Time for the Tuesday Ten Minute Toss Challenge! RIGHT NOW spend 10 minutes tossing your useless subscriptions and go paperless! Are you recieving magazines or catalogues that you no longer value? Mailings from an organization that you are no longer interested in? Periodicals that are no longer relevant to you? Paper copies of bills, statements and advertisements? Ten minutes is enough time to unsubscribe from a physical mailing list you don’t read material from and/or change your bill or statement status from ‘paper’ to ‘paperless’ . Check our previsou blog post about ways to eliminate junk mail for more ideas. Embrace today’s challenge and reduce the volume of paper coming into your home or office!
Ready, set, TOSS!
What steps have you taken to go paperless? We want to know!
If you have ideas for a Tuesday Ten Minute Toss Challenge, please let us know! In the meantime, check back weekly for a new challenge and make sure to join in the fun. We look forward to hearing about how you do with the challenges.
We recently blogged about several ways you can eliminate all kinds of unwanted mail in 6 Easy Ways to Eliminate Junk Mail. Now we have a tool to share with you that will do all the work for you! It also makes for a meaningful gift that everyone needs this time of year when our mailboxes are filled with unwanted catalogues and junk mail coupons.
For $6.75 you can give someone the gift of less by getting them a MailStop Envelope. MailStop will send you a post-paid envelope to put your unwanted mail in. Once you send it back and they will finish the opt-out process for you! MailStop Envelopes are great for people who are too busy to use online services, not Internet-savvy or have never gotten around to stopping their unwanted mail.
MailStop Envelopes save trees and reduce clutter by stopping unwanted mail. Prepaid MailStop Envelopes make simple, practical gifts for your friends, family and co-workers, your unwanted mail goes from your mailbox to the envelope without cluttering your home or office. Once you have collected up to 15 pages, drop the envelope in the mail and relax while someone else cancels all that unwanted junk mail and phone books for you.
Have you wanted to stop your own unwanted mail? Do you know someone who could use a gift of less? We want to hear about it!
We could all use a few ways to reduce the piles and piles of junk mail we receive every day. Filtering out the good from the bad is a time-waster for all of us. To help, Simply Placed has put together a list of the six best ways to eliminate or reduce the amount of unwanted mail coming to you!
Greendimes.com - has several options available online for you to stop junk mail from cluttering your mailbox. Its worth a look.
National Do Not Call Registry - Although not technically “junk mail” preventing “junk calls” is just as important. Avoid unwanted interruptions from telemarketers by signing on with this national registry. Fewer interruptions mean more flow in both work and pleasure.
Direct Marketing Association - Reduce clutter from junk mail by registering your name and address with the Direct Marketing Association. Make room in your mailbox for things that matter.
41pounds.org - Stops your junk mail and catalogs, while protecting the environment. Reclaim your mailbox and the time you spend sorting each day.
Opt Out of Receiving Phone Books- There are several different companies delivering phone books these days, eliminate receiving these unwanted paper-wasters.
Catalog Choice – Still getting several catalogs the previous owner subscribed to? Have you been receiving catalogs that you never requested in the first place? Used to find one valuable, but no longer want it? Use this site to eliminate unwanted catalogs you receive.
You can also find several listed on our website, a virtual one-stop shop for clutter and junk clearing tips. How have you cut down on the junk mail in your life? We want to hear about it!
Last Monday, April 18th, was the IRS deadline for filing personal tax returns. How did you do? Did you have them done well in advance and said “no big deal”? Did you scramble, bring it down to the wire and get them mailed off that day? Did you decide to file an extention because you weren’t able to pull it together in time? Either way, we have some tips to make next Tax Season that much smoother.
Collect, file, record and label tax related paperwork throughout the year to save time and stress when it comes time to prepare your tax returns (or to save money if you have a CPA prepare them for you):
1. Have a place and a system for collecting and sorting tax related documents as they come in during the year.
2. Consider what you’ll need by revieing your past years’ returns.
3. Categorize and label folders with the type of income, deduction or expense. You can create custom labels with a label maker (like one of Dymo’s) or consider a product like the FreedomFiler that has pre-printed labels ready to go.
