Paper Management

14 Reasons to Organize your Home Office

Published: August 2, 2017

Home offices are one of the most common rooms I am hired to organize. So many people are working from home, or trying to juggle a busy home life and work at the same time, that a home office can quickly become cluttered and overwhelming. Getting your home office better organized will not only improve your work productivity, but it can also benefit you by lowering stress at home. Here are just some of the many reasons to organize your home office.

14 Reasons to Organize your Home Office

-Better organization can improve productivity and increase income.

– Save time searching for items you cannot find.

-Streamlined filing systems, reference material storage, and office supply storage will save you both time and money.

-To create a more comfortable workspace with the correct chair, desk and ergonomic set-up for you.

-For a more visually appealing workspace that makes you want to spend time in the home office.

-To make it easier to manage cords and charge electronics.

-For better use of time with improved to-do lists, calendar systems and overall time management skills.

-To save money by not repurchasing items you know you own but cannot find.

-To make space for others to visit such as clients or assistants.

-For quicker preparation for events, meetings and business travel.

-To create improved systems for accounting, budgeting and bill paying.

-To separate your home from business spaces for your business tax purposes.

-Organized tax papers make tax filing time less stressful.

-Less clutter and more organization will make cleaning easier and faster.

Managing Household Papers

Published: June 14, 2017

Paper is constantly coming into our homes, and it can sometimes be overwhelming to manage it all. Each paper that comes into your home requires a decision. These decisions can be broken down into these categories:

Toss or Recycle – if you don’t need it and it doesn’t contain personal information.
Shred – if you don’t need it, but it contains personal information.
Keep temporarily until you’ve addressed it where is is easily accessible.
Keep temporarily by filing it or scanning it until it is no longer needed.
Save permanently in your home in a file cabinet or fireproof safe.
Save permanently offsite in a safe deposit box.

Toss/Recycle/Shred

For each paper that you look at, ask yourself what needs to be done with it. Tossing, recycling or shredding can quickly be done if you have a trash can, recycle bin and shredder near where you open your mail and look at papers.

Keep Temporarily Until You’ve Addressed It

For papers that need to be kept temporarily until you’ve addressed them (current bills, event invitations, etc.) create an easy to access place for these types of papers. I suggest a desktop file box with folders for “to pay,” “to read” “to follow-up on”, to make sure the papers are acted upon. If you prefer a more visual solution, a cork board or magnetic board may work well, if it is looked at on a regular basis and doesn’t become overloaded. Here are my tips on managing incoming mail.

Keep Temporarily by Filing or Scanning

Many papers need to be stored temporarily, these can be filed away for back-up records or scanned, if you are trying to go paperless. Consumer Reports provides great suggestions as to how long to keep tax records and other documents. It is helpful to check with your accountant or lawyer about saving financial or legal records.

Save Permanently in Your Home or a Safe Deposit Box

When it comes to what to keep permanently, it is best to consult with your account and/or lawyer first about what to keep and how long to keep it. In general, information about medical records, utilities, automotive records, insurance policies, retirement documents, wills, birth certificates, other financial documentation, and warranties often needs to be stored long term. Always refer to your accountant about your specific case when it comes to tax retention guidelines. Check out my tips on organizing tax documents.

Make a Place for Keepsake Papers

One last category to consider is keepsake papers. You are not legally required to keep these, but you may want to store them long-term for sentimental reasons. Create storage or files for children’s artwork, old school work, keepsake cards, theater programs, vacation maps, travel keepsakes, ticket stubs, letters, genealogy records and memorabilia.

How to Manage Mail

Published: February 8, 2017

How to Manage Mail title
In my experience, the two places that many of my home organizing clients struggle with are managing laundry chores and managing incoming mail. Although the act of opening a letter seems simple, there are so many decisions that go into tackling incoming mail that it is not uncommon to become overwhelmed. Mail arrives almost daily, so it is a constant in every home. Here are my tips for managing incoming mail.

