I'm an organized person but I, like everyone, likes nice things and things that make me feel nice. I recently kicked an addiction and I wanted to share it with you. I found myself at this time last year with almost 12 bottles of lotion. I found whenever I was out shopping I would pick another bottle of lotion. One would smell nice, one would feel good and another would have a great package. Slowly I amassed a collection of 12 different kinds of lotions, and sometimes I would have two of each.
One day I found myself searching for a lotion and was completely overwhelmed by my choices. Did I want the Vanilla Sugar, Orange Ginger or Lavender today? I am a fan of variety but this was too much and it was taking up almost half of my bathroom storage. At that point I vowed to not buy another lotion until I was down to three choices. It took me a year to use up my collection. Throughout the year I found myself tempted by additional lotion choices I found out and about. With my goal in mind, I was able to stick it out and I did not purchase any new lotions last year.
The true joy was when I completed a bottle and was able to throw it away. As the bottles diminished I was better able to see my choices, it was easier to decide between a few and I was proud of my resolve. Now that I have decluttered my lotion collection I find that I am much happier and I vow that I will never return to the mass buying of lotions again. My bathroom storage is so much easier to handle. Now I can see everything I have and I can access it quickly when I want to use it.
Being an organizer and a lotion addict I understand how easy it is accumulate lots of things. It simply starts with one good scent and its over. I urge you to find your addiction and break the cycle today. You will feel relief from the having large quantities and you will find that you will always have what you need when you need it.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Don’t Let Tax Season Get You Down, Get Organized!
It is tax season again and with it comes an onslaught of paperwork and organizing. Don’t pay late fees this year; take these five steps to get your tax paperwork ready for your accountant, tax service or tax filing system.
1. Create a home for your tax documents and receipts. If you haven’t already designated a folder, a box or container for your 2010 documents, find something that can corral your papers. January 31st was the deadline for tax documents to be mailed so they will continue to come in from the past tax season.
2. Gathering all the papers from the last year can be overwhelming. Start working on one category at a time. First find or print your bank statements, then credit card statements and continue on through all of your needed paperwork. Next go through and highlight any purchases that qualify as a deduction for the past year and sort your receipts by category if they aren’t already. Take each day to tackle one tax related task.
3. If you have many medical deductions this year, there is usually a lot of paperwork that comes along with it. Match up your receipts and Explanation of Benefits (EOB) so you have a clear picture of your expenditures and deductions. Sometimes it helps to create a worksheet of your expenses to get a clear picture of the costs incurred.
4. If you are using a computerized money manager like QuickBooks, take the time to enter in all of your receipts and expenses so that it is up-to-date through December 2010. You don’t want to miss any deductions this year.
5. Give yourself a leg up on 2011 taxes now by designating a spot that will hold all of your tax documents for next year. Try labeling folders using the general categories: medical, donations and Taxes 2011 to capture everything else for the year. You can add any other categories that pertain to your tax picture. This initial sort will save you a lot of time next year.
Don’t let tax season hold you hostage this spring. Start now by getting organized for the current year and get set-up for success for next year. You will find that the tax season doesn’t have to be daunting and you will be less likely to miss any deductions that you are owed.
1. Create a home for your tax documents and receipts. If you haven’t already designated a folder, a box or container for your 2010 documents, find something that can corral your papers. January 31st was the deadline for tax documents to be mailed so they will continue to come in from the past tax season.
2. Gathering all the papers from the last year can be overwhelming. Start working on one category at a time. First find or print your bank statements, then credit card statements and continue on through all of your needed paperwork. Next go through and highlight any purchases that qualify as a deduction for the past year and sort your receipts by category if they aren’t already. Take each day to tackle one tax related task.
3. If you have many medical deductions this year, there is usually a lot of paperwork that comes along with it. Match up your receipts and Explanation of Benefits (EOB) so you have a clear picture of your expenditures and deductions. Sometimes it helps to create a worksheet of your expenses to get a clear picture of the costs incurred.
4. If you are using a computerized money manager like QuickBooks, take the time to enter in all of your receipts and expenses so that it is up-to-date through December 2010. You don’t want to miss any deductions this year.
5. Give yourself a leg up on 2011 taxes now by designating a spot that will hold all of your tax documents for next year. Try labeling folders using the general categories: medical, donations and Taxes 2011 to capture everything else for the year. You can add any other categories that pertain to your tax picture. This initial sort will save you a lot of time next year.
Don’t let tax season hold you hostage this spring. Start now by getting organized for the current year and get set-up for success for next year. You will find that the tax season doesn’t have to be daunting and you will be less likely to miss any deductions that you are owed.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