Stay organized by discarding things you don’t need, archiving for storage that which you do but won’t access often and having handy the files that you’ll add to periodically during the year.
1. Understand document retention. Ask your CPA for guidance on what to keep, and for how long. Though we’re not accountants or lawyers, we have prepared a Document Retentions Guidelines sheet that we share with clients. If you are a Simply Placed client and don’t have this reference guide, please reach out to us and we’ll send it to you right away.
2. Get rid of paper you don’t need. Keep tax related documents separate from paperwork not related to taxes.
3. Box up and archive past years’ taxes. Especially if you have a limited amount of space in your home office, know that you don’t have to keep past years’ documents right there. Chances are (fingers crossed), you won’t have to access these items very frequently. Box them up, label the contents and store them someplace safe, but not necessarily in your primary office or living space. Up high in a closet, in a garage that is both secure and unaffected by the elements, or in a dry basement would all be ideas. Again, a label maker can be a handy tool here!
4. File your return once you’ve filed your return – I mean phyically file the return itself and back up documentation. If you have paper copies of these things, file them in your file drawer, well labeled. At that time, consider if there is anything (past years’ taxes) that should come out and be boxed up and labeled for archiving (see previous tip).
Hopefully these tips will make for smooth sailing and low stress as you think about collecting, categorizing, archiving and labeling your tax records throughout the year and in preparation for your next round of tax return preparation.
Let us know what else you do to simplify your tax life. We’d love to hear from you.
Disclosure: This is sponsored content and we have been given nominal gift in recognition of our time to do this post. That being said, we do not blog about anything we do not believe in and Dymo did not edit our post or direct our content in any way.
We’ve reviewed the Smead Stadium File on the blog before. Here’s a video of Debbie doing a free commercial for the Smead folks at the National Association of Professional Organizers’ conference in San Diego this month.
We’d love to hear about one of your favorite, cost-effective tools that helps you stay organized and productive in your office or home office. Leave us a comment below!
Often we’re asked about the ROI of our services – the return on investment. We can easily explain the value that is realized when someone increases their organization and productivity. Another term for ROI is “Risk of Ignoring” – meaning – what’s is the risk of doing nothing about disorganization or productivity challenges?
The Cost of Disorganization: Greater than we Think
We all know that being disorganized undoubtedly leads to stress. And stress undoubtedly leads to numberous pain points within your daily life, whether at home or at work. But have you ever really sat down and thought about what disorganization is costing you?
As Professional Organizers, our goal is to help reduce your stress. As such, we have put together a list of common “pain points” that often result from disorganization. Not only do we wish to make your lives at home and work easier, but we want you to keep in mind that short-term investments yeild long-term results.
Common Pain Points to Consider:
1. Lost Business Opportunity. If your business/company is disorganized, chances are you are missing out on a fair amout of potential business opportunities. Curious what disorganization is costing your company? Click here to calculate it for yourself.
2. Customer Service is Suffering. Forgetting or simply taking too long to follow-up does not make your customers happy. The last thing you want is for your customers to think you don’t value them. Not to mention, it makes your company look bad and can result in a loss of customers and a dive in sales. Haven’t we all had a bad customer service experience that makes us never want to give them our business ever again?
3. Overworked and Overwhelmed. When you are feeling overworked and thus overwhelmed, everything seems to crumble and fall apart. Why? Because you aren’t on your “A” game. Yes, we all have “one of those days” every so often, however, when you are being pulled in too many directions, you become less productive and efficient.
It’s time to be honest with yourself and re-prioritize. Realize you are not superhuman. More importantly, keep in mind that trying to constantly multi-task actually decreases performance. (Insert “Multitasking” into the blog search bar over to the left to read our evidence on that fact). Focus on one thing at a time, complete it to the best of your ability, and move on. Done is better than perfect.
4. No Work/Life Balance. We cannot stress this enough. Which is why we encourage you to check out several of our blog posts about how you can find more time for the things you love most in life. Find that “me-time” you deserve.
5. Your Health is Suffering. Did you know that 80% of our medical expenditures are stress-related? Yikes! We can do something about that. Whether you’re an individual or an employer, health care costs make an impact on your bottom line.
