Using Time Wisely

Organized to save money, energy, and time

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Archives for February 2011

Little Time, Little Project

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What do you do with little bits of time? I try to get little projects completed. For example, when waiting in car line to pickup my son, I can be found:

  • Cleaning out my vehicle.

Tasks like putting the toys in their assigned spots, shaking out the car mats, folding blankets, and dusting out car seats. My oldest daughter likes to help while my younger daughter enjoys the extra kisses she gets as we work around her.

  • Reading to my daughters.

I like to bring along some of the books we chose at the library. The girls enjoy hearing the stories read over and over and over again.

  • Singing with my oldest daughter.

We often listen to music CDs in the car. My oldest daughter loves music, and she loves to learn new songs. My youngest daughter enjoys babbling along with us.

  • Solving puzzles.

I love the Sudoku puzzles in the newspaper and magazines. I cut them out and save them for a time when I have a little time to spare. When the girls are occupied with toys or books, I can sometimes get a little time alone.

The car line is a dependable 5 to 15 minutes of wait time. By preparing purposefully for that time, I can accomplish a little project in a little time while using my time wisely.

Organizing Dinner with Friends – Part 1

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If your family is like ours, then you enjoy entertaining friends for dinner. My children often beg to have their friends over to play. To accommodate their desire to play and our wish for an enjoyable evening, we invite friends with children over for dinner. To save me time, energy, and money, I follow a six-step checklist that helps me in planning our evenings of entertainment. Here are the first 2 steps in my 6-step checklist:

STEP 1:  Choose a date that works with my schedule.

Since our children stay up late and are so wound up after spending 2-3 hours with their friends, we usually entertain on Friday evening. They can then stay up past their bedtime to settle down, and they can sleep later on Saturday morning. Also, our house is often in disarray due to all the toys getting rearranged. We need Saturday morning to get our house back in order.

STEP 2:  Choose my menu.

I tend to choose the menu before inviting our friends. Almost always, our friends ask what they can bring to help with the meal. By already having the menu planned, I can suggest one of the side items. If I did not have my menu planned, then I would need to spend time and energy calling or e-mailing to get that information to them. To simplify the process, I choose to plan the menu before sending invitations. Here is a sample menu:

  • Baked ham
  • Mashed potatoes and gravy or scalloped potatoes
  • Sweet potatoes
  • Corn
  • Applesauce
  • Bread
  • Chocolate cupcakes with icing

Entertaining can be lots of fun. By having a list to execute, I have found excitement in planning while avoiding the anxiety of possibly forgetting something. Next Tuesday I will continue this explanation with steps 3 and 4 of my entertainment checklist.

Organized Toy Placement

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During a weekend dinner party, I believe most of our toys were removed from their designated spot by one of the nine little ones. All the children had a great time and helped to pick up the mess before going home, so we awoke to a clutter-free living room. Though the mess was cleared away, my children could not locate their favorite toys. To my children, the suggestion of reorganizing their toys was a bit overwhelming. To ease their dilemma, I placed the toys back in their designated homes with a little system.

THE PROCESS

I began on one wall of my living room.

  • I removed toys that did not belong in that space and placed them on the floor in front of the couch (center of the room).
  • I then put the toys away that did belong in that section.

I then moved to the next area which is a small bookshelf.

  • I found items in the pile on the floor in front of the couch that did belong in this area. I put those items away.
  • Any other items that did not belong on the bookshelf were added to that mound in front of the couch.

I continued this process along the three walls of my living room until all the toys were put away.

I then put away the remaining toys in front of the couch.

THE RESULTS

By going through each section of the living room, I was able to put together a train puzzle, place all the Potato Head accessories in our green basket, sort the vegetables and fruits from the play kitchen, and find a loose magnet in a fishing pole which my fabulous husband fixed.

Having a designated spot for each item made the pick up quick and thorough. My children helped sort the items and put them away. After completing the thorough reorganization of my living room, my children were able to find their toys and play. When they finished enjoying their toy, they remembered to put it back in its designated place, so they could find it again later.

Do you have an assigned place for each item in your house? Do your family members know the placement chosen for each item? Having a special place for each item saves me so much time cleaning up. You can save time as well and accomplish a quick pickup in 15 minutes or less.

An Organized Filing System

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Photograph Credit: Microsoft Images

After my husband and I were married, we found ourselves without an organizational system for our finances. We had his accounts and her accounts.

As we tried to determine the best way to merge our lives, we sought financial advice. Since my uncle is in the financial field, I picked his brain.

He graciously answered our questions and guided us on our way. For Christmas that year, he gave us Suze Orman’s The Road to Wealth.

I read the book cover to cover and implemented a lot of her ideas. I do not agree with everything she promotes.

Without taking her stance on prenuptial agreements and her legal advice, I can agree with her stance on money. Her advice has helped my husband and I make knowledgeable decisions on insurance and ROTH IRAs.

A few years after mapping out our financial plan, I purchased a kit designed by Suze Orman to house all our financial paperwork. The kit was purchased through the local PBS at a special price during a Suze Orman presentation. Some of the proceeds of each purchase went to support our local Public Broadcasting Station.

The kit ended up being too small for all our important documents, so I purchased three legal-sized accordion files. Here is a breakdown of the documentation housed in each box:

Box 1 of 3

  • Credit reports and credit cards
  • Personal records
  • Home ownership
  • Vehicles

Box 2 of 3

  • Personal insurance
  • Life insurance
  • Major medical insurance
  • Health savings account/medical spending account
  • Prescription coverage
  • Dental insurance
  • Critical illness/cancer/stem cell paperwork
  • Short term disability
  • Long term disability

Box 3 of 3

  • Social Security
  • Retirement accounts
  • Investment accounts
  • Estate planning
  • Tax records

In upcoming posts, I will outline what I have included in each of these sections. These items are based on Suze Orman’s advice, but I will share what system has worked for me. You might find that another system works best for you.

For me, having all our important documents in one place makes finding birth certificates, passports, insurance polices, etc. quick to locate since I know in which file to look. I also save money since I don’t have to pay for additional copies of birth certificates, passports, or credit reports.

All the documents are in these files. This organizational system has saved and continues to save me time and money.

Question: Do you have all your important documents organized in one spot? How have you organized your files to save you time in looking for paperwork? I would love to hear about your organizational system.