Category Archive

Same Time Next Year ~ and I don’t mean the movie!

Tax Time!

Here are a couple of quick organizing tips that will help you this tax year and then appreciate them even more next year…..

Flag your files, find it fast.   One of the easiest ways to get started is probably sitting right in your home office to review your records. We’re referring to your tax records from last year! Unless you’ve had significant changes over the year (such as a new baby, investments or home), your past records can provide a good start on what information you’ll need to gather this year. As you review your files, flag items and the files so you can locate them quickly next year.   Consider using Avery NoteTabs for this purpose - if things change, you can remove them from the file or item easily and reuse them and they are color coded if you want to categorize your tax information. 

 Spend less time looking for loose receipts. Americans spend nine million hours a day looking for lost or misplaced items, according to the American Demographics Society.  Develop a system to organize your receipts now and then use it for next year. There are a variety of options but I love to use the Avery PocketTabs™.  Use the convenient pocket to store receipts for all your deductible expenses you collect throughout the year. The removable, repositionable pocket can be attached easily inside your file folders, and has a closeable flap to keep your contents secure. You could also create a tax receipt binder and attach the pocket tabs to card stock in the binder. Take it one step further, categorize each pocket tab – gas, meals, parking, medical, donations…etc. You can find out more about these products by visiting your office supply retailer such as Staples or visiting www.avery.ca or www.avery.com.  

If you need help getting organized for tax time, send us an email at jane@productivitysquared.com.  

Another Product to Consider…

I’ve finally found the perfect way to easily store a growing collection of the “pashminas”, shawls and scarves that now dominate so many of our wardrobes and add color, warmth and uniqueness to basic clothes.  There is a line of hangers spied at “Winners” that have 10 non-slip padded bars that each lift up and out, hanging on one frame.  In the space of one hanger (actually two!), I can now neatly hang my collection so they are not only easy to see but equally easy to remove, and even more importantly for people like me, to hang up again!

They are so brilliant that I would like to own stock in the company but I am also figuring out what else I can use them for.  Tablecloths, napkins, towels, pants come immediately to mind.  Goodbye to all those boxes on shelves that are so pretty but still need to be dragged down to see and retrieve what’s inside. Sometimes, it was just too much time and/or trouble.  “10 Tier Slack Rack”, from Richards Homewares, which you can purchase at Winners for less than $15 each.

I hope you will share some of your organizing finds to encourage peace, harmony and space!

Milano Bag

Role modeling organization can be both strategic and challenging.  Clients and potential clients may never see your closets or garages but they do see what you look like and your personal tools of the trade.

I have searched the world – literally – for the “perfect” bag; light, unobtrusive, big enough to actually hold what I need plus emergency provisions, but designed in a functional way to keep track of what I am lugging around so I can find it with minimum fuss.

Nothing is perfect, of course, but I think I have hit on something that is working for me, acceptable to the airlines, tough and sturdy, that can even be “touched up” with a scarf or pin if you want individualization.  Made by Milano, you can find it at a Container Store or order on line for US$34.95.  My laptop fits in the center compartment which zips. It’s the outside of the bag that is particularly useful.  One side has three separate zippered compartments to handle a few files, wallet, small makeup bag, phone and other essentials. The other side is full length with a Velcro tab and handles a book, magazine, etc. And the price is right!

Check it out at ContainerStore.com.