Common Situations Where Being More Organized Could Save You a Pretty Penny:
• Late payments. Misplaced bills ultimately lead to interest and penalties. Avoid these by having a solid bill paying system in place. Who wants to pay more when you don’t have to. These situations are avoidable.
• Pending rebates. You purchase that new cell phone only to realize you did not collect the necessary information to receive your $100 rebate in time. Missing out on a rebate is like setting that $100 bill on fire. I don’t know about you, but I’d like to have some extra cash in my pocket.
• Duplicate purchases. This is especially true when it comes to food. Consider organizing your pantry or refrigerator every so often to ensure you aren’t purchasing multiples of anything. What are you going to do with 10 bottles of ketchup? Organization helps you find what you need, when you need it. You’ll avoid needing to buy another _____________ (fill in the blank), just because you can’t find the one (or several) you know you already have.
• Unused gift cards. We see this a lot. Have you ever gone into a store and you are at the counter digging through your purse or wallet for that gift card you know you have only to realize you left it buried in a drawer or pile at home?
When you get a gift card, put it straight into your wallet that way you will always have it with you when you are out and about. Don’t want to fill up your wallet with gift cards? We recommend the card cubby. Cute, portable, perfect for gift cards.
• Overdraft fees. In other words, failing to reconcile. These fees can really add up over time. If you are ever in doubt, check your balance before making another purchase. Thought you were good to go but still received an overdraft fee? Reconcile it ASAP. The sooner you do, the greater the likelihood your bank will be more willing to work with you.
• Multiple trips to store. There’s nothing like the feeling you get when you come home after a trip to the store only to realize you forgot “X” and “Y.” Our time is valuable and we always say we need more of it. Save time by creating a shopping list. Check out our Meal Planning Made Easy system to help you plan and save you time, money and gas each week.
• Repairs. Neglecting maintenance can end up costing you much more than it may have if you had attended to it in the early stages. Take your transmission for example. Putting off changing your transmission and power steering fluids (which can cost around $300-depending on your car) could turn into thousands when your transmission goes out. Several hundred or several thousand…hmm?
• Tax Deductions. Remember to always track your mileage and business expenses. Create an expense report if you don’t already have one in place. Unsure of what you can and cannot deduct? Check with your manager or CPA. You may be missing items you could have been reimbursed for.
Remember, it is business and no matter how great your relationship is, if you don’t bring it to their attention, they probably aren’t going to bring it to yours. Why would they if they can save some cash themselves?
• Late fees. I’m sure most of us have received a letter or bill in the mail with the words “Payment Overdue” in bright red. Maybe you let out an angry sigh and throw it in an already growing pile of papers telling yourself, I’ll deal with it soon. But guess what? You don’t have to ever see those nagging words again.
When you go to get your mail, automatically separate the junk and any recyling and get rid of it, NOW. All you are left with should be anything that requires action, like bills. Open all of them up, and enter the dates into your calendar or online bill paying system (unless you have auto-pay). Remember, do not enter the date they are due! Remind yourself a few days prior and make that your due date as it sometimes can take a few days for things to do through. Always give yourself a little cushion.
We’d love to hear how you’re saving time, money or stress, or improving your business or life through organization. Leave a comment here on the blog.
Feeling the pain? Contact us today and let us know how we can help. It would be our pleasure to be a resource to you!
Would you like to meet some local companies (25+) that specialize in organizing products and services? Perhaps you have some burning clutter questions you’re dying to ask a local Professional Organizer?
You’re in luck! The Seattle NAPO (National Association of Professional Organizers) is hosting their second annual Spring Into Organization Fair and Ask the Organizer Panel this Saturday, March 19, 2011 at the Bellevue Sheraton Hotel (100 112th Ave NE) from 9:00AM-1:00PM. This is a great opportunity to learn to simplify your home, business and life from local vendors and Professional Organizers (like Simply Placed!) working in your community.
Simply Placed will be there as a vendor and Debbie will even be one of the Professional Organizers on two of the three panels including “Paper Management” and “Ask the Organizer.” So if you would like tips/ideas on how to conquer your paper files or just find yourself saying, “If I could just get organized…” we’d love for you to attend! For a detailed descriptions of the panels click here.
