Since I already covered those areas, let’s talk about you in relation to those papers.  You walk into the house with a handful of mail, newspapers, magazines, and catalogs.  What are you thinking?  What are you feeling?  From all of the clients I’ve worked with in nearly two decades, the same theme arises: “Good grief, I don’t have time for all this ….!”  And then they literally dump everything on the kitchen counter, a chair, the dining room table, the sofa, or (ugh!), the floor.  Sound familiar?

There is a solution to this, and like everything else, it takes consistency.  Now, I do know that consistency is great when you’re feeling well and in a fairly good mood.  But, let anything happen to your health or mood and consistency gets thrown out the window.  So, hopefully, what I now suggest can help.

Mail:

• Find a place to put your mail – an inconspicuous shelf, a drawer, a box on your desk.
• Leave the mail there until you are ready to process it – you’re ready to deal with it.
• Take the bills out and decide if you’re going to pay them today on-line, or by check.
• If you are not going to pay them today, decide when and make a notation on your calendar, or in your on-line calendar, and then put them back in the holding spot.
• Another option for future bill-paying is to set up a tickler file – file folders labeled 1 through 31, and set in a desk top holder, or inside a desk drawer.  Always be sure to look through these tickler files so that you don’t forget anything.  The date you put the bills in must correspond to the dates in your calendar.   The tickler files can also be used for up-coming appointments, or follow-up phone calls, or birthday reminders.

Newspapers:

• Generally we read the newspaper at the kitchen table, with breakfast.  Once done, put the newspaper in the recycle bin.
• If you do not read the paper in the morning, then place it on a table near the sofa or chair where you like to relax after the day is done.
• News is definitely over with by the next day, so get your paper to the recycle bin once read.  If you watch the News, you will get caught up on any important news you might have missed.

Magazines:

• There are hundreds of magazines that taunt us every day. Unfortunately it is the reason why people hang on to them, and why it is so difficult to get rid of them.
• Having worked in corporations that circulate these magazines, and also in advertising companies that advertise in them, I can tell you that for every one magazine, the articles, and tips in them are the same every three (3) months!  The authors change; the title of the article changes, but the content is basically the same.  So, to avoid getting overwhelmed by these precious shiny tempters, keep three (3) months only, if it is a monthly magazine; keep three (3) weeks only if it is a weekly magazine; and if it is a yearly magazine, keep three (3) years, if you want.
• If you subscribe to a dozen different magazines, just think how many are inundating your home!  One dozen monthly magazines (12), each month, amounts to 36 magazines that you can keep over the three months – but this really does impact the paper load you need to find space for.
• For your sake, decide what magazines you really love, and put the others in recycling.  And don’t buy any more on subscription!
• Find a nice basket, or a shelf to put these magazines in until you have time to read them.  Putting them on a coffee table adds to clutter blight.

Catalogs:

• Right along with magazines, are catalogs.  These come in almost daily.  Use the same approach as above.  Keep three (3) of any kind, and recycle the rest.
• Better yet, go to www.catalogchoice.com and remove your information so that you are not getting these.  You can decide which catalogs you still want to get, and which ones to delete.
• For the catalogs you’re keeping, as above, find a good place to store them.

In Part 3, we’ll talk about organized cleaning of your home, and how to handle the dishes and the laundry!

‘Til next time . . . Coach Sheila of clutter STOP®   520-822-4036   sheila@clutterstop.com

Look closely at the rooms of your home.  Do they welcome you in?  Are you comfortable in them?  Do you like the colors of the walls?  It is known among Interior Decorators that colors make a big difference in the feel of a room.  Just painting the walls of the room you spend most of your time in can change how you feel about coming home.  I’m not a Decorator, but I’ve seen the transformation that pain alone can have on a person.

If your furniture is shabby and you can’t afford new, buy some inexpensive throws to put over them.  Even a flannel blanket of your favorite color works well, or flannel sheets.  Plants also give warmth to a room, and some varieties of houseplants are very hardy and also inexpensive.  If you can afford it, buy some silk trees to go along with your houseplants.

