and easily fits in wallets, backpacks, glove compartments and briefcases.

Perfect for busy families on the go.

Each of these products would make a practical gift for your loved ones.

Visit The Simplified Home to learn more and to purchase.

Originally posted 2009-10-22 16:18:22. Republished by Old Post Promoter

FEBRUARY is Archive Your Files Month

What’s the shape of your home filing system? Are your filing drawers stuffed so full that it’s nearly impossible to get another piece of paper into – or out of – them? This is sure to create additional piles around your file cabinet(s) because its such an inconvenience to get the filing done.

Once a year, you should schedule time to review your files and purge as much as possible, leaving room for next year’s papers. Consider these tips for maintaining a lean and accessible home filing system.

DETERMINE WHAT TO KEEP

As you sort through papers, ask yourself, “When will I really need this again?” “Can it be easily recreated or retrieved elsewhere?’ Don’t hang onto things unless you have a really good reason! Be ruthless – remember, 80% of the things you file will need get referred to again!

KEEP RECORDS RETENTION GUIDELINES IN MIND 

Your accountant, attorney, or professional organizer can tell you which documents you should keep for legal and tax purposes. Think in terms of what you would need to have to support your tax return. If there is no tax implication for a piece of paper on a current or past tax return, there is likely no purpose to hold onto the paper.  

SOME PAPERS CAN BE IMMEDIATELY TOSSED

Instruction manuals for products you no longer own, old research materials, previous drafts of letters, out-of-date magazine and articles, and receipts for items past their return date can be discarded.

STASH IMPORTANT DOCUMENTS IN A SAFETY DEPOSIT BOX or HOME SAFE

It is imperative that you stock your safety deposit box or home safe with the following papers (originals):

• adoption and citizenship papers
• passports
• birth, death, and marriage certificates
• deeds
• divorce decrees
•  insurance policy papers
• lease agreements and loan documents
• mortgage papers
• personal property appraisals (jewelry, collectibles)
• Social Security cards
• stock and bond certificates
• vehicle titles
• copies of wills and powers of attorney papers

And don’t forget to LOCK your home safe each time you access it. Most home safe’s are NOT fireproof if the lock is not engaged.

Setting up a home filing system can be a time-consuming chore, so I found a great ready-made filing system FILESOLUTIONS Home Filing System, that takes about an hour to set up, and it lasts a life-time. I’ll soon do a detailed review of this product, but for now, here’s more information about this essential ready-made filing system.

Finally Get Organized in 2010 with a Declutter Challenge

One of the most interesting Declutter Challenges that I have come across is one called the “2010 in 2010 Declutter Challenge”. The concept is easy, and the results are huge! You simply choose one way to make the challenge work for you, and during the year 2010, declutter away! Keep track on a calendar and look forward to a having a much more organized home by the end of the year!

The first idea to get rid of 2010 ITEMS. Big items, small items, multiple part items, items from your garage, items stuffed into your attic, items that you can’t recall who gave them to you, items of which you have too many, items you never use or read any more.  If you are worried that you won’t be able to get rid of 2010 items, don’t forget that “get rid of” doesn’t have to only mean “throw away”. USE UP that huge supply of shampoo in your bathroom storage cupboard instead of buying new product! USE UP that overload of detergent, or that bulk purchase of canned tomatoes! As long as you are REDUCING YOUR CLUTTER item by item, you are succeeding in your challenge!

The second idea is to commit to decluttering for 2010 minutes in 2010! If you do the math, you will discover that it’s only about 45 minutes per week! Less than 10 minutes per day… which is not much at all, is it? 10 minutes of commercials well spent? 10 minutes of waiting for your ride to come? Have a small declutter project for the week, set the timer at 45 minutes, and simply declutter your way down to zero each week!

A third idea is to declutter 2,010 pounds of “stuff”! I know it sounds like a lot, and it is. However, this Declutter Challenge may be perfectly suited for those who have excess furniture taking up space that they would love to get back, stacks of heavy catalogues or magazines stashed in the basement, or a garage piled high with who-knows-what. Purchase or borrow a basic scale, or ask the weight at the dump where you drop off your big load. Decluttering 2,010 pounds from your house in the year 2010 will no doubt give you a lot more space, and get rid of a lot of unnecessary clutter!

If you take the 2010 in 2010 Declutter Challenge in any of the forms suggested, or if you adjust it to suit your own particular needs, you will take a huge leap towards your desired clutter-free state. Enjoy your challenge and get clutter free!

Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?The-2010-in-2010-Declutter-Challenge&id=3588705] The 2010 in 2010 Declutter Challenge

Resolve to Get Organized in 2010 with Organizing Workshops in Indianapolis/Carmel, IN

If you live in the Indianapolis area, here are my upcoming workshops for Get Organized Month

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

RE: January – February workshops / classes conducted by Indianapolis/Carmel Organizing Consultant, Janet Nusbaum, to help clear the clutter and simplify your life.

