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Archives for January 2012

Dining Room: Container Organization Improvement

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One of my projects for 2012 is purging, cleaning, and organizing my entire house. Thus far in the process, I have finished the dining room and living room. My progress is slow, but I am enjoying the help from my children and the result.

Having recently organized bookshelf #1 and #2 in my dining room, I did not like looking at all the stuff at each meal. (Yes, it is unusual to have bookshelves in one’s dining room, but it works for us.)

As a fan of container organization, I waited for a sale on fabric cubes since I refuse to pay full price for items when they will go on sale. With the sale, I stocked up on the cubes and went to work on my dining room.

Before Adding the Containers

         

After Adding the Containers

             

The container organization was a little change resulting in an improvement to the look and feel of my dining room. These fabric cubes, purchased at Target, hold our many craft items. One bin houses our paints, another keeps our crayons, markers, and coloring books, a different one holds the play dough and accessories, and the rest workbooks, school documents, and school supplies.

I love the process of removing one bin and using the items. When finished, we pack it back up and return it to the shelf. Now I need to get the bins labeled. 😉

The lead-in picture shows the result of purging, cleaning, and organizing my dining room. Did you notice the Christmas presents on top of the chairs? When my family comes for a visit in a few weeks, we will be celebrating. *Woo hoo!*

My progress might be slow, but it is progressing forward. If you are working on a goal that keeps getting trumped with sick children, car repairs, or exhaustion, then give yourself some space. Take care of the immediate needs. Feed, clothe, and snuggle with your little ones.

As you snag a few minutes here and there, prepare a plan for that goal. When you execute that plan, attack that goal head on while using time wisely. Happy organizing!

Life Insurance: Policies for Head of Household – Part 1 of 3

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After finishing the first file opening last week in Box 2 of our important documents, we are ready to begin the second opening which begins the second category, life insurance.

In my filing system, I have dedicated three openings (slots 2 -4) for life insurance:

Slot 2: Paul’s policies – Head of Household

Slot 3: Tracy’s policies – Spouse

Slot 4: Children’s policy – Children

Your file will differ from mine. Remember, I am sharing my file to give you an example of setting up a filing system. The important part is to appoint one file opening per person. This arrangement will keep the documents organized. In my system, the second file opening holds all life insurance policies for my husband, the head of our household.

Head of Household

We carry three types of policies for Paul:

    • Part 1 – Term Life Insurance
    • Part 2 – Combination whole life and long-term care
    • Part 3 – Accidental death insurance

Term Life Insurance Policy

The bulk of our insurance is held in term life insurance. Having used Suze Orman’s recommendation, we purchased our term life insurance policies through SelectQuote. This company researches the available options and handles your process from start to finish. I have found this company very helpful in securing our term life insurance policies.

Behind the summary page, I keep the following documents on Paul’s term life insurance policy:

1. Receipts or billing notices indicating the date, payment amount, and payment type. With this term life insurance, we pay an annual premium for the life of the term. To prove the annual payment, I keep these receipts.

2. Beneficiary Changes and Notifications. Any correspondence from the insurance company regarding the beneficiary designations resides behind the payment receipts.

3. Policy Changes. Our insurance company extended the term of our policy by a week due to a processing delay. This information is kept behind the beneficiary notifications.

4. Policy. This 20+ page document is our contract with the insurance company of how, what, where, when, and how much they will pay in the event Paul passes away. (I know this information is not easy to process because you are preparing for the worst. However, time spent now will ease your stress level should you need these documents.)

5. Additional Correspondence. The last items in the bundle of term life insurance for Paul are the application, copy of first payment, and notes from Select Quote conversations.

Placed together, these items are paper clipped. These items are the first of three bundles housed in the second file opening of Box 2.

Annually reviewing your important documents is easier when the paperwork is housed together, assigned a designated place, placed in that designated space, and you remember the designated place. 🙂 Keep using time wisely as you organize your important documents!

Question: When was the last time you reviewed your beneficiary notifications? Please add your answer to the comments.

Swag Bucks: Beginner’s Guide

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Photograph Credit: Swag Bucks

Photograph Credit: Swag Bucks

As you follow me on Facebook (which you do, right?), you might have seen my Swag Bucks updates. I cheer when I hit 450 Swag Bucks because I can redeem them for a $5 Amazon gift card.

Could you use a few gifts cards to help you prepare for birthdays, Christmas, and anniversaries? If so, then try Swag Bucks.

What is Swag Bucks?

The web site Swagbucks.com is a search engine. Similar to Yahoo!, Google, Bing, Metacrawler, and Dogpile, Swag Bucks offers a search box where you type in your desired topic (e.g., using time wisely) and a list of web sites with those keywords fills the page.