But, sometimes our walls are painted our favorite color, and we have brand new furniture.  However, when we walk in we’re not comfortable and we really hate to come home.  Why?  We hate coming home because we have junk and stuff everywhere.  We don’t even notice the color of the walls, or even see the furniture.  Papers are collecting more and more dust every day.  What can we do?

First, start in just one room.  Pick the room that you find most irritating.  Take no more than two hours and pick up everything that belongs in another room.  Put these items in a box so that you do not have to leave the room you’re in.  When your time is up (use a kitchen timer or other stopwatch), take the box and disperse the items where they belong.  Just place them in the room, don’t try to find places for them.  Continue in one room until everything is in place, then move on to another room.  Or, use the two hours in one room and then take another two hours in another room.  Never stay in one place longer than two hours – if you do you will hate what you’re doing and will never do it again!

This slow method is easier on you than working 8 hours a day for days on end.  If you have many items that are causing you distress because you can’t decide whether to keep or discard them, put them in another box and put the box in a closet, the garage, or other area out of the way.  You can make those decisions later, after you’ve de-junked all the rooms.  When you are ready to tackle those decisions, keep asking yourself, “do I need it, do I love it, will I miss it, and can I find it again if I want to?”

Keep moving from room to room in order to start getting all of them organized.  It may take awhile, but you will soon discover that your time in a room gets shorter and shorter.  And then we have the next hurdle to get through, your papers, mail, magazines, and newspapers.  We will discuss those in Part 2 of “How to Organize Smarter in 2012.”

‘Til next time . . . Coach Sheila of clutter STOP®   520-822-4036   Sheila@clutterstop.com

Consider the following so that you can complete projects in a less stressful way.

Every day work on each project you are responsible for.

Take at least one-half hour, or up to two hours to work on each project you have to complete.  Use a timer to keep yourself on track.

Or, if you have too many projects to work on every day, try starting with the project that is most important and work on it for two hours.

After the first two hours, proceed to the next project, and so on, so that you proceed through each project throughout the week.

Take careful notes about your progress on the project once you have finished the two hours, (or whatever time you choose), so that when your boss (or client) wants to know what the status is on their project, you will be able to let him/her know.  This will make you look efficient, and will certainly make you feel more effective.

Working on your projects in a continuous circle will alleviate the stress you feel when you start on one project, then jump to another, and then jump back again without really accomplishing anything.  Or, you create stress by only working on one project at a time until it is finished, totally neglecting all the others.  This can mean weeks or months without any work being done at all on the other projects.  If you own your own business and do this, your client base is soon going to suffer, along with your wallet!

Now let’s move on to all that paper that always finds its way to your desk.  Leave the papers in your inbox until you are able to process them.  This means that you have set aside a certain time of day to look through the papers.  Maybe it’s the first thing in the morning, right before or after lunch, or just before you leave for the day.

To contain papers (not those that go in your Action Box), quickly scan the document to determine what it’s about.

In pencil, on the upper right-hand corner, state what the document is about, and where you want to file it.  This is a good practice if you have an Assistant, and it is good for you also.

Picking up a piece of paper and then setting it aside because you don’t want to deal with it, is counter-productive.  All it means is that you will have to re-read it again, along with all the other paper you’ve set aside.

Moving on to filing these papers, the type of filing system you use has to be simple enough so that you can grab what you want quickly and easily.

If you like things in alpha order (A-Z) then do it that way. Make hanging files with tabs that read A through Z.

An example of this would be to file your client’s folder by their first or last name – so, James Carter could be filed under J or under C.

Again, if you know this client better by James than by Carter, then put his file in with other J’s.

The problem people have with filing is that they think they have to follow someone else’s filing system.  It’s yours, so do with it what you want, as long as you can find what you’re looking for.
Most people file by last name, but you don’t have to.

