Using Time Wisely

Organized to save money, energy, and time

You are here: Home / Archives for organized

Personal: Voter’s Registration Cards

by

Photograph Credit: Microsoft Images

How are you doing with your organization? If you feel that you are being pulled in every direction and cannot get to your document organization at this time, then do what is important and use your time wisely. This category of Important Personal Documents is comprised of many quick-to-file items once you have the documents in your hand. Finding the document may take some time, but you might find a few of these items at once when you get to this project.

Continuing with Box 1 and the fourth file slot in the accordion filing system, I have our Personal Important documents. After our marriage license with copies, I have copies of our voter’s registration cards. Paul and I carry our official cards in our wallets, but I keep copies of the entire form/card that is mailed to us. The card has limited information whereas the form specifies our Congressional district, Senate, House, County Council, and Water Shed numbers.

I have referred to the full form when I hear of an election coming to one or more districts in our area. To find our district numbers, I open up Box 1, go to the fourth file slot, and get our voter registration copies. I can then find our district numbers and determine if I need to arrange my schedule to go vote.

The copies will be handy if our wallets are stolen or if our cards become illegible. If I need to obtain another card, I can quickly find our local office address and can supply the registration number for quick replacement.

Keeping the Voter’s Registration copies together with your other personal documents will help you access that information. Spend time getting organized. In the long run, you will save yourself money, energy, and time. Next week, I will group together the rest of the items I have in this file slot. Happy organizing!

A Clutter-Free Inbox – Step 4 of 4

by

If you have been following this series and applying STEP ONE, STEP TWO, and STEP THREE, then your inbox should house only those e-mails you need. In my personal e-mail account, I usually have a minimum of five e-mails each morning. I handle them the following way:

STEP FOUR:

Touching each remaining e-mail.

1.       Click once on the e-mail. Since I have the preview option (located in the settings options) turned on, I can preview the e-mail on the screen.

2.       I then read the e-mail.

  • If the message requires a quick response, I reply immediately.
  • If the message requires a lengthy response, then I click on the next e-mail message.

3.       After I’m finished reading the e-mail, I will do one of the following:

  • Delete messages I do not need.
  • Move messages I need to keep to folders.
  • Leave the read e-mail in my inbox if further action is needed (i.e. need to add to calendar, respond, print, etc.)

By the time I touch each e-mail, I should have no more unread messages in my inbox. All messages have been read, deleted, filed, or spammed. My inbox is clean, organized, and manageable.

Starting out you might have a hundred or thousands of e-mails from which to sort. The 4-step process might seem cumbersome, but as the spam and unsubscribed messages disappear, the process becomes easier. If you spend 10-15 minutes each day following these 4 steps, then your inbox can quickly become clutter-free.

Sorting the Mail

by

Does mail pile up at your house? Have you found a way to keep on top of the paperwork? I have heard organizers suggest keeping two containers by the front door. When you get the mail, all junk mail goes in one container.  Then items to read/pay/act upon get placed in the second container. The idea is that the junk mail gets taken out with the trash. Then the active pile gets read once a week.

The above system may work for some people, but I choose to deal with mail each day. I have found the following list works for me:

1.       Hubby brings in the mail and puts it on the kitchen counter when he gets home from work.

2.       As I am making dinner, I open the envelopes and sort through the mail.

  • Junk – goes in the trash
  • Bills, movies, statements, etc. – placed in one pile on top of my bread maker

3.       When the family retires upstairs for the evening, I bring the pile from the top of the bread maker and take it to my desk.

4.       After putting my children to bed, I file the paperwork in the appropriate place.

  • Movies – go on my husband’s desk
  • Bills – date added on calendar and statement placed in “bills to be paid” section of file
  • Receipts, rebates, etc. – added to original paperwork and filed in filing cabinet
  • Coupons – placed in binder or folder

I handle the mail in small sections of time. In doing so, my mail pile stays small, manageable, and organized. What tips have you found to be helpful in keeping the mail pile manageable?

An Organized Filing System

by

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.

Rising above Household Disorder

by

If you are like me, then you have those days when everything in your life feels unorganized and chaotic. As a wife and mother of three small children, I have days like this at least once a month. You might not have these feelings or you may feel overwhelmed more often, but I do understand the feeling of crawling out from under the mess and getting back on track.

To keep my home running smoothly, I must have a system that works for me. What works for me may or may not work for you. My organizational system has changed many times over the years. I can no longer take three to four days to clean my house top to bottom. However, I can break the cleaning schedule into bite-size pieces to make the task manageable.

So please join me on Mondays as I share with you how I work to keep my home organized. Next Monday I hope to reveal how we efficiently pickup a room of toys.