Every year you gather the same papers to get ready for preparation of your tax return. Simplify your life and dramatically reduce stress by creating a simple checklist of the papers you need to gather together and any info that you need to have at your fingertips. Type it in a Word document, print it and file in a file called “Year End Tax Checklist.” You’ll use this year after year!
Organize Your Tax FilesIt’s almost that time of year again– tax time. As the clock counts down, it’s apparent that the only way to tackle this unavoidable task is by taking an organized approach.
If you haven’t already developed a strategy to eliminate last minute panic, doing so should top your list of priorities, right after you get through the current tax time crunch.
Start off by contacting your accountant to learn what critical information you need to include with your tax return, such as documents to support wages or other income received. Once you know what you’re looking for, collect all the records you need to file your return. Then create your own checklist to use year after year at tax time.
Next, batch or group like tax files together and place in file folders or use binder clips. Here are some file suggestions:
If you need to correlate your expenses with your calendar, put the receipts in chronological order in envelopes in the appropriate file. Make note of what should be in chronological order for next year and do it as you go to save time organizing tax files.
Now you’re ready to take the information to your accountant or enter the information into the tax form yourself. If you’re doing it yourself, consider using a computer program that double checks the return to ensure you’re getting all the deductions you deserve.
To make tax time a little easier next year, consider these tips to organize tax files:
– Use one credit card for business to make it easier to track tax-deductible items
– Use your Paper Tiger software to create locations to keep all tax relevant information at your fingertips.
– Look into a computer program that manages financial information like Quickbooks or Simply Accounting
Schedule a date in your calendar for next year to prepare your taxes earlier. You checklist will be done and at your fingertips!
Despite your best efforts to keep an organized closet, does it still feel like a chaotic mess?
Do you often find yourself thinking “I have nothing to wear!” every morning?
In today’s consumer-driven world, we’re constantly being urged to buy more, and it’s easier than ever to accumulate more than we need. But with these few simple strategies, you’ll easily be able to purge and organize your closet.
Get ready to start each morning feeling fresh and confident in your new calming, functional space!
Think about this for a moment; how much time is wasted while you get ready each morning?
Between eating breakfast, picking an outfit for the day, styling ourselves, packing lunch, and don’t even get me started on adding kids in this routine… that’s a lot to manage!
Each day, we’re already making an average of 35,000 conscious and subconscious decisions. So wouldn’t it be more productive of us to save that extra brainpower and take a few of them off our plate?
There’s one particular moment about creating a organized closet that has always stood out to me, and it happened at the time I was just starting my business.
I was working in the home of a busy mom when she confided in me that the most stressful part of her morning routine was getting dressed.
Once asked when the last time her closet was cleaned out was, she had an epiphany!
She had never realized just how much stress was caused by her closet being disorganized and too full.
The next day I was with her, I said, “Today’s the day we get you an organized closet!”
She excitedly agreed, and one by one I pulled each item out of the closet and asked her:
“Do you love this?”
“Do you wear this?”
“Does it fit and make you feel great when you wear it?”
If she answered No to any of these key questions, the item went straight into the donate pile! (we also had “Try-on” and “Give to friends” piles, too)
Welcome in the fresh air and get a head start this year
with our free Ultimate Spring Cleaning Checklist!
Next, we started to hang related items together in the closet – pants, blazers, cardigans, dresses, skirts, and tops.
Then, we arranged each section by color. I like to go from lights to darks, followed by the classic ordering of the rainbow. Something like this; whites, greys, browns, blacks, then red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet.
Ahhhh, what bliss it was to just awe at such an organized closet!
With everything neatly hung up, we tallied how many hangers we had used and planned a shopping trip.
I made sure to follow an important organizing rule: Never go shopping for containers or other organizing supplies until you’ve sorted through everything.
Many people make this mistake and end up returning most of what they bought. It’s important to know what you need to contain before you try buying the how (supplies).
It is also important to buy the right hangers for the right items in your newly organized closet.
Because in case you don’t know, there are different hangers for pants, skirts, shirts, and jackets!
If you want to know where to find my favorite hangers, check out this Instagram post and DM me for the links!
In my home, we have very limited storage. So I like to keep things contained in an allotted space.
When the stuff starts to spill out of that space, it’s time to let some go. I am constantly (monthly) giving things away and I’m finding that I buy way less than I used to!
Our household is a strong believer in “What’s old for me is new for someone else!”
Invite your friends over and let them tell you what to get rid of!
Try everything on, relive some past memories, have a few laughs, then let those old clothes move out of your old cluttered closet. Now you’re on your way to an organized closet!
Note that your closet says a lot about you. Are you living in the present or living in the past?
BONUS: Let your friends shop your to-go piles! This doubles as a nice gesture for their help, and makes less donation trips for you 😉
This one is self-explanatory – when you buy something new, something old goes out. For example, when I buy a new pair of shoes or any piece of clothing, I remove at least one item from my closet.
Be ruthless!
It’s best to be realistic about what you actually wear, and what looks and feels fabulous on you.
I love passing items onto friends or taking them to my favourite charities. I’m a big supporter of the organization Dress For Success as well as various women’s shelters in my area. Also, keep an eye out for clothing drop bins in your area!
The 80/20 rule states that typically, we wear 20% of our clothes, 80% of the time.
So to follow this and maintain an organized closet, only keep the clothes that you love, use, feel good in, look great in, and THAT FIT! Do not even try to keep clothes that no longer fit or that you won’t wear. Yes, styles do come back eventually, but designers always update the look. (some vintage, designer pieces would be an exception to this rule)
Be realistic!
Whenever I buy something new I use the golden rules above and bring at least 1-3 items to charity or give them away to a friend. Be it clothes, books, jewelery, etc. Just ask my friends Holli and Alison who have been the lucky recipients of many clothes from my organized closet over the years! What’s old for me can be new for someone else 😊