If you want to categorize your files, then using your client, James Carter, as an example, you would make a hanging file labeled “Clients,” and put Carter’s file folder in with the other client files in the hanging file.

Set up categories that make sense to you.  If you send out invoices to clients, you can create a category called “Accounts Receivable,” or “Waiting for Money,” or any other name you like.

Make your categories broad.  Businesses can have 8 to 12 hanging files for the categories they need – from accounting records to tax records.  All businesses use basically the same categories, but use different names.

To summarize – note where to file other papers in the right-hand corner of each document.  File using an A-Z system, or a category system, whichever one you prefer.

Til next time . . . Coach Sheila of clutter STOP®   520-822-4036 sheila@clutterstop.com

Let’s start with your office issues. Memos pour in from your boss and other staff personnel. You have projects that were due more than a week ago. And your neck is constantly stiff with a migraine coming on. Sound familiar?

First, let’s get you comfortable at your desk.

Make sure that your chair is at the appropriate height so that you can sit upright while writing or using the computer keyboard.

If this leaves your feet dangling, find a box to put under your feet so you feel in perfect alignment.

Now check where your monitor is placed. Sometimes if the monitor is not in the right place for you, your shoulders, and neck will constantly feel stiff (and this leaves you cranky!).

Move the monitor to your left, then to the middle of your desk, and finally to the right. Which position feels more comfortable for you, where you no longer feel the strain in your shoulders or neck? This is especially important if your job requires you to be constantly checking your emails, or writing proposals, etc.

If your job requires you to be on the phone for most of the day, get a headset, or an ear bud. Crooking your neck to keep the phone on your shoulder is money in the pocket of your friendly neighborhood chiropractor!

Let’s move on to the rest of your desktop. Do you always have memos, etc, piling up on your desk?

If you don’t have time to read a memo when it lands on your desk, put it in a file folder, labeled with the name of the sender.

Put the file folder in the “Action Box” that will sit on your desk. This box should not be large and only hold paperwork in file folders that need to be worked on or held for a short period of time, but that you need to get your hands on at a moment’s notice.

Sometimes, a file folder in this Action Box will hold the list of projects you’re working on, with all the notes pertaining to the project inside the file folder.

File folders pertaining to regular meetings can go in this box.

If you need a tickler file for follow-up items, then these 31 file folders can be put in the Action Box also.

If the Action Box is too full with other items, place your tickler file in the nearest desk file drawer. Remember, you have to check these folders daily to be sure you are not missing an important follow-up. Just in case, you can also mark these follow-ups in your planner or electronic calendar.

Typically, files you need constantly will be placed in your desk file drawers. Files used occasionally can be put in a file cabinet, even one across the room.

What else do you have on your desk? A Stapler; paper clips; scotch tape; pens, pencils, markers; post-it notes; scratch paper? Which of these items do you use every day? Pens and pencils probably. But do you need a dozen of each?

Take everything off your desk and only return the items you actually use every day.

You can only use one pen, pencil, or marker at a time. Put the rest in a desk drawer, or in a small box under your desk or on top of your filing cabinet.

Use the same method for everything else. Sometimes we keep things on our desks without even thinking about why they’re there!

To summarize, re-check your comfort level at your desk and change things, if necessary. Then remove everything from your desk and only put back items you use daily. Set up an Action Box for everyday files.

Enjoy your new desk arrangement and the Action Box. Check back next week when we’ll cover the projects that you work on!

The IRS has increased gas mileage rates for 2011.  For all of us who drive to clients, go to the doctor, dentist, or hospital, and do volunteer activities by car, this is great news!  However, they have once again split the year.

You get one rate from January 1 to June 30, and another rate from July 1 to December 31.  The IRS has published the information in the table below for easy use.  At least they increased the gas mileage rate for business and for medical or moving!

