It is true that organized and decluttered spaces that are not really clean appear to be cleaner and more attractive than spaces that are sanitized but cluttered.
This doesn’t imply that you should not keep up the cleaning schedule but rather that to have your spaces looking clean, they should be organized.
When clutter is removed from spaces, it allows you to make cleaning easier and quicker. Think about it. Do you have to move stacks of books, magazines, toys, dishes or papers around before you dust, polish, vacuum floors or wipe down counters? Doing those extra activities makes it more difficult to get the cleaning jobs done.
Both are important. But if you keep your spaces organized, you will save time and energy cleaning them.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
To Shred or Not to Shred, That is the Question.
If you have been working on organizing your papers, you are faced with the decision of what should be shredded or what can simply be recycled or thrown away. Plainly put, not everything with your name on it must be shredded in order to protect your identity.
Why is it not necessary? If your name, address or phone number is listed in a local phone book or on the Internet, it is already out there for the world to see and access whenever they want it. Otherwise, how could you get so many unsolicited pieces of mail or phone calls? Check it out for yourself on Google. Put in your name or phone number and everything else will appear. One former student even found the names of my children on Google. It is apparent evidence that their Wii or phone was dead and they were really bored..
Assuming you are protecting your identity by shredding every document, sales flyer, catalogue, etc. with your name or address on it is a waste of time and will eventually burn up your shredder. It is much more profitable to shred financial documents and those that contain account numbers, birth dates or other highly sensitive information.
Don't let the shredding task become overwhelming and cause you to give up on your organizing project. You really can get and keep control of your papers with the suggestions we have made here in the last few weeks.
Why is it not necessary? If your name, address or phone number is listed in a local phone book or on the Internet, it is already out there for the world to see and access whenever they want it. Otherwise, how could you get so many unsolicited pieces of mail or phone calls? Check it out for yourself on Google. Put in your name or phone number and everything else will appear. One former student even found the names of my children on Google. It is apparent evidence that their Wii or phone was dead and they were really bored..
Assuming you are protecting your identity by shredding every document, sales flyer, catalogue, etc. with your name or address on it is a waste of time and will eventually burn up your shredder. It is much more profitable to shred financial documents and those that contain account numbers, birth dates or other highly sensitive information.
Don't let the shredding task become overwhelming and cause you to give up on your organizing project. You really can get and keep control of your papers with the suggestions we have made here in the last few weeks.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Organizing Your Filing Cabinet
After collecting your documents for filing your taxes, you have a great opportunity to organize your reference files. These are papers usually found in your filing cabinet or boxes that you need to keep for a certain length of time but not forever. Receipts, paid bill statements, payroll stubs and financial statements are examples of these papers.
One good rule of thumb is to permanently save the end-of-the-year statement from financial institutions and employers. But the verified monthly statements or updates for the previous year can be bundled together and kept out of the current filing system somewhere else in the house. Every year those can be replaced with the updated papers from the more recent year and then shredded. Any verification or reconciliation requiring them would normally be passed in that length of time.
In addition, computer and/or online records are now kept by almost all institutions making it possible to track down information you may need in the future. Keeping every statement or purchase record indefinitely is not necessary and can create clutter and confusion in your paper filing system. This makes it harder to find what you really do need.
An inexpensive and simple reference filing system that anyone can use is found in the chapter on paperwork in my book, complete with sample pictures. It does not require any special supplies and can be adapted to any categories or filing preferences. And I am always available by phone or email.
One good rule of thumb is to permanently save the end-of-the-year statement from financial institutions and employers. But the verified monthly statements or updates for the previous year can be bundled together and kept out of the current filing system somewhere else in the house. Every year those can be replaced with the updated papers from the more recent year and then shredded. Any verification or reconciliation requiring them would normally be passed in that length of time.
In addition, computer and/or online records are now kept by almost all institutions making it possible to track down information you may need in the future. Keeping every statement or purchase record indefinitely is not necessary and can create clutter and confusion in your paper filing system. This makes it harder to find what you really do need.
An inexpensive and simple reference filing system that anyone can use is found in the chapter on paperwork in my book, complete with sample pictures. It does not require any special supplies and can be adapted to any categories or filing preferences. And I am always available by phone or email.
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