Organize This! Managing Piles of Paper - What to Keep and What to Let Go

By Stephanie Calahan (Calahan Solutions, Inc)

Is paperwork taking over your life? Are you keeping every single bill, tax return, insurance invoice, medical documentation, contract and even the 15-year-old warranty for the water bed that you sold at the yard sale ten years ago? If you answered "yes," you are not alone. Many people are not sure how long financial records retention should last, especially tax records.  Determining what to keep and what to toss is often a difficult decision for homeowners.

Some documents and records need to be kept indefinitely but, many can be discarded after a prescribed period. Here are some general rules to follow on how long you should keep various records.  Please note there are personal instances where documentation is required to be kept longer than our guidelines suggest.  Check with your financial or tax advisor if you have questions.

How Long Do I Keep It?

If you would like a handy guide to remind you of what to keep and what to let go, check out How Long Should You Keep Papers in Your Home - Ideas for 76 Kinds of Residential Paperwork. I created this special report to help me figure out how long I should keep various types of information and have found that my clients love it too.

To get you started, here are a few rules of thumb:

Tax Returns and Backup Documentation: Whether personal or business, the general rule is seven years. This may seem like a long time to hold onto these papers, but think of it as an annual cleaning out as new returns are filed. One in … one out and the old adage of "better safe than sorry" will apply. The IRS has three years to audit you from the date you file your taxes; however, they have seven years to clear up and correct so called "Discrepancies."

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Organize This! Why Are We So Attached To Our Stuff and What Can We Do About It

By Stephanie Calahan (Calahan Solutions, Inc)

Stuff!  Stuff!  We have a lot of stuff!  I have clients tell me all of the time that if they just bought a bigger place, things would be better.  Of course, the flip side of that coin are the clients I have that did buy a bigger place and now tell me that they regret it because they have equally filled up the newer bigger space.

It is not about the size of our homes and offices.  It is about how we view our stuff! 

Ask Yourself: Does my home look like I could entertain Our Lord?

“For God is not a God of disorder but of peace. As in all the congregations of the saints.”
(1 Corinthians 14:33)

We Like to Buy and Consume

Clothing – When life gives you the blues, just shop, shop, shop for shoes!  Americans spend an average of six hours per week shopping.  Only 25% seek a specific item; 75% are looking to buy something without knowing exactly what that is.  What exactly are we searching for?

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Organize This! Understand Your Organizing Style and How it Works With Your Family

By Stephanie Calahan (Calahan Solutions, Inc)

Did you know there was such a thing as an organizing style?  There is!  Just like there are learning styles and communication styles.  In order to make your space efficient, you should make sure that your systems match your style.  This sounds really simplistic, but for many it is not.  In fact, most of the time this step is skipped completely! 

We learned back in pre-school that trying to fit a square peg into a round hole just does not work.  No matter how we turn it or twist it -- it doesn’t fit.  Yet, we try to do it all of the time by putting systems in place that don’t match our personal or our organizations’ styles.

Begin by being realistic about your lifestyle and personal style.  Focusing on the way you live is important to finding the right organizing strategies for your life.  Be realistic about your personal style – it is not about what you should do, it is about what you WILL do.

Next, recognize that it is highly likely that whatever style you identify for yourself will not match at least one person in your household or office!

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Organize This!

By Ginny (MAD21)

My friend Beth V and her family are preparing to move over the next month. I wanted to give her a break from writing recipes so that she can focus on her family and the move. So if you are one of our visitors who comes to see what delicious thing Beth has made for us this week, she and her fabulous recipes will return March 25th. In the mean time, I hope that you continue to join us for a great new series.

Is this your living room; office; garage; mail pile?We are in the midst of winter now but spring is on the horizon. Hard to imagine, I know, since most of the country is covered in ice and snow right now. Most families are beginning to think of spring cleaning, so I thought it would be a good idea to have a series of posts on family organization.

I've written a few organizational posts about master lists, organizing toys, games and rooms, but I thought it would be fun to bring in a professional. Some of you might know her... Stephanie Calahan. When the idea of this series came to mind, she was the first person I thought of. She was very enthusiastic when I asked her to write some posts to help us with family management/organization, and I am so happy she has agreed.

For those of you who may not know her, Stephanie is the founder and CEO of Calahan Solutions, Inc. She is a nationally known speaker, media personality, author, publisher, productivity & organization consultant, and business coach. She asks the hard questions like: "Who would you be if your story was not holding you down?" She believes that life was meant to be lived, and helps families and businesses organize themselves so they can do just that.

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Works For Me Wednesday: Game Storage

By MAD21

We've been looking for ideas regarding storage/functionality while creating a playroom in our house. I've written before about the fight to keep our house from turning into a giant toy box. I'm always looking for good ideas regarding how to make toys accessible but also easily storable.

We came across an idea that totally fits within those needs, but is also an awesome idea regarding decorating the playroom itself.

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