Peace of Mind Organizing

Have you done your taxes? It's not too late.

30 March 2011

I used to be a huge procrastinator when it came to taxes. Back then, I was always afraid I’d owe money and the fear of finding that out would paralyze me. Not smart, I know. But it was my emotions, not my brain, making that decision.

I’m happy to report that I haven’t filed an extension since 2007. That’s mostly because my husband took over taking care of our personal finances and all I handle is my business’s, so there’s no longer a mad rush to catch up on entering data and so forth. I am the one in our family who prepares the taxes, however. (Thank you, TurboTax.)

We filed our taxes earlier this month and we’ve already received the refunds. Looking back at the procrastination and panicky feelings that accompanied even thinking about taxes, compared to the peace I now feel about them, here’s what pops to mind:

• Since you have to do your taxes eventually, you might as well save money and do them on time.

• Filing your tax-related documents throughout the year (I use Freedom Filer to make it easy), sure beats frantically searching for them at tax time.

• Using financial software like Quicken or Quickbooks (and entering as you go throughout the year, something I’m only just now getting the hang of) takes the stress out of tax preparation.

• Not knowing that you owe the IRS money doesn’t make things any better. Better to find out just what you owe as soon as possible so you can figure out where it’s going to come from.

• Once you’ve dealt with paying the IRS, it’s smart to figure out how to avoid it next year.

• Getting an ample refund may not be smart money management (why give Uncle Sam an interest-fee loan?) but it sure is beats writing a big check on April 15!

Speaking of April 15, I wanted to make sure you’re aware that this year taxes are due on Monday, April 18. That’s because April 15 is a holiday, Emancipation Day, celebrated in Washington, D.C., and all federal and D.C. offices will be closed. Emancipation Day, usually celebrated April 16 (a Saturday this year) commemorates the signing by Abraham Lincoln on April 16, 1862 of the Compensated Emancipation Act, which freed 3100 slaves in the District of Columbia, almost nine months before the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation. It was made a District holiday in 2005.

If you’re thinking about filing an extension this year, maybe you should reconsider. You still have 20 days. And if you’re like I used to be, you probably won’t start working on taxes until a couple of weeks before the new due date. Man, I do not miss that stress.

Messy does not equal disorganized

28 March 2011

I’m a messy person. And (clearly) I’m not ashamed of it. You might find it surprising that a professional organizer is messy. But that might be because you think that messy and disorganized are synonymous. Trust me, they’re not.

Messy does not equal disorganized. I may be messy, but I am organized. In other words, almost everything in my home has a place. (And it’s a well thought out place.) I just have a hard time putting stuff away with a great deal of regularity. Things have gotten better over the years, as I’ve developed new habits and routines.

We’re not talking epic messiness, but my surroundings are less orderly than you would expect an organizer’s to be. And that’s okay with me. The biggest compliment people can give my home, as far as I’m concerned, is “comfortable.” That’s what I like to think my home is.

Sometimes I’ll walk into a client’s home for the first time and see that it’s neater than mine. That used to freak me out. But what I’ve discovered is the flip side of the equation: Neat does not equal organized.

Sometimes people who loathe visual clutter will stash things away so their homes look neat. But then they can’t find anything, because things are put away in a haphazard manner without regard for organization. That’s neat but it’s not organized.

Remember, you can’t judge a book by its cover. (And we shouldn’t be judging anyway, should we?)

Find me at your health food store

25 March 2011

I was interviewed for an article that appears in the March 2011 issue of Energy Times a glossy magazine that is distributed at health food stores around the country. The article, called Organized Calm: Clearing clutter can make you more efficient, and more peaceful appears in the magazine’s “Holistic Healing” section, which somehow tickles me. If you want to pick up an issue, it’s the one with Raquel Welch on the cover.

I’m also one of the expert sources for an article on how to pack a suitcase that appeared in Vox Magazine, in Columbia, Missouri.

Incidentally, last year I created a Press Room section of my website, which lists my media appearances. I try to keep it up to date when new articles like these come along.

Have a great weekend. It’s currently snowing here in St. Louis. (Never mind that it was 73 degrees two days ago!)

SuperFocus rocks

23 March 2011

Mark Forster, my favorite time management guru, introduced a new task management system, SuperFocus, on February 7 of this year. I’ve been using it since that very day and I’m ready to weigh in on it.

If you’re a long-time reader of this blog, you know that Mark is constantly reinventing and improving his task-management systems. When he comes out with a new iteration, I usually try it, since I think so highly of him.

Before introducing SuperFocus Mark tested it extensively and reported on his discussion forum that he thought this might actually be a perfect time management system. Whoa! Those are strong words (especially from someone I think of as humble). I was definitely anxious to give it a try.

The Reader’s Digest version of my review of SuperFocus is this: It’s fantastic. Try it.