When you search through Swagbucks.com, you may receive Swag Bucks (or points) for searching. The Swag Bucks range in amounts. I have received anywhere from 2 to 80 points for a search. Some days I will win Swag Bucks four different times while other days I might win once. The more often you search, the more chances you have to win Swag Bucks.

How do I Sign Up for Swag Bucks?

To begin earning Swag Bucks, you need to register for a free account:

1. Click on this link.

2. Fill in the “Start a new account” fields.

3. Select “next.”

4. Continue to fill in the fields.

5. Enter the CAPTCHA letters to verify you are a person.

6. Check the “I have read and agree to the official rules and terms” box.

7. Select Register.

When your registration is complete, you will receive 30 Swag Bucks to get you started. Now when you need to search, go to swagbucks.com and type in your request. When you click “search,” watch to see if you receive Swag Bucks.

Next week, we will build on how to increase your Swag Bucks in the intermediate post. Until next Saturday, keep using time wisely by searching the Internet through Swag Bucks and stretching your dollars. Happy savings!

Question: What is the highest number of Swag Bucks you have earned from a single search? Please add you answer to the comments.

Note: This post includes affiliate links. Click here for my full disclosure policy.

More Swag Bucks Posts:

Lowe’s Build and Grow: Castle

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Photograph Credit: Lowe’s

Where the Home Depot Kids Workshop is held on the first Saturday of the month, the Lowe’s Build and Grow clinics occur on the second and fourth Saturdays of the month. This next project comes with stickers, cutouts, and a working drawbridge. How cool is this?

What: Castle
When: Saturday, January 14, 2012
Time: 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.
Where: Your local Lowe’s home improvement store

Since the stores receive a limited supply of projects, register your attendance at your local Lowe’s and arrive no later than 10:15 a.m. to the event. For other tips and details on the Lowe’s Build and Grow clinics, refer to my detailed post here.

Photograph Credit: Lowe’s

After this Saturday’s event, the next Lowe’s Build and Grow project will be on Saturday, January 28, 2012, from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. The project is a Build-a-saurus, complete with both realistic and cartoon stickers.

You can register for both the January 14 and 28 events through Lowe’s web site.

Enjoy your family activities this weekend!

Grocery Shopping: Giving Groceries a Home – Part 3 of 3

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Photograph Credit: Flickr (Emily Connell)

This past week was a slim grocery shopping week for our family. Factoring in my messy coupon binders with the slower sales this week, I opted to grab Fabuloso, yogurt, and tea bags on my way home Tuesday night.

Other than hamburger buns, strawberries, and milk picked up from Aldi earlier this week, my grocery shopping has been minimal.

Even with a small grocery shopping trip, I still follow the same process to continue using time wisely.

In the Giving Your Groceries a Home series, we have unloaded our savings, organized our cold items, and organized our grocery items.

After putting away the groceries, I have reusable bags, plastic bags, and boxes cluttering my kitchen as well as debris on the counters from the packaging materials and any cleaners or hygiene items. With the food items in their designated locations, I focus on preparing for future savings.

Preparing for Future Savings

1. Put away the grocery holders. I use the word “holders” to include bags and boxes. By the end of this process, the bags are on the floor and the counters. If they have not been used as train cars, then the boxes are also on the floor. 🙂

    • Reusable bags. I fold them up and place them on top of my diaper bag.
    • Plastic bags. Gathering these bags together, I place them in an oblong sleeve that my mom made especially for me. My sunflower-patterned sleeve is kept inside my pantry door and clipped to my upper spice rack.
    • Boxes. When my children finish playing with the boxes, I stack them together by the garage door.

On my next trip out to the garage, I take my boxes to the recycling container and the reusable bags to the trunk of my vehicle.

2. Remove items from counters. Taking the remaining items from the shopping trip, I divide them into the upstairs and the downstairs placement.

    • Downstairs Placement. At this time, I will leave the kitchen to put these items away.
    • Upstairs Placement. The products that belong upstairs, I add to the “to go upstairs” pile of items.

3. Wipe counters. With the counters clear, I take a clean cloth or sponge and wipe down my kitchen counters. When I enter my kitchen to prepare the next meal, I will start with clean counters.

Though this organizational system works for me, it may or may not work at your home. Using a system continues to save me money, energy, and time while using time wisely.

Consider your process. Does it work? If so, then continue. If not, try another option. You might be surprised to find one trick (not leaving the room until all is cleaned and organized) that maximizes your time and prevents distractions. Happy organizing!

Question: What do you do with your plastic grocery bags? Please add your answer to the comments.