photo credit: bethography - melting mama

I have one, my Mom has one, my co-workers have one and I bet you have too.  I’m talking about junk drawers.  You know, that one drawer in the kitchen or laundry room that you put everything in that doesn’t have a home or where you put stuff when suddenly company is at the door.

I haven’t opened my junk drawer in months but today I was looking for a little rubber foot that goes on my espresso knock box.  My junk drawer had old broken birthday candles, a lighter, shoe laces, keys to who knows what, and two dozen miscellaneous items that I don’t think I have looked at in the past year and a half.  I did however find some velcro that I needed for a project so that was a good thing and I found the little rubber foot I was looking for.

I dumped out the entire drawer and threw most of the stuff away.  I put the shoe laces in my dresser which is near my shoes in the closet.  I put the velcro with my sewing stuff and the lighter didn’t work so I tossed it.  By the end of my little clean up I didn’t have anything to put in my “junk drawer” so since it is in the laundry room, I put my dish towels away in it.  It’s nice to have that little mess cleaned up.

Your Daily 15 - Take a few minutes and go through your junk drawer.  Throw away all of the pens, lighters and batteries that don’t work anymore.  Put as much stuff as you can away where they should really should go.   Although you may still  have stuff in the drawer, once you’ve cleaned it out  it will have usable stuff instead pens without ink, broken crayons and used up note pads.  Now rename it “Utility Drawer” and remember that it isn’t for junk anymore.

Related posts:

1. Company’s On Their Way and You Can’t Hide … or Can You? photo credit: Calc-tufa Yesterday I got a call from...

photo credit: bionicteaching

Let’s face it, there is certain paperwork that you must keep like insurance policies, tax returns, leases, mortgage documents, etc.  These items can pile up fast and keeping them organized is very important. If your paperwork is stashed in drawers, boxes or in stacks, finding these items can be difficult.  Check with your accountant and attorney to see what items you should keep in your permanent files.

Imagine if something were to happen, would you or your loved ones be able to find your insurance policy or mortgage paperwork? What if you are in a car accident and need to find out what your health or vehicle coverages are, could you find your policy?   Don’t delay, you need to get these items filed.

Your Daily 15 - Start this year off right by getting your permanent files in order. Get some file folders and labels and make a separate folder for each type of item. I like to make my permanent files a different color or have different colored labels than my monthly or yearly files just so they don’t inadvertently get misfiled. Make one folder for each tax return year, one for health insurance policies, one for vehicle insurance policies, one for lawyer agreements, etc.

Gather all of your documents and get started filing. Usually you will only get one copy of these documents so if you can’t locate a copy of your life insurance policy, don’t waste a lot of time looking for it, call and get a copy. This will more difficult with things like tax returns and mortgage documents so you will really need to try to find the originals.

While you’re at it, let a loved one know where you keep these documents in case something should happen to you.

Related posts:

1. This Year Don’t Make Piles - Make Files My yearly personal filing system is really easy. I use...
2. Your Daily 15 Minutes - Let’s Start Filing photo credit: Librarian Avenger I hope that you have...
3. Your Daily 15 Minutes- Creating Naming Conventions You need to have a plan in place make finding...

photo credit: buba69

Well 2009 is here and after I got home from running errands today I realized I hadn’t made my new year files.  I usually do this weeks in advance of the new year but somehow it just got away from me.

There are many different ways to set up your files and I actually use two different methods; one for personal and one for business.  My yearly personal filing system is really easy.  I use just thirteen file folders with a label each month and one for bank statements.  I scan most of my paperwork in digital form but I always keep my original bank statements, ATM and credit card receipts until the statements come in, receipts needed for warranties, receipts for charitable tax deductions, copies of rebates I have applied for, and anything else I think I may need the original of.

Here is the process I use is for my nearly paperless office:

1. Once per week I take all of the receipts and paperwork that I have accumulated and scan them and name them according to the naming conventions I talked about in a previos blog post.
2. I open my accounting software and enter the transactions.
3. I shred all of the cash and check receipts unless I need them for a possible return or for warranty reasons.
4. I put all of the receipts for credit card and debit card purchases in the appropriate monthly folder to hold until the credit card statements and bank statements arrive.
5. When the statements come in, I scan them then match all of the receipts to them.  If there are no discrepancies, I shred all of the credit card receipts keeping only ones that I need for tax deductions, warranties, etc.
6. Once I pay the credit card statements I shred them too.
7. I keep the bank statements in the folder I set up just for these statements.

This whole process takes approximately 30 minutes a week for my personal filing and everything is easily accessible since I scanned it.

Your Daily 15 - Today go and get a box of file folders and file labels if you want them.  Write, type or label the folders with the name of the month and one for Bank Statements.

Making folders will get you on track to organize your paperwork.  Even if you aren’t scanning your receipts, you can put all of the months receipts in the appropriate folder and have everything in files, not piles.

Related posts:

1. Permanent Files - A Must for Every Home Let's face it, there is certain paperwork that you must...
2. Your Daily 15 Minutes - Let’s Start Filing photo credit: Librarian Avenger I hope that you have...
3. Your Daily 15 Minutes - Your Desk, Your Kingdom Do you share a desk with a spouse or a...