Open to the public, event costs are $10 at the door or $8 if you prepay through www.seattlenapo.com. Did we mention a continental breakfast is included? Come hungry and full of questions! We hope to see you there. Make sure to find us and say “hello”.
We realize you all have busy lives and busy schedules which might make it difficult for some of you to attend this class on the dates and times we have scheduled. Additionally, some of you want the convenience of doing this work right in your home, or prefer highly customized, individual attention. Take advantage of an alternate version of this class where we bring it straight to you! That means YOU can pick the date and time that works for YOUR schedule.
Individual Offerings:
The Skinny: A 2 hour consultation with a Simply Placed Professional Organizer that covers the Skinny on Paper Management (including suggested customizations for your own systems for mail, bill paying, action filing, reference filing), Document Retention, how the FreedomFiler works and how you can implement the system into your life. Please note this package does not include any hands-on help. Package Price*: $150.00
The Whole Enchilada: This package is the entire “End the Paper Pain” class brought to your doorstep. In 3 hours, you will receive the FreedomFiler kit, information about Paper Management and systems included in “The Skinny”, detailed instruction on the FreedomFiler and how it works, as well as hands on help from a Simply Placed Professional Organizer. We will physically help you set up this system and even start filing away some piles of paper. Package Price**: $268.79
Group offerings:
Have a family member of friend whom you think would also be interested in one of these packages? We’ve also decided to put together a few more deals for anyone who would like to host their very own “End the Paper Pain” class. Think of it like a Bunco Party but for “paper pain.” Whether during the day or in the evening, we’ll make sure this is both productive and fun!
As a “Thank You” for a being a host with 6 or more people in attendance, you won’t have to pay a penny! All you have to do is provide us with the number of people who will be at your home, which package option you would like, and a date and time for us to bring our services to you.
The Skinny for 2-5: Just divide the price of the $150 package – price will range from $30 – $75 per person* depending on the number attending.
The Skinny for 6-9: $30 per person* (host attends for free!)
The Skinny for 10 or more: $25 per person* (host attends and receives a FreedomFiler kit for free!)
The Whole Enchilada for 2-5: $125 per person (includes kit)**
The Whole Enchilada for 6-9: $99 per person (includes kit)** (host attends for free!)
The Whole Enchilada for 10 or more: $75 per person (includes kit)** (host attends for free!)
Take Note:
*For “The Skinny” packages – the FreedomFiler is an optional purchase and can be added on for $43.79 per person
**For “The Whole Enchilada” packages each attendee should bring the following:
100 Hanging file folders (legal or letter size depending on the size of your filing cabinet)
Clear plastic 1/5 cut tabs (should come with the hanging file folders)
Bankers box or plastic file container to carry your system home
A pile of unfiled papers you currently have on your desk, kitchen counter or other “hot spot”
ADDED BONUS: The first person to book a group class of 3 or more in their home will also receive our Info Products Bundle which includes the book Six-Word Lessons to Be More Productive, our Meal Planning Made Easy System, the Simply Placed Time Log, our Simply Organized Holidays eBook and the companion Workbook. (A $70 value). Gather some friends and call today!
We hope these convenient, flexible, valuable options will help to ease your “paper pain” and make your lives a little less stressful.
Do you find yourself surrounded by piles and piles of paper? Are there stacks so high you cringe when you look at them, hoping that if you ignore them maybe they will just disappear? Maybe you have the best of intentions to file, but find your piles of paper get out of hand because you aren’t sure where you should file something, you don’t have a great filing system, or aren’t sure how long you should retain a particular document?
Don’t fret, you are aren’t alone, and best of all, there is a cure to end your paper pain! As some of you may be aware, we offer our “End the Paper Pain” class twice a year to help those such as yourself put an end to your paper suffering.
For those of you who aren’t familiar with the class or the filing system, we highly recommend the FreedomFiler to many of our clients. The FreedomFiler provides state-of-the-art, maintenance-free paper organizing solution for the home and home office. Created by an award winning development team, this product is a self-purging home filing system that forever eliminates the need to clean out and reorganize files, while dramatically reducing the time and energy required to file and retrieve papers.
