Are you guilty of couch potato-ing? You know, that thing we do when we are completely unmotivated to do anything so we sit down on the couch, turn on the tube and before we know it, hours have passed. There’s a big difference between being fully engaged in a good movie or a beloved TV show, and mindlessly clicking, clicking, clicking… like Springsteen sings, “57 Channels and Nothin’ On…”
We all have moments when we just want to decompress from the everyday stresses of life, but the weight of feeling we should be doing something can keep us from fully relaxing.
Well I’m here to remove the guilt and explain how it’s possible to do both – decompress AND accomplish something!
For example: Perhaps you have a bin of mismatched socks you’ve ignored for ages. I think we can all agree that matching socks isn’t rocket science. Plop them on the couch next to you, click on an old episode of Seinfeldand mindlessly match away.
You might decide it’s time to figure out how many of the five decks of playing cards in that end table drawer are complete sets. I’ll bet you can sort them out while enjoying Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy.
How about all those cooking utensils jammed into three of your kitchen drawers? Dump ’em out on the coffee table, sort “like with like” and there’s a good chance you’ll discover you have six more spatulas than you actually need. You’ve gained kitchen drawer space and enjoyed two episodes of Chopped. Win-win, right?
If your jewelry box is a hot mess, it’s hard to find what you want when you want it. (You know my oft-quoted key to being organized is being able to find what you want when you want it, right?) Match up your earrings, untangle your necklaces, pull out anything you don’t wear anymore and voila, you’ve organized your bling while watching The Devil Wears Prada for the umpteenth time.
I’m not saying every moment of our lives must be productive, I’m suggesting that when you need downtime and you want to accomplish something, grab a snack, pour a favorite beverage, click on an episode of The Office or Flea Market Flip, and master the art of couch potato productivity. Share your couch potato productivity wins with me!
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I don’t know how holiday meals work at your house, but around here we do NOT mess with tradition!
This makes things easier for me because I know exactly what we’ll be eating – no new recipes to learn, no new ingredients to buy – so I computerize my shopping list for each holiday meal.
I make a simple Word document for each holiday, nothing fancy. I keep notes about what size turkey I need depending on the number of guests, and what time to put the pies in the oven.
My Thanksgiving list, in part, looks like this:
Bread Stuffing:
___ 1 bag seasoned croutons
___ 1 carton chicken stock
___ Celery
___ Onion
___ Butter
___ Salt
___ Pepper
___ Sage
Squash:
___ 2 medium-sized butternut squash
___ Butter
___ Brown sugar
___ Nutmeg, cinnamon
Whipped Cream:
___ 2 cups heaving whipping cream
___ Sugar
___ Vanilla
You get the picture, right? Before shopping, I check the pantry and refrigerator, putting an X next to items I already have. Then I mark things off as I shop, since I usually buy things over the course of a few trips.
It might seem silly, but it saves me time AND money. How?
I don’t forget anything, so there are no frantic, last minute trips to the store.
I don’t buy items I already have. Spices are expensive, and who needs multiple containers of sage?
Benjamin Franklin wrote, “In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” Given those two choices, wouldn’t you rather discuss the IRS? Sure you would.
There’s nothing I can say that will make this fun or exciting, (as in, “Yay! I get to file my TAXES now!”) but I can offer suggestions to make the process a little less stressful.
Gathering the necessary documents should not feel like a scavenger hunt. Take action NOW to streamline the process once and for all.
You need a file folder. Label it: Current Year Tax Records. Voila! You’re done. Now, every time you get a donation receipt, a 1099-Div or a W-2, you have a place to put it. If your documentation is more than a standard folder can hold, get an accordion pleated one that expands to 3″ or 5″.
The same goes for documents you get electronically. Put them into an email file labeled, “Tax Documents” or if you use Gmail, slap a “Tax Documents” label on them and hit “archive” and they’ll be there waiting patiently when you need them.
If you get a blank receipt for items you give to charity, make note of what you donated while it’s fresh in your mind. I wouldn’t remember what I donated on August 3rd if I didn’t list it right away.
I’m sorry, but it really is this simple. Hey, don’t roll your eyes at me, I’m the voice of experience! I prepare a tax return for me and hubby, and that return includes income property. I also prepare returns for each of our grown kiddos as well as for my elderly mom. On top of that, I must gather the appropriate paperwork so my accountant can prepare my corporate tax return.
If this system didn’t work, I’d be running around like that proverbial chicken with its head cut off. Instead, all returns will be filed before the end of March.
If you have your taxes professionally done, don’t be that person every accountant hates to see coming with your over-stuffed shoe box full of random pieces of crinkled, crumpled papers. As an added bonus, eliminate that hot mess and it might reduce the preparation fees. Nothing warms an accountant’s heart like an organized pile of tax prep papers; as a former accountant, you can trust me on that.
We’ve all had clutter creep into our lives at one point or another. Sometimes it can overwhelm us. Fear not; I bring you tidings of great joy – well, maybe not of great joy, but of hope. No matter how big your clutter issue is, it’s not hopeless.
It might be a month of unopened mail or many years of paper piles, and there comes a point when the idea of tackling it becomes daunting.
Maybe there’s a closet of clothes you may or may not wear or a spare bedroom overflowing with excess clothes, and you can’t muster the energy to separate what fits and is flattering from what’s outdated or no longer appropriate.