********************************************************************************

Washington Township Parks & Recreation (Westfield)

Address: 1549 E. Greyhound Pass, Carmel (behind St. Vincent Medical Center & Barnes & Noble)

Time: 6:30pm-8:00pm

Cost: $18 per session

• Resolve to Get Organized in 2010 Tues., January 19
• Power over Paper – Put an End to the Paper Chase Tues., February 16

For more information: CLICK HERE (classes appear in the Adult Enrichment category) or call: 317-574-1074

St. Luke’s United Methodist Church

“Now It’s Time” Series

Address: 100 West 86th Street, Indianapolis, IN 46260, (317) 846-3404

Cost: $10 per session – open to the public

• Resolve to Get Organized in 2010 Sunday, January 24 – 4:0 – 5:30pm
• Power over Paper – Put an End to the Paper Chase Wednesday, January 27 – 7:30 – 9:00pm

Call the church to register – 317-846-3404.

Hope to see you at any of these upcoming workshops! Contact me if you have any questions – 317-867-1540.

jnusbaum(at)SimplifiedSpaces(dot)net

www.SimplifiedSpaces.net

www.TheSimplifiedHome.net

The Organized Student – create a designated study space for school success

After you’ve considered and established your student’s daily routine, it’s time to create an efficient study space to maximize your child’s study routine.

If you want to raise successfully organized students, you must give them the tools they need to succeed. A proper study space, that is both comfortable and fully stocked with school supplies, is essential to get kids motivated for after-school studying.

Start by deciding where your kids will do homework. Involve them – ask where they prefer to study, considering their age and independence level. Do they like the privacy and quiet of a desk in their bedroom? Or do they want to be near you in a centrally located area such as the kitchen or family room? It’s also important to consider your child’s learning style and ability to focus. Given the choice, my daughter would study in front of the TV, but I know that doesn’t work for her with all the added distractions. Whether she likes it or not, I know that for her to be successful, she needs to do her schoolwork in a quiet area with minimal distractions. Students need to understand that although parents will consider their preferences, the parent may make the final decision on the most effective study space.

Once you decide on the best study space for your child’s learning style, maturity level and routine, make sure it’s well stocked with supplies. If your child has a desk, you may choose to organize supplies inside the drawers or in containers on top of it.  Make sure to categorize, containerize and label items (such as writing utensils in one area, paper in another) so the desktop and drawers don’t become chaotic catch-alls.

 For those that study outside their bedrooms, create a portable office. This will allow them to work anywhere inside (or even outside) your home. A tackle box or any type of small storage box (even a shoebox) will do. For storing school papers, like graded tests, handouts, etc. I like small desktop file boxes like the Show Off by Sterilite. Notice the lid with handle that allows for easy mobility.

Fill the portable supply box with supplies such as pens, pencils, sharpeners, crayons markers, highlighters, colored pencils, glue sticks, scissors, tape stapler, paper clips, ruler, calculator, sticky notes, paper, and any other supplies that your child frequently uses. Keep an age-appropriate dictionary and Thesaurus handy. Also consider keeping small stock of rarely needed but important project accessories, such as report covers and poster board.

At the end of each study session, remind your students to put away any home supplies they used and pack up their school materials so they’re ready for the next day’s use. Teach them to make a list of items that need replenishing. Maintain consistency but allow for flexibility for happy and confident kids!

Suggested tools:

Task clips:

Informative File Folders:

To Do Notepad:

Originally posted 2009-09-04 16:29:10. Republished by Old Post Promoter

What an Email Inbox is Not

I found this great article about e-mail clutter written by fellow Professional Organizer Donna Lindley

Consider your physical mailbox at home. Would you store pieces of mail in your mailbox that require action? What about mail announcing that your friend has moved and has a new address? How about mail reminding you of an upcoming appointment? I didn’t think so. Your email inbox should not be any different. A mailbox, whether physical or virtual, is a place to receive mail. It is NOT meant for storage. Mail should come in and out quickly.

Below are some of the most common items that we find “stored” in our clients’ inboxes. An email inbox is NOT a:

Filing System - create folders to store email that you want to keep for future reference.
Contact Management System – use a contact management system to store contact information such as email addresses, phone numbers, fax numbers, addresses, etc. Some options include Microsoft Outlook, ACT!, Goldmine, and Salesforce.com.

Calendar - store your appointments in your calendar. It doesn’t matter whether you keep a paper-based calendar or an electronic calendar. You need to have one place to look to see all of your appointments.

‘Favorites’ List – if someone sends you a great website, don’t leave it in an email in your inbox. You can add it to your “Favorites” in Internet Explorer, your “Bookmarks” in Mozilla Firefox, or try Delicious. Delicious is a free Social Bookmarking website. It allows you to bookmark your favorite sites and access them anytime from any computer with internet access. You can keep your “favorites” private or share them with others.