Purpose               Rates 1/1 through 6/30/11    Rates 7/1 through 12/31/11
Business                            51                                               55.5
Medical/Moving              19                                              23.5
Charitable                         14                                               14

If you’re not sure how to keep track of the mileage, keep a pocket calendar in your car.  When you start the car, record the mileage.  When you return from your trip (for one of the above purposes), record that mileage, and then subtract the beginning mileage from the ending mileage.  Circle that number.
You will then add up all the circled mileage for your end of year total for miles driven and multiply that by the rate given above.

Keep mileages for medical, or moving, or charitable, in a different format than what you use for business driving.  I circle my business miles, circle and star the medical mileage, and put a check mark for the charitable driving.  That way it is easier for me to add all the circles, the stars, and the checks, and enter them into my spreadsheet.

It is only September, but you may as well get started on this now.  You may have to go back in your calendar (desk or electronic), to figure out when you did do medical driving, or charitable driving.  With the increased cost of everything, it pays to keep track of everything that you legitimately can deduct!

Copyright© Sheila McCurdy & Clutter Stop! sheila@clutterstop.com 520-822-4036

1. Keep your blinds/drapes/shades slightly open when you go to bed so that the early morning sun will slowly and easily wake you;
2. Buy an alarm clock that slowly lightens your room with a special light, also slowly and easily waking you;
3. Use two radio alarm clocks, one by your bed and the other across the room so that you have to get out of bed to turn it off.  Set the one by your bed to a talk station and the other to the buzz alarm about one minute after your talk station alarm.  Talking makes you listen, which will help you wake up.  The buzz alarm will help you get out of bed.

‘Til next time . . . Coach Sheila of clutter STOP®

© August 2011 clutter STOP®   sheila@clutterstop.com 520-822-4036

Can you see inside the garage at all – or is there a wall of clutter so high that you can’t see over it?  Even if you don’t have a wall of clutter, most garages are the first place to put things that you don’t want in the house (or can’t figure out exactly where to put it).  Let’s start with the garage that you are able to walk into, but have problems navigating around, or over, some of the stuff.

Before actually clearing the clutter, have boxes available for storage.  Preferably in the garage it is recommended to use clear plastic storage bins.  And if you do not have shelving in your garage, I also recommend that you get some.  I personally prefer the resin plastic shelving units that are 7 feet tall, 39” wide, and 24” deep.  I have found these units in Home Depot, Lowe’s, and even Office Depot, for prices around $39.00 for this size.  No tools are necessary and are easily put together.  Each shelf accommodates 100 lbs.  The 24” deep shelving units (whether plastic, wood or metal), will allow two of the plastic bins to fit securely on one shelf.  Also have blank pieces of paper and a black marking pen.

Start in one corner of the garage, clearing a small section at a time – about the size of a chair seat.  Decide what you need to discard and what you want to keep.  This can be very hard for you, so don’t try to work for more than two hours on your own.  Think about each item that you pick up – do you want it?  Do you need it?  Do you have space for it?  Separate what you want in the bins, keeping like items together, (holiday decorations, clothing, toys, games, car cleaning items, personal items, etc.).  If you come across items that you question – as to saving or letting go, put them in a separate box.  Each items does not need a bin all to themselves, so mixing them is fine.

You have now filled a bin(s) with all your holiday items.  Take 4 blank sheets of paper, and on each one, write the name of the holiday.  Let’s say the first bin is for Christmas decorations.  Write that on the 4 pieces of paper.  Now place one sheet inside the bin so that the writing faces the bin wall, rather than towards the items in the bin.  Do this to the other 3 sides of the bin.  When you place the bin on the shelf you will see that the writing shows through the bin so that you can see what’s inside.  And if you turn the bin in any direction, you will still see the “label.”  Using labels that adhere to the outside of the bin might look great, but you will soon discover that the heat in the garage loosens the labels and soon they’re on the garage floor.  If you have overhead storage, place a labeled sheet on the bottom of the bin also, so that you can easily recognize which bin you want to bring down.