Here’s a longer version. SuperFocus is essentially a reworking of Autofocus, Mark’s task-management system that relied on your intuition to select tasks to do and also employed a very effective method of dismissing tasks. SuperFocus retains those features, but adds an improved way to handle urgent and unfinished tasks, which Autofocus didn’t do so well.

I’m not going to describe the methodology. You can read Mark’s instructions here. But I will tell you that it’s very easy to try. All you need is a ruled notebook and a pen. (A straight-edge to draw a straight line is handy too.) The instructions are free.

I do want to tell you what I love about it:

• It provides structure to my day and helps me get stuff done.
• I write everything down so I don’t have to worry about forgetting anything.
• I work through the list faster than I did with Autofocus.
• Urgent and important items aren’t lost at the end of the list.
• It’s portable. (I just put my notebook in my purse when I leave the house.)
• It’s simple, once I learned the rules.
• I don’t have to prioritize. I hate prioritizing.
• I don’t have to make new lists.

If your task-management system isn’t working for you, I urge you to give SuperFocus a try. It’s easy. It’s free. What have you got to lose?

Kanban for knitting

21 March 2011

Last summer, I wrote about Personal Kanban a visual task-management system that I was trying on for size. It involves using a whiteboard or wall, writing tasks on post-it notes, and moving the post-its from Backlog to Doing to Done columns. An important part of the system is limiting the number of tasks/projects you have in the “Doing” column.

Here’s a photo of my kanban board from last August, taken from my blog post on the topic:

Daily tasks are stashed in the lower right area.

I enjoyed that system for awhile, but I got so busy that my board couldn’t hold all the tasks. I ended up going back to Mark Forster’s Autofocus task-management system and have since moved on to his new SuperFocus system, which I’m nuts about.

I noticed in my web analytics report (I love Woopra) that someone had made his or her way to my website using the search term “kanban for knitting” and that got me thinking.

I realized that the kanban system might be helpful for keeping track of my knitting projects. Right now I’m in a bit of a knitting slump. I have a few projects that are started and stalled in the knitting phase and a couple more that are stalled in the finishing phase (an afghan that has to be seamed and another that needs edging).

I had a lovely, fabric covered bulletin board adorning a wall near my yarn stash and it had nothing on it. So I transformed it into a knitting kanban board, using yarn to create four columns. They are:

• Possibilities
• Knitting
• Finishing
• Completed

I wrote the names of different knitting projects on index cards and pinned them to the appropriate column of the board. This allows me to see at a glance where I stand on projects. I’ll get the pleasure of moving the card along when I start a new phase of a project. The “Completed” column allows me to revel in my accomplishments.

Here’s a photo of my freshly minted Knitting Kanban board:

It makes me happy.

Disposing of old medications

18 March 2011

We all know that the once-popular practice of flushing unwanted medicines down the toilet is a bad idea. Unwanted chemicals can get into the water supply and that can’t be good for us. But what should be done with medications that are expired or no longer needed?

The website SMARxT Disposal has loads of information on the topic, but the bottom line (as illustrated in the video on the site) is that you should:

• dump solid medications (tablets, capsules, etc) into a sealable bag
• dump liquid medications on top of them
• add a small amount of water to dissolve the solid medications
• add coffee grounds or kitty litter to make the bag unattractive to children or animals
• dump the whole bag in the garbage

An even easier way to dispose of your unwanted meds will take place on April 30, 2011. That’s the date of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s National Drug Take-Back Day for people to dispose of unwanted or unused prescription drugs. Go the the National Take-Back Initiative’s website to search for a collection site near you.

No matter how you dispose of your unwanted prescription medications, be sure to remove all identifying information from the bottle. Those prescription labels can be used for medical identify theft. I recommend peeling off the labels, sticking them to scrap paper and shredding them.

Disposal is a big part of the decluttering equation and I know that many people are thwarted in their efforts because they want to dispose of things properly. This method for disposing of medications keeps the water safe and keeps the pills out of the hands of people who might abuse them.

Secrets of Getting Organized

16 March 2011

I’m quoted in one of the articles in the Better Homes and Gardens magazine, Secrets of Getting Organized. The article I was interviewed for is called “From cluttered to clean: The art of organizing.” This is actually the second printing of the magazine, which originally appeared in March 2010. It was so popular, Better Homes and Gardens decided to reprint it.

Other articles in the 112-page, advertising-free magazine include: Ready, Set, Get Motivated!, Paper-Busting Guide, then six other articles each on a different area of the home. More than a dozen professional organizers are quoted in the magazine, including Peter Walsh, Stephanie Denton, Donna Smallin, Lorie Morrero, and Audrey Thomas. I’m delighted to be in such great company!

The magazine is on the newsstand now. (I just bought a copy at Target.) It’s chock full of organizing gems.