Tag Archive for: organizing paper

Organizing Mail

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mail boxDo you ignore the the daily acts of collecting, sorting, and processing the mail?  Dose it go away?  No!  It just keeps piling up.  I find that a routine helps me keep the mail organized and prevents piles from forming.

My mail routine:

  1.  Sort into my mail vs. my husband’s mail (he gets to open and process is own mail)
  2.  Open it as soon as I bring it in the house, if not then, by the end of the day
  3.  Put open pieces in their predetermined homes
  •  Bills go in bill pay box by computer
  •  Coupons go in box on top of fridge
  •  Flyers, advertisements, and solicitations get briefly viewed then recycled
  •  Junk mail gets immediately recycled
  •  Statements or the like, get filed right away
  •  Mail to read gets put in my “to read” location
  •  Mail that requires action goes into my action folder

Organizing guidelines help me stay on top of the mounting mail, as well.

Here are my guidelines:

  1.  My timeframe to open the mail is right away or by the end of the day
  2.  I have predetermined homes for pieces of mail to land
  3.  I immediately recycle as much as I can
  4.  I’m not the mail opener for the whole household
  5.  I consciously make an effort to reduce the amount of mail I receive

Mail is delivered 6 days a week, whether we view it or not.  So, stop ignoring it, and establish organizing routines and guidelines in order to stay on top of it.

© March 2014  Janine Cavanaugh, CPO®  All rights reserved

NAPO

Proud member of NAPO

Taxes & Paper Management

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Helpful Organizer Newsletter – April 2014
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Side Notes:

***    I’m currently reading a book about Feng Shui.  Did you know that a dirty stove can make you tired and depressed?  It can even make it harder for you to earn money.  So, please clean your stove, and visualize improved income.  I did and booked two clients!

***   Spring Organizing

Spring tends to be a busy month for homeowners.  They spruce up, clean out, lighten up, and prepare for a summer of fun and sun.  What do you do?  Please share your spring organizing tips with me.
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Hi,
Happy spring!  Do you associate spring with tax time?  I apologize if I just put that in your head.  Would it help if I provided you with a tax preparation list?  

The “T” word

What are you doing April 14th?  Do you find yourself hunting and scrambling to find all the documents you may need to file your taxes?  I created a list of all the documents my husband and I need to prepare our tax forms, which has made that process much easier.  We file jointly and very simply, but I thought our list may be helpful to you.

Here it is:
W2 forms
Mortgage documents – form 1098
Investment documents – form 1099
Excise tax yearly bills
Real estate tax yearly bills
IRA documents – form 5498
Interest from bank account – form 1099
Medical documents
Proof of health care insurance (MA residents)
Value of donations made throughout the year

Below are the additional documents I need to include from my business:
Estimated tax payments for the year – form 1040
Income total
Expenses total – including the following category totals: donations, electric, food, Internet, marketing/advertising, membership dues, mileage, networking, office supplies, phone, postage, training, and travel

Please note:  The above list is just a memory jogger.  If you have questions or concerns consult a tax specialist or CPA.  Janine Cavanaugh, CPO© can not be held accountable for any improper tax filing.

Never Ending TaskDid you know the one category that most of my clients want to address, even if it’s not the focus of our appointment?  Organizing paper!  Paper management is like dishes and laundry, a never ending task.  Paper can accumulate and pile up so quickly that it leaves you scratching your head, wondering where it all came from.  It helps if you create guidelines for yourself on what to keep, and for how long.  If you’d like a list of my paper retention guidelines, please email me.  I’d be happy to share my guidelines with you.
From,

Janine Cavanaugh, CPO®
(508)-699-6652

    If you’d like to share this email message with someone, please click on the Forward email button below.  Thank you and happy organizing in the spring of 2014!

Reducing Mail

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mailboxI was at the National Association of Professional Organizers Conference for 5 days and guess how many pieces of mail I received?  Only 9!  In addition, I did receive one local newspaper and one packet of flyers. Out of those nine pieces of mail, two were really good, a check and a copy of the news article in which I was quoted.  Not bad, right?  Would you  like to know the secret of how you can receive less mail?  Below are my top 3 tips on how to reduce the amount of mail you receive:

Tip #1.  Get your name removed from mailing lists for newspapers, magazines, catalogs and solicitations.  Please note it can take up to 6 months to be removed from a mailing list.  Some websites to try:
www.privacycouncil.org
www.junkmailstopper.com
www.dmaconsumers.org
www.catalogchoice.org
Tip #2.  Go paperless with monthly statements, bills, and newsletters.
Tip #3.  Go high tech and use nooks, kindles and phone apps for newspapers, magazines, etc.

© April 2013, Janine Cavanaugh, Certified Professional Organizer® All rights reserved

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Proud member of NAPO