You might have a real mess in your garage when you start all of this because you may have to clear some wall space for the shelving units.  Don’t worry, little by little you will gain control of all the stuff.

Large items that land in the garage, like a lawnmower, rakes, garbage bins, very large tools that need floor space, can be put where you need to grab them.  Is it more convenient for the lawnmower to be at the front of the garage, or near the side door?  The same question applies to the garbage bins.  The rakes, hoes, and other long tools can be stood upright in a tall garbage can, or hung from the garage wall on a utility rack.  Tools that need floor space can be put next to the worktable that you have.  All of the small tools can either be put on a pegboard attached to the garage wall, or in small clear plastic bins.  Hopefully, you have a tall rolling tool bin that can handle all these small items.  The tools might be something you want to save for last because it can get tedious separating nails from screws and nuts to washers.  Some people with wooden shelves nail the lid of a small bottle to the underside of a shelf.  Once the glass bottle is full of nails, or whatever, it then gets screwed back into the cap.  You can clearly see each item.

Some people keep lots of sports equipment in the garage.  How to store these depends on what you have, but for most items, a tall garbage can will hold these also, such as baseball bats and balls, skis and poles, or soccer poles and pucks.  You can keep footballs in an open bin on a shelf.  There are several companies that make holders for these items, which you can find on the internet.  I have found that the tall garbage cans are less expensive and sometimes take up less footprint space.

Camping equipment, bedrolls, suitcases, and swimming apparatus can all be put on shelving units.  Be sure to contain smaller items in clear plastic bins.

Happy organizing!

Sheila McCurdy CPO® Copyright©2011 clutter STOP® Sheila@clutterstop.com 520-822-4036

When you want to send holiday cards, start well before the holiday. For example, Christmas – start in September. Each weekend write out five cards. By the time December rolls around, you’ll be ready to mail the cards!  If you have more than 70 cards to send, then figure out how many that will be and divide that number into the weeks of September, October, and November.

This makes it easier and more enjoyable to actually say something in your cards.  It may be alright for your relatives to get your card with just your name in it, but friends and business acquaintances may find that a bit curt.

Gift buying can be done the same way.  There is nothing worse than shopping the day before!

Have an absolutely stunning holiday season!  And may the New Year find you and yours in the best of health!

Sheila McCurdy CPO® Copyright©2011  clutter STOP®   Sheila@clutterstop.com   520-822-4036

When you are making a To-Do list, make sure that items on the list are the ONLY ones that MUST be done TODAY.  Having a To-Do list for all that you want to accomplish between now and five years from now doesn’t help you at all.

All of your dreams and desires can be put on a separate list – call it a Master List, Goals List, Dreams List, or whatever you want to call it.  You can even keep these in separate files on the computer, or in a
3-ring notebook.  The notebook can even have dividers for different subjects – for things relating to work, home, garden, etc.  These can also be put in the separate files just talked about.

When making your Master List, don’t put a date for completion on each project.  This will only frustrate you when you see that the date you put down has passed and you still have not done what you desired to do.

clutter STOP® is a Certified Coaching and Professional Organizing company
Sheila@clutterstop.com 520-822-4036

© clutter STOP®   2011

Today, let’s talk about what you do with the other papers in your life; the papers that belong in some sort of filing system so that you can retrieve them within six seconds.  Yes, I did say six seconds.  It is entirely possible.  If you can’t find what you’re looking for within six seconds, then you have chosen the wrong place to file it.

How do you file your papers?  Do you prefer everything alphabetical?  Is it working for you?  Do you remember that the warranty on your refrigerator is filed within the “W” file, for Westinghouse?  Or did you file it under “F” for ‘frig?  Or, maybe it’s under “R” for refrigerator.  If you can truly file this way, and find what you want when you need it, then don’t change the system!  You know that saying, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!”