To-Do List – your email inbox is the worst place to store your to-dos. Again, you want to have one place to go to see all of your to-dos. You cannot possibly compare and prioritize them if they are not stored together. This is probably the most common offender.

Many of you are familiar with the old adage – A place for everything and everything in its place. By creating “homes” for each of these types of items listed above, you can gain control of your email inbox, keep it organized and save time.

Michigan-based Productivity Trainer and Certified Professional Organizer, Donna Lindley, publishes the “Timely Tips” monthly ezine from Organized Office Solutions. If you’re ready to jump-start your productivity by organizing your space, time, email and paper, sign up to receive your FREE tips by going to [http://www.OrganizedOfficeSolutions.com]http://www.OrganizedOfficeSolutions.com.

Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/What-an-Email-Inbox-is-Not

Say Goodbye to Greeting Card Clutter

In every home that I visit, unused greeting cards abound. Here’s what happens. You try to plan ahead and buy cards for loved ones who have a special day coming up. You take the card home and throw it in a pile until you need to send it. Then when that time comes you can’t find the card amidst the clutter and have to go buy another.  So when the first greeting card reappears, the need for that card no longer exists, so it either stays in a clutter pile or goes into the dark hole of unused greeting cards and is soon forgotten. Add to this disorganization the embarrassment of forgetting to mail the card at all. Does this sound familiar? 

What is lacking here is an organized system for remembering to buy the card, actually buying it, storing it until it needs to be sent and then sending the greeting card. There is a better way.  

Sending greeting cards is a process just like any other, like bill paying or any work process. In order to eliminate the greeting card clutter and avoid the embarrassment of missing an important occasion, and last minute trips to the store or post office, is to develop a greeting card sending system. You can be prepared for any card occasion with a just a little organization planning.

The Greeting Card Organizer is the answer to stress free card sending. This sturdy 3-ring binder provides categories for the storage of up to 240 cards. The binder gives you easy to use sections to organize your cards for every occasion and makes it easy for you to see when you are low on cards for a specific occasion.  

 

 A feature that I really like about this organizer is its undated perpetual calendar for recording important occasions by month and day.

I recommend keeping the Greeting Card Organizer in close proximity to where you enter your home with purchases, so that the card can make it into the organizer as soon as it comes in the door. The binder can easily be stored on a shelf or cabinet for easy access when it’s time to retrieve and mail the right card. Be sure to keep stamps, return labels, notecards, pen and calendar close by so you can do the action of card mailing all in one sitting (or action), rather than running all over the house to find the supplies needed.

With a system in place, you will be able to shop when you can find the best selection of cards for your loved ones. The Greeting Card Organizer is the home for incoming greeting cards that you are waiting to be sent. So when the next special occasion rolls around and you need to send a card, all that you’ll need to do is to reach for the Greeting Card Organizer. You will never be a last minute card shopper again.

To learn more visit The Simplified Home.

Originally posted 2009-08-06 22:33:33. Republished by Old Post Promoter

Organize Home Maintenance Records

When it comes to taking care of your biggest investment ~ your home, there are a lot of things that you need to manage and keep organized. In most households, these tidbits of information are spread out throughout the home ~ instruction manuals and receipts stuffed in a drawer, paint numbers on the top of a paint can in the garage. Does that sound familiar? With home maintenance and repair, it is important to be organized and current on everything that you have done to your house. It is easy to lose track of all of the home repair projects that need to be done and when.

 

Another item that is easy to lose track of are all of the home improvements and repairs you have made to your home over the years. Home improvements need to be considered when you sell your home for calculating the sales price and then for calculating capital gains after the sale. So where do you go to store and then easily find these important records about your home?

 

To keep your house in tip-top shape, you need an organized system and home where this information lives for easy reference and retrival. I found a product titled the Home Maintenance Organizer that I now offer in The Simplified Home e-store (www.TheSimplifiedHome.net) and to my local clients. This home record organizing system provides a solution to, and a home for, all the home repair/maintenance clutter. The Home Maintenance Organizer is a binder where you can record and store all of the important information about your house, like window sizes, room dimensions, when you last had the furnace or refrigerator serviced, paint colors, and much more. This system also comes with an essential set of guidelines that will tell you what home repairs should be done and when.

 

The binder also has storage for ongoing projects that are happening around the house as well as places for important documents. The binder is an easy to carry with you system when shopping for window treatments, appliances, etc.

 

Another system to use for vital and archived home records, like home deed, mortgage, home title, etc. is our HomeFile Financial Planning Organizer Kit that is used in a file cabinet or filing box. This is a ready-made home filing system to hold all your vital personal and home records, most of which that you need to keep, but don’t need to access often.

 

 

Both these ready-made organizational systems solve the clutter problem of how and where to keep home maintenance records and will and make sure your biggest investment is always taken care of.

Originally posted 2009-02-07 13:23:47. Republished by Old Post Promoter

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