Here’s the thing. The longer you wait for the “perfect” time or “enough” time to tackle the entire clutter project – whatever it may be – the longer it’s going to build and build and nothing will get done and trust me when I tell you: clutter has negative energy that affects you mentally, emotionally, and physically. It can damage relationships and sometimes tears families apart.
Instead of making a vague New Year’s resolution to “get more organized” or “tackle all the clutter,” try this: start the year by breaking down those big clutter projects into specific, smaller, manageable projects. Clutter’s ability to overwhelm you diminishes when you chip away and make progress. Remember that fable about the tortoise and the hare? It’s true: Slow and steady can win the race.
Instead of negatively thinking, “I’ll never find the four hours I need to open and process my backlog of mail,” try this: “Each day I will open and process today’s mail PLUS ten pieces from that big ol’ pile.”
If there are paper piles everywhere, gather ‘em up. Fill a bin or two or ten. Start with broad categories: Shred/Recycle/Toss/File/Pay/To Do and dig in. Put on some music that calms or energizes you and focus for a set period of time. See how much you can accomplish in 15 minutes and try to break your record by doing a little more tomorrow. Instead of just watching your favorite TV show, use that as a timer and sort papers. TV AND progress – win-win!
Don’t focus on the entire closet or roomful of clothing. Get up 15 minutes earlier each morning to try on three or four items. Decide if it’s keep, sell, or donate, then move on with your day. Wash, rinse, repeat.
If it’s a hodgepodge of clutter, choose a category and gather “like with like” – all wrapping paper, all books, all seasonal decor, all toys, all garbage – whatever it is, gather it up and attack that clutter one category at a time. Where should those books live? You can’t put something away if it doesn’t have a home…
By incorporating some of these suggestions into your daily routine rather than making vague, doomed-to-fail resolutions, you’ll be creating new habits that will serve you well in the long run and help keep clutter under control.
Sometimes a downsizing or senior move management job goes so well —all the moving parts coming together like a well-oiled machine—it’s as though I have a sparkly wand that gets waved in the air and *poof* magic happens!
I’m not a magician; I don’t even play one on TV! It’s my job as a professional organizer to see the big picture, formulate a plan, break a project down into manageable components, and help my clients move forward, whether it’s to a new place or to simplify life in their current home.
It helps that in addition to an awesome employee, I have amassed a multitude of vendors and service providers I can call upon who have the same high-level work ethic as I do.
Often I must explain to a client, “It’s taken 30 years to gather all this “stuff,” it’s not going to disappear overnight. If you want to downsize, we have to address the accumulation efficiently, methodically and purposefully in order to get you where you want to be within a designated time frame.”
That’s why I tell people it’s never too soon to start the downsizing process, even if there are no plans to move in the immediate future. Most homes have multiple junk drawers, a few over-stuffed closets, and basements or attics filled with “postponed decisions.” The sooner you begin, the more time you’ll have to make informed decisions about what to keep, sell, donate, or toss.
If you’d like help for yourself or a loved one, a professional organizer is just a phone call away. You can find one by visiting NAPO, the National Association of Productivity and Organizing Professionals. Scroll down the page and simply pop in your zip code, choose a mile radius, and voila! Just like magic, you’ll get a list of NAPO members in your area.
Are you ready? April 18th is right around the corner and for most of us, that’s the deadline for filing our 2017 tax returns. There’s nothing I can say to make the process conceptually exciting (as in, “Yay! I get to file my TAXES now!”) but I can offer some suggestions to make the process a little less stressful.
If gathering the necessary documents felt like a scavenger hunt this year, take action NOW to streamline the process for next year.
You need a hanging file folder for each return you need to prepare. Label it: Current Year Tax Records. Voila! You’re done. Now, every time you get a donation receipt, a 1099-Div, or a W-2, you have a place to drop it. If your documentation is more than a standard folder can hold, get an accordion pleated one that expands to 3″ or 5″.
The same goes for documents you get electronically. Put them into an email file labeled, “Tax Documents” or if you use Gmail, slap a “Tax Documents” label on them and hit “archive” and they’ll be there waiting patiently when you need them.
If you get a blank donation receipt for items you drop off at a local site, make note of what you donated while it’s fresh in your mind. I would never remember what I got rid of a year ago on August 3rd if I didn’t list it right away.
I’m sorry, but yes, it really is this simple. Hey, don’t roll your eyes at me, I’m the voice of experience! I prepare a tax return for me and hubby, and that return includes income property. I also prepare returns for each of our grown kiddos as well as for my elderly mom. On top of that, I must gather the appropriate paperwork for the accountant to prepare my corporate tax return.
If this system didn’t work, I’d be running around like that proverbial chicken with its head cut off. Instead, all returns were filed by the middle of March.
It doesn’t matter if you do your own taxes or have them done for you. However, if you use a professional, don’t be that person every accountant hates to see coming with your over-stuffed shoe box full of random bits of scrumpled papers. Eliminate that hot mess and you might save money on preparation fees, too!
Are you ready? April 18th is right around the corner and for most of us, that’s the deadline for filing our 2017 tax returns. There’s nothing I can say to make the process conceptually exciting (as in, “Yay! I get to file my TAXES now!”) but I can offer some suggestions to make the process a little less stressful.