Designate 1 person to sort the mail daily

This person can cull junk mail and then place mail that must be read someplace where the recipient can see it, open it, and follow-up with it.

Always open the mail in the same place

With my home organizing clients, sometimes small piles of mail end up in various rooms of the house because that’s where it was opened. Designate one place as your home mail sorting station. I suggest this be near an entry doorway or in a home office, if that’s where you usually pay bills and respond to mail.

Have these 3 items near where you open the mail

A trash can
A recycle bin
A shredder

Take steps to stop junk mail

Go to the Direct Marketing Association to request to be removed from marketing and mailing lists.
Contact Catalog Choice to request to be removed from certain catalog mailing lists.
Visit OptOutPrescreen to be removed from credit card offer mailing lists, or call 1-888-5OPT-OUT to request removal.
Cancel subscriptions to newspapers and magazines you no longer read.

Sort mail by person or type of task

Each piece of mail has an action associated with it, so create specific mail inboxes or folders for each family member. You can also separate the mail by tasks such as “to pay” or “to read”.

Create a “to file” area

Have a “to file” folder or inbox for important papers that you want to keep in a filing system. Routinely bring these papers to your filing cabinet.

Check mail regularly

Get into the habit of checking your mail daily. Schedule a day to pay the bills, file away papers, and respond to any other mail. Organizing mail is an ongoing process and it must be dealt with on a routine basis. I hope these tips make it easier for you keep the mail under control.

Conquering Kitchen Counter Clutter

Published: January 25, 2017

Conquering Kitchen Counter Clutter Title
Kitchen counters are often a magnet for clutter. Many times, a kitchen counter or kitchen island is the first flat surface you see after you walk into a house, making it easy to be a dumping ground for a variety of things. Since the kitchen is a high traffic area and a gathering space, non-kitchen items also tend to land on kitchen counters.

How to Reduce Kitchen Counter Clutter

Assess what is landing on the counter

Gather up everything on the counter and separate into 2 categories: non-kitchen items and kitchen items.

Look at the non-kitchen items and ask yourself, “Does this item have a home in another room?” If it does, move it to that room. Cutter often arises because things do not have a permanent home.

Create other homes for non-kitchen items

Create a storage space for paper such as mail, coupons, school papers, magazines and newspapers. This could be in another area of the kitchen or in another room. Creating a drop zone for these types of items helps to reduce clutter. Use desktop file boxes, magazine boxes, baskets, hanging wall organizers or wall pockets to contain paper.

Other types of non-kitchen items found on counters may be pens, keys, wallets, sunglasses, phones, cords and other digital devices. Continue to create homes for these items using a key hook, a pen cup, a charging station, and place these on a small table, tray or shelf in the kitchen or another room near the most used doorway.

Declutter kitchen cabinets, drawers and pantry

Once non-kitchen items have been removed from the counter, it is time to declutter all cabinets, drawers and the pantry to create more storage space. Remove items you no longer use or need, and then make homes for any kitchen related items that have cluttered the counter.

Find a home for most of your kitchen items inside cabinets or pantries. For appliances that aren’t used daily, make space in a cabinet, shelf, pantry or even a closet or another room to store those items. I’ve seen lesser used kitchen appliances stored in laundry rooms, mud rooms, garages and hall closets.

Use space saving kitchen storage items

Trays
Cake stands
Tiered baskets
Under cabinet baskets
Hanging baskets inside cabinet doors
Hooks inside cabinet doors

Keep on top of regular chores in the kitchen

Put away all groceries as as soon as you return from shopping. If a regularly used grocery item doesn’t have a home, make one.

Wash dishes and load and unload the dishwasher on a regular basis to prevent dirty dishes from piling up and adding to the clutter.

Regularly clear and wipe down counters after preparing meals.

Get into the habit of spending 10 to 15 minutes at the end of each night putting everything away and cleaning up the kitchen to prepare for tomorrow.