My concern is when it doesn’t work, because it is really difficult to file some things by their names, and other things by their brand.  You really have to choose what way you will file when you do the A-Z system.  This A-Z system is actually a great way to file for all the warranties, instruction books, and paperwork associated with your household appliances, accessories, artwork, furniture, and tools, among other things.  But again, decide if you’re going to file by the brand name, or just what the item is.  And if other people are going to be in the file, they have to understand how your filing system works.

Beyond the A-Z system, what about your personal papers and your financial papers?  Since warranties are something that you don’t need very often, using A-Z for your personal papers and financial papers may not be the best way to go.  These papers are ones you may need to get into quite often.  Let’s look at “category filing.”

Taking financial paperwork first, this is a large category and can take up an entire file drawer.  If you do not own a filing cabinet, I highly recommend buying one.  If you think that a 2-drawer will be enough for the papers that you have, be sure that the drawer is deeper than 18” as you will get knuckle scrapes when you have to retrieve paper that is in back of the drawer, but the drawer doesn’t pull out all the way!
Financial paperwork will include ALL papers dealing with any kind of money coming into the house, or leaving the house – bills, income, investments, and even your car, etc.  Use hanging files to collect this paperwork, and label the tab accordingly.  So, within this category you can do an A-Z system, for instance:  Banking.  Within banking, have a file folder for each different bank you do business with.  If you only deal with one bank, you can avoid a file folder and just put the paperwork in the hanging file by itself.  Your banking statements should be kept for at least 3 years.  Keep your current year in the file cabinet and archive the other two years, (putting them into a filing box and storing on a shelf in a closet).  If you want to put archived paperwork into your garage, put it into a clear plastic bin as cardboard doesn’t hold up to heat – and little critters love cardboard!

After a Banking tab, maybe you have credit card paperwork.  Label a hanging file “Credit Cards,” or whatever name you’re comfortable with.  Again, if it’s just one card, you can put this paperwork directly into the hanging file.  Think about all the types of financial paperwork that you have and make a hanging file for all of them.

Some ideas of financial records are: automobile (or car), banking, bills, credit cards, house repairs/improvements, investments, mortgage (or rent), trust (or will), and utilities (cell phone, electric, gas, telephone).

Another file drawer can be devoted to your personal paperwork.  What does this include?  All paperwork pertaining to you and your family, that is not financial, nor a warranty/instruction file.

Let’s start with your name.  Let’s call you “Mary.”  Your husband is “John.”  As you can see, I’m very creative!  You have a child, “Ann.”  Make a hanging file with your names on it, if you only have a few files to keep, and then you can put all the papers belonging to each of you in the respective files.

If you have a lot of personal files, then you can categorize them, i.e. “medical records,” “school records,” “work records,” and have 3 separate file folders in each of these categories for you, your spouse, and your child.  You can also have a “Sports File,” “Hobbies,” or a “Volunteer File.”  The categories are entirely up to you and what type of records your family wants to have access to.  Be careful that you continually update these records so that your files don’t start popping out of your hanging files. Purging of papers once a year should be sufficient.  I do recommend, however, that all medical records be kept forever.  And, remember, medical bills do not go into your Personal files; they would go into your Financial records.

And now we can go into filing everything else – the warranties, the instructions, and the couch you want to buy as soon as you get some money, the computer you want to upgrade to, etc.  I call this section the “Yellow Pages.”  Just like a phone book, this A-Z file drawer will hold everything you want information on.  It will also hold all the information on the products you own.  If you are filing the warranty on your dishwasher, be sure to clip the sales slip to the warranty.  This is actually a dual-purpose file.  As you can see, I have included things that you want to buy, and also things that you have already bought.  No one ever knows what to do with this paperwork, but now you do!

If you have any questions about other types of paperwork that are still befuddling you, please do call me, or send an email!  I’m that close!

Copyright© 2011 Sheil McCurdy & Clutter STOP!®  sheila@clutterstop.com 520-822-4036