I have put together the first book in my series My Neat Life. The book is called My Pet’s Neat Life and contains 10 pages with fill-in-the-blank forms to keep track of everything about your pets. Keep a complete record in one place of all of your dog or cat’s vaccinations, weights, veterinary visits, contact phone numbers and more.

Just print out the book either one or two sided and put the pages in a slim binder with a pocket folder or envelope to store your pets medical and vaccination receipts.

My Pet’s Neat Life is $9.95

Related posts:

1. Your Daily 15 Minutes - Getting Your Online Inventory Neat I know a lot of people sell items online on...
2. This Year Don’t Make Piles - Make Files My yearly personal filing system is really easy. I use...
3. Permanent Files - A Must for Every Home Let's face it, there is certain paperwork that you must...

I was taking my dogs for a walk and came across a lost dog sign on the stop sign a block away from our house. The sign had a long description about the lost dog but there wasn’t a picture. I went to the neighbor’s house and asked them if they need help putting a picture on the signs around the neighborhood. It turned out they hadn’t ever photographed their dog so they didn’t have a picture. Think about it - could you easily recognized a brown and white, Doberman / Pitbull / Lab mix dog if you saw it?

I take a lot of pictures of my dogs but not many of them would be good on a lost dog sign, especially the ones of my silver sable Shar-Pei. I took some time today to take better pictures and came up with a few tips.

First, take a photo of your pet(s) every year. They change in coloring and weight so that puppy picture from six years ago may not be what they look like now.

Take the photo of the animal near something recognizable so people can gauge their size. Put your dog in front of a car tire if it is light colored or put your cat on the couch. Everyone has a rough idea of the size so when you say your dog weighs 50 lbs but then show it next to a tire people will have an idea of what to look out for.

Your Daily 15 - Go take photos of all of your pets.  Get a full front view a full side view and a closeup of their face.  If you have a digital camera, take a lot of photos.  You can delete the bad ones easily and save the best.  I recommend you print a couple of photos and keep them handy.  You can also burn them to CD and put them in the file with your pets medical records. Make sure to take the photos or CD with you when you travel with your pet so if they wander off, you have something to show people to help you get reunited with your furry pals.

Related posts:

1. Happy New Year! photo credit: wlodi I hope as we ring in...

photo credit: wlodi

I hope as we ring in the new year that you take time to reflect on last year, dream about the years ahead and be thankful for everything you have. I am very thankful for all of you for making my dream come true with my Neatology site. I hope I can continue to offer tips that you can use to create a more organized home and life.

Being disorganized is not the end of the world but wouldn’t being organized give you a little better outlook on life? I hope you will visit my blog often to read my tips and share your tips and tricks for making your life neat.

Thank you all and have a very Happy New Year!

Related posts:

1. Photograph Your Pet for a Happy New Year I was taking my dogs for a walk and...

photo credit: Valerie Reneé

Have you ever know anyone who had so much stuff in their purse that you wondered if they were actually carrying a small child in there? With the sizes of purses resembling small suitcases it’s easy to forget to take stuff out and put it away. Do you really need 25 used tissues, 5 binky’s or all those gas and ATM receipts with you?  There are women out there with back and shoulder problems who would all benefit from a lighter load.

We have a friend whose wallet is so full that he has to take it out of his back pocket to sit. He keeps it from exploding into a paper fireworks show by wrapping several rubber bands around it. It is ridiculous to carry so much stuff. It is so embarrassing to go anywhere with him since he has to take this monstrosity out and have a conversation about it with every one who sees it.

Well the new year is almost here and it’s time to clean up.

Your daily 15 - Get you purse or wallet and dump everything out of it on a large table or bed.  Then start sorting - papers and receipts in one pile, makeup, food, garbage in their own piles.  Keep going until everything is sorted then put all of the receipts in your office or filing area.   Take all of the business cards out you’ve collected with people’s phone numbers and put them in an address book.

Look at all of the makeup or personal care items you have - are they still usable or even in style?  Ask yourself “Have I used it in the past month?”  If not, don’t put it back in your purse.  Put it in the bathroom or toss it.

Do you carry medication with you like EpiPens or asthma inhalers?  Check the expiration date on them and if they are expired, get them refilled.  If they are out of date, chances are they won’t help you much in an emergency.

Getting your personal belongings in order will help you start the new year right!

Related posts:

1. This Year Don’t Make Piles - Make Files My yearly personal filing system is really easy. I use...
2. Getting Organized When You Have Too Much Stuff photo credit: jeffschuler I was working on my January...
3. Company’s On Their Way and You Can’t Hide … or Can You? photo credit: Calc-tufa Yesterday I got a call from...

photo credit: Calc-tufa

Yesterday I got a call from a close friend who said she and her family were going to be passing through our area on their way to Las Vegas and they wanted to stop by. I love my friend but my house was a mess and wasn’t intending on getting it organized for a couple of days. I had clothes in the living room because I was ironing and my kitchen was a mess from breakfast. She said they were about 45 miles away which gave me only about an hour to work some magic. Here are some ways you can bluff your way to organized.

