Magazines and Catalogs

There are a lot of magazines out there in the world. Lots of kinds; lots of issues. I would wager there are even more catalogs out there. It's easy to let them stack up, but it's easy to pare down, too.

First thing's first: gather them up from all over the house into one gigantic pile!

Second, like any other organizing project, separate into categories. If you have tons and tons, start with magazine vs. catalog. If it's just a medium sized stack, separate out by publication. For example, People Magazine in one pile, Better Homes & Gardens in another and Hammacher Schlemmer in a third.

Now, address a pile at a time. Let's start with catalogs. Decide if it's a catalog you'd actually want to order something from. If the answer is no, recycle all of it's issues. If you would order something, keep the most current and recycle the rest.

Do a similar sort for magazines: Keep the most current issues or two, at most, of a magazine you'd actually want to read. Recycle the rest; recycle all magazines you'd never read.

Try to keep the keepers in an area you will be able to see and remember to peruse them.

Most importantly, unsubscribe from the publications that you don't even want to enter your home. You can certainly contact the publisher directly, but that will take some time. Consider using a website like Catalog Choice to mass unsubscribe from many different publications.

I Want in Your Drawers!

(Not those drawers!)

Everyone has a junk drawer. The goal is to make sure every drawer you have isn't a junk drawer.

We store all kinds of things in drawers - silverware, utensils, pens, rubber bands, stamps, bookmarks, twist-ties, menus, straws, matches.....the list just keeps going. How can we make some sense of  it all?

First, take it all out of there! As you pull things out, set them on the counter in categories (all those things I just listed). Wipe out the drawer now that it's empty. Take a look at those categories. Do you want all the items in each pile? Pull things out for trash and donation. Now, ask yourself if any of these piles belong some place else. Do you have tons of office supplies from the drawer that belong in your home office? Have you found Legos that belong in the toy box? Beauty products that should go back to the bathroom? Set those items aside to deliver to their homes after you're done with the drawers (Don't risk the distraction of walking away in the middle of a project!).

From what you've got left, set the drawer up so categories stay separated and easy to grab. Dividers don't have to be fancy. This drawer perfectly fit some used Amazon boxes!

Sometimes, it's easier to contain all the items in the drawers and place the containers inside the drawer. Like here, with tube-shaped containers to hold markers, pencils and more supplies for crafts:






I also like this photo from Buzzfeed. It shows a deep drawer, popular in kitchens with newer construction. These deep drawers are great for casserole dishes and pots and pans, but can be a challenge for silverware. This a is a great solution: turn the silverware to stand tall, divide and conquer!



What solutions have you found for your drawers?

Improvising

Sometimes I walk in to a project that seems like it just can't be finished...yet.

For example, earlier this week, I was helping a new home owner unpack and settle in to her new place. We started with the kitchen, which was spacious and appeared to have more than enough room to store her dishes, pots and gadgets. The kitchen included a large pantry to house all the food items, as well.

However, a couple boxes in, we realized something. Some construction was still going on in the home - just little things. Knobs being added, switch plates screwed on and a couple doors to attach were still on the to-do list. Unfortunately, this included the shelving to go in the pantry.

Now, I don't know about you, but I love food. Eating it. Preparing it. And, I'd like to think my client would also enjoy having access to her food stuffs.

So, I improvised. We had plenty of packing boxes that would otherwise just be broken down and taken out to the alley to recycle. So, I made them into temporary storage cubes.

While unpacking, we also found a couple stacking shelves from the previous home that were no longer needed anywhere in the new home. They fit perfectly in between the stacked boxes. They also provided some support for the cardboard on the sides of the lower boxes, making the entire system a little more reliable.

No need to go out and purchase something for a temporary fix. No need to leave all the food just stacked on the floor or still packed away in boxes. And, in the long run, it allowed my client to get a better idea of what categories of food for which she will need permanent storage in the pantry. The good news is, she'll still have more than enough space to store what she wants.

Get Your Business Together

As tax time looms, most of us start to feel the stress of getting our papers and information together. If you're a business owner, like myself, you might feel double the stress as your prepare your business and personal taxes. Here are a few ideas to help get the business side of things ready for your tax preparer:

- Purge Your Files: Go through your paper filing system and shred/recycle anything that won't be needed for your 2014 taxes. If you're not sure what you'll need, contact your tax preparer or check out the IRS website. Now, these files should be relatively empty and available for whatever you collect during 2015.

- Clear Out the Office, in General: Are there stacks of things for shredding? Take them in to a shredding service. Broken electronics? Recycle them properly. (Ask me if you need a resource for these services!) Make sure the office is ready for work, not other tasks that are taking up your time.

- Tackle Those Receipts: Every business has expenses. (If yours doesn't, let me know how to do that!) The IRS will now accept scanned documents just as well as the original, should you need supporting documents. Consider scanning receipts in 2015, as they come in on a weekly or monthly basis. As for the receipts you have from 2014, look through them and jot down on the receipt what kind of expense it was (food, supplies, services, etc.).

- Look at the Numbers: Time to take out your checkbook and balance it! Or, at least, open up your computer program used for tracking expenses. Make sure you've noted all those receipts over the year, as well as all the income. Make sure the amounts in each category of expenses equals the same number of your yearly total expenses!

- Make Sense of Your Inbox: Sift through your electronic correspondences for proof of expenses, income and donations. Save a screen shot of these communications instead of printing them out. No need to waste paper, ink and space in your file. Save the screenshots to your 2014 Taxes digital file.

- Wait for Your Refund!

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