The “End the Paper Pain” class is structured as an interactive group workshop. Should you sign-up for this class, which is taking place on March 23rd, 2011 from 6:30PM-9:00PM at the Beaver Lake Lodge in Sammamish, you will receive the Freedom Filer kit, make great headway in setting up your filing system, and even start filing some of those pesky piles of paper! If the FreedomFiler system sounds like a solution you might be interested, you can sign-up here.
DYMO was kind enough to once again send Simply Placed one of their newest products to review, the DYMO LabelManager 360D. What organizer out there doesn’t love to review the latest and greatest when it comes to one of their primary (and oh so fun) organizing tools?
Many of you are aware that label makers are a great way to organize at home, however, I’m are going to focus on the potential uses the DYMO LabelManager 360D possesses in regard to the office setting.
Potential Uses:
Presentation is Everything. Have a bunch of folders you need to organize for your own retention? Perhaps you have all these manilas folders you need to get into the hands of a boss or co-worker? Rather than scrambling around your desk looking for a pen that will actually work, break out your labeler. If you want a result that is more presentable and also longer lasting, reach for a label maker.
What Does That Say? While we may have the best intention of writing legibly, we must face that sometimes, well; our handwriting just isn’t too pretty. That being said, if you want to ensure your document folders, handouts, or anything can easily be read by someone else (you don’t want them to feel like they are deciphering some kind of code), try using a label maker.
Brochures/Handouts: Listen up real estate and insurance agents; if you want to create a good impression to your client, make a handout or brochure with the help of a label maker. Add your name, address and any other important contact details on the brochure or handout you are distributing.
Personal Supplies: Label makers are wonderful when it comes to office supplies. Binders, staplers, rulers, you name it, you can label it. Want to ensure your borrowed calculator returns back to its proper home? Use your labeler to put your name on it. Just be careful not to get what we call “label happy;” it can be addictive!
Happy Shelves: Labeling shelves that house anything from office supplies to team handouts can help individuals easily find what they are looking for (thus saving time and frustration) in addition to making it easier for people to place items back in their proper homes. Think shelves in a break room or a supply room. No more excuses for putting the staples in with the sticky notes!
So now that I know WHAT I can use it for at the office, Why is it great for office use?
To and From: The DYMO LabelManager 360D is a great product for an office setting as it is easily portable for those days you are running everywhere in the office, small enough to sit on our near your desk without taking up space, and not to mention it is surprisingly lightweight. Check, check, and check!
I like Your Shape: I really enjoyed the more horizontal shape of this labeler as compared to the 260P model. It seemed easier (and more natural) to grip and I noticed my hands and wrists felt more at ease when typing.
1-2-3, A-B-C? I was extremely excited to find that DYMO implemented the familiar QWERTY keyboard in this particular model rather than the ABC keyboard. I found I was able to type my entries much faster. Bonus!
Bigger is Better: While the DYMO LabelManager 360D, like the 260P, displays two lines of test, it actually has a larger screen, measuring 1.5” to 2.75”. Didn’t need my readers for this one! This labeler displays two lines of text, which can be printed horizontally or vertically on 3/8”, 1/2”, and 3/4” labels. Oh the options! It also has a graphical display that allows you to see text effects on the screen before you actually print anything so you don’t have to cross your fingers and hope it looks like it should. As they say, what you see is what you get.
No More Waste: Similar to a lot of our mobile phones, the DYMO LabelManager 360D replaced traditional disposable AA batteries with a rechargeable lithium-ion battery. Talk about eliminating inconvenience, waste and disposal.
Do you Want to Save? Why yes I do, thank you for asking. I love that the DYMO LabelManager 360D stores up to 9 labels and inserts saved text. It even asked me if I wanted to save my label before turning it off! Great feature. It even prints up to 10 copies of a label.
Cost: The only “drawback” if you will is price. Although still affordable, it is about $30 more than the 260P model, coming in at close to $100. With that in mind, the benefits definitely outweigh this con, especially when you consider how much use you can get out of this product and that you don’t have to buy batteries for it, ever.
All in all, I would absolutely recommend this product. Here’s to labeling love! Click here to view DYMO’s product line and all they have to offer.
Disclosure: This is sponsored content as we have been given the label maker as a product sample to keep and review. That being said, we do not blog about anything we do not believe in and DYMO did not edit our post or direct our content in any way.