• Put all of the dirty dishes either in the dishwasher - don’t rinse or organize, just put them in OR
• My personal favorite is to hide them in the oven. This one can back fire on you if you are not careful and don’t take them out before you turn on the oven.
• All laundry can be hidden either in a non-guest bathroom, spare closet or laundry room as long as you can close the door.  The same goes for “stuff”.  Put everything in a box and hide it away.
• Vacuum only the areas your guests will see.  It’s a lot quicker to just vacuum the living room than worrying about doing the whole house.
• The bathrooms and kitchen always seem need the most attention so I keep a bottle of bleach and water around to spray on rags and wipe everything down (I don’t use products with ammonia in them because it can cause illness in some dogs and cats and we have dogs).  Even if it isn’t perfectly clean, it will smell clean.
• Lint roller is the next item to come out because my dogs do get on the couch so I don’t want my guests to leave all furry.  I lint roll the couch as quickly as I can.
• Yesterday we had an abundance of stuff from the holidays sitting around so all of it went in a big plastic tub and out in the garage.
• All of the doors in the house to rooms we are embarrassed to let anyone see get closed.
• I light a couple of vanilla scented candles and wait for the doorbell to ring.

Remember, your friends and family come over to see you not to inspect your house.  Clean up as much as you can then relax and enjoy the company.

Related posts:

1. Decluttering Your Junk Drawer photo credit: bethography - melting mama I have one,...
2. Are You Losing The Battle Of The Bulge? Have you ever know anyone who had so much stuff...
3. Getting Organized When You Have Too Much Stuff photo credit: jeffschuler I was working on my January...

photo credit: jeffschuler

I was working on my January goals and realized that being organized isn’t as hard if you don’t have a lot of stuff.  I have to admit I have a lot of stuff.   I always thought that if my stuff was organized and neat and I had room to put things away that I really didn’t have too much stuff.  Well, we’ve past that point of too much so now my goal is to get rid of some of the items we just don’t use.

I’ve made it my goal to reduce my stuff by one item a day in 2009.  It shouldn’t be hard since I love to sell items online and get a little cash back in my pocket (no doubt, to buy more stuff).  I also will give stuff away to my favorite thrift store that helps the homeless with its sales revenue.

My plan is to start with the coat closet because it is full of coats we don’t wear.  After the coat closet, I will be working on the bookshelves.  I have hundreds of books that I have read that could be passed on to others.  After the books I think I will move on to music CD’s that I don’t listen to.  It may seem like getting rid on one item a day is a large undertaking but the 365 items that I can re-home will give me back a lot of room for more stuff of course.

Your Daily 15 - So, do you have a lot of stuff you don’t use?  How about your kids stuff?  Why not make it a family project to try to reduce your stuff by just a few items a week in 2009.  You’d be surprised how much stuff you just don’t need.

Start today and take just 15 minutes and see if you can find a few items that you don’t use or need.  If you don’t have a thrift store nearby and don’t want to sell online, try listing your item on your local Craigslist or Freecycle.  There are families who could use your stuff.  If you have something that would be better thrown away then just toss it.  Reducing your stuff will definately help you be more organized.

Related posts:

1. Are You Losing The Battle Of The Bulge? Have you ever know anyone who had so much stuff...
2. Company’s On Their Way and You Can’t Hide … or Can You? photo credit: Calc-tufa Yesterday I got a call from...
3. Your Daily 15 Minutes - Getting Your Online Inventory Neat I know a lot of people sell items online on...

I know it has been a while since I posted but life kind of got in the way.  Everyone has ups and downs so I won’t bore you with my challenges the past 30 days.  Everything is going better now so it’s time to help you be more organized.

One thing that happened a couple of weeks ago is that my husband borrowed my car and was in an accident with a deer.  My husband didn’t get hurt and the deer ran off.  My car on the other hand wasn’t so lucky.  It’s amazing how much money it costs to fix what looked like moderate damage.  Our estimate came in over $6,000 just to fix the bumper, hood, fender and a little metal underneath.

The insurance company wanted to settle with me for an amount far less than I expected the value of the car to be.  I asked them why they valued my car so low.  They told me that the mileage on it was too high.   I told the adjuster that the engine in my car wasn’t the original one.  We had to replace the engine last year because it wasn’t repairable.  Well, the adjuster wanted proof of the new engine.  I was able to go to my computer and pull up a scanned copy of the receipts for the engine and for the engine installation that showed there was only 43,500 miles on the engine when it was installed.  I have only driven 20,000 miles on the newer engine so my engine really has only 63,500 miles on it.

After reviewing my case the adjuster added $1,000 to the settlement.  Ka-ching!  I am so grateful that I kept the copies of the receipts and was able to find them because I am organized and all of my documents are scanned.  The lesson I learned from this is to keep all my receipts and keep them organized because you never know when they will pay off.

This weekend I will be shopping for a replacement car. Wish me luck!

Related posts:

1. This Year Don’t Make Piles - Make Files My yearly personal filing system is really easy. I use...
2. Ladies and Gentlemen … Start Your Scanners Wow, it has been a crazy past few weeks but...