If you need assistance in decluttering and organizing your kitchen, please contact On Task Organizing at nancy@ontaskorganizing.com or 919-561-0885 to schedule a free phone consultation to discuss your needs. On Task Organizing offers hands-on organizing and do-it-yourself consultations in the Raleigh, North Carolina area, and virtual organizing services via Skype or Facetime to all areas.

15 Tips to Sort and Store Kids’ Artwork and School Papers

Published: June 29, 2016

15 Tips to Sort & Store Kids' Artwork & School Papers title
Sorting through and storing your kids’ artwork and school papers can be a daunting task. Many of my organizing clients want to do this so that they can preserve these keepsakes for their children. Here are 15 of my tips on how to deal with the overwhelming amount of papers your children bring home.

15 Tips to Sort & Store Kids’ Artwork & School Papers

Gather all artwork and schoolwork in one place to make sorting easier.
Sort the papers by child and by the year or grade level in which they were created.
Pare down items by only keeping the best from each year, or limiting it to a certain number of papers, such as the amount that will reasonably fit in a file folder.
Take digital photos or scan papers to make it easier to part with some of the items.
If your child is old enough and interested in helping you, sort through the papers with your child.
Write the child’s name, date, and any other important details on the back of the paper, if the artwork or school paper is worth keeping.
Routinely sort through paperwork, such as during winter and summer school vacation time, so that the amount of artwork and school papers does not become too overwhelming.
Set aside some artwork and paper to give as gifts to grandparents or other relatives.
Create a file box for each child, and limit what you keep to what will fit in that box.
For homework, report cards and certificates, create a file folder for each year and file those in the file box.
Since artwork comes in a variety of sizes, an art portfolio, or a larger box, such as an under bed storage box is more functional. Create a portfolio or box for each child, and again limit what you keep to an amount that will reasonably fit.
Use archival acid-free storage boxes to better preserve the artwork and school papers.
Store these items in a climate controlled area to prevent mold and mildew. Do not store in a garage, basement or attic without climate control.
Store these keepsake papers and art in areas such as an office or bonus room closet, in the child’s bedroom closet or under a bed.
Display outstanding pieces in a frame or in a scrapbook.

How to Organize Tax Records

Published: March 16, 2016

title page how to organize tax records
As tax return time approaches, I am often contacted by those in need of paper and file reorganization to help them gather all tax documents. Here are some general tips on how to organize your tax records, and how to safely store them.

Consult your accountant. Be sure to check with your accountant about which documents you need.

Review the last year’s supporting tax documents. Look at the last year’s supporting tax documents and returns as you prepare for this year. If not much has changed, you will probably need the same information this year, such as W-2 forms, mortgage interest reports and vehicle tax forms.

Designate one area in your home for storing all tax records. If you keep all documents in one area, it will be much easier for you to find them when needed.

6 Options for Storing Tax Documents

A labeled box. For example, a box labeled “2016 Tax Documents” will keep it all in one place. This is the simplest way to keep every tax document together, but it will need further organization during tax preparation time.
A labeled folder. Similarly, a file folder labeled “2016 Tax Documents” in an accessible file drawer is a quick way to gather these papers together throughout the year. Anytime you come across one of these papers, put it into that file folder so you have it immediately available during tax time.
Multiple labeled file folders. If you have several medical expenses, charitable donations, business expenses, etc. you can create a folder for each of those, and label it for the tax year. Create folders by year and category, such as: 2016-retirement, 2016-home repairs, 2016-donations, etc.
A portable expanding file folder. Create one expanding folder for each year, then sort by category.
Large envelopes. Store tax documents in large envelopes by year, with paper clips to separate categories.
Digital file folders. If you prefer to digitally store items, scan all tax related documents and store these in labeled folders on your computer. Be sure to back up this documentation on an external hard drive.

Protect your tax documents. Be sure to store these folders, expanding file folders, envelopes or external hard drives in a fire-proof and water-proof locking box or file cabinet.

Retain your tax documents. You will most likely want to keep these documents safely stored for up to 7 years. Please check with your accountant for exactly how long you should retain your taxes and supporting materials.