Organizing Matters^®
Professional Organizer
Houston, TX 

OM@OrganizingMatters.com
www.OrganizingMatters.com
281-304-0695

(When e-mailing; PLEASE put ORGANIZING in the subject line.  Thanks!)

Beauty

Beauty Tips, sometimes the best beauty tips are in our own back yard.  These are the best ever.
Make-up Expiration Guidelines, by Linda Ely Durham

Check Lists

Michelle Deo of [ real neat ], a professional organizer in Georgetown Kentucky, has done a wonderful job collecting helpful organizing resources.  She has a marvelous list of check list web sites.  I could have copied the same list onto my web site but I wanted to give her credit for doing the leg work.  Enjoy.  Here is her resources page: http://www.realneat.com/resources.html If the link doesn't work for you, just go to her main page, www.realneat.com and click on her resources page. 

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Clutter

You've made the decisions or you're ready to make the decisions to part with stuff but then what?  How do you actually get the stuff OUT.  A few things come into play such as; "Gee, it would be nice to recoup some of my money.", "I could use a nice tax deduction", "I'd just like to find someone to LOVE my stuff as much as I do."  Here's a little help on all fronts:

Flag Retirement
When United States flags get tattered and wear out, they might become clutter in the back of a closet.  The United States Flag Code states, "The flag, when it is in such condition that it is no longer a fitting emblem for display, should be destroyed in a dignified way, preferably by burning." Citizens can destroy their own flags by fire so long as it is done so in a respectful manor, not in conjunction with any other burning and so long as the flag is completely destroyed and unrecognizable.  Ashes do not have to be buried. To donate worn flags for proper retirement contact your local Boy Scout troop or VFW.

For more information on proper care of flags:  
http://www.senate.gov/reference/resources/pdf/RL30243.pdf 

Garage Sale
Garage Sale Tips, by Linda Durham

Give away
Find collectors in your area, use the internet.  
Go to your local flea market and find someone selling what you need to get rid of and strike up a deal.  
Offer things to household help, gardener, or child care provider.  If you don't use any home services, check with your friends if you don't use any services.
Friend having a garage sale, give h/her the whole lot, no strings attached.

Target your donations to organizations that have specific needs such as;
www.ProjectLinus.org  Clean, fabrics & acrylic yarns
Local Children's Hospitals, emergency room or hospital pediatric unit. Gently used children's books
Local animal shelter;  old towels
www.Care-Net.org  or emergency pregnancy centers in your area;  gently used maternity items, baby clothes and baby equipment
www.DressForSuccess.org interview appropriate suits, shoes, purses and new hosiery.  (*larger sizes in great demand)  
www.PetSmart.com Store Locator.  Each PetSmart^® store adopts a local pet adoption organization.  The adoption organizations are often in need of basic supplies that you may think of discarding such as; old towels, small washable throw rugs, pet bowls and toys, unopened pet food, small litter pans (or similarly sized Gladware^® containers) that can fit in the cages. 

                        All items should be cleaned and washed before donating.

Taxes, Donation Record Keeping, see Papers, Taxes (below)

Toy Clutter
Giving Day, by Linda Ely Durham

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Containers & Organizing Product

MADE in AMERICA.  Yes, it's that important.  If given the chance, Americans want to buy American made products.  We can quality at extremely reasonable prices from the following manufacturers:

www.Sterilite.com:  Sterilite Corporation has 5 manufacturing plants in the United States.  All of their products are manufactured here. 

Simple Division® Garment Organizers, available at www.ClutterDiet.com or The Container Store.  Sort, put away and find your clothes easily with the Simple Division® Garment Organizer Tags.  They come with 12 plastic tags that hang on your closet rod, labels such as 'Shirts', 'Dresses'.  (In English and Spanish)

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Family Forms

Glove Box Accident Information Card  It's very difficult to think straight when you've been in a fender bender.  This is especially true if you have teenage drivers in your home.  Having all the vital information is key to resolving claims quickly.  Print out on card stock.  Have several in each vehicle.  

Mom Notes  For quick notes from Mom, download and customize this form.  Change the clip art, the children's names and your name at the bottom.

A Note To School, A quick check note to send to school with your children.  

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Finances

Credit
Building Better Credit, The Federal Information Center, Pueblo, CO
How To Dispute Credit Report Errors, The US Federal Trade Commission 
Identity Theft, When Bad Things Happen to Your Name, The US Federal Trade Commission 
Negotiating With Creditors, by Linda Ely Durham
Protect Your Credit, by Linda Ely Durham
Your Credit Score, Consumer Federation of America, Fair Isaac Corporation

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General Information

http://www.pueblo.gsa.gov/ , & http://www.pueblo.gsa.gov/specpubs.htm#MM , The Federal Citizen Information Center in Pueblo Colorado has an incredible bank of consumer information, most of which is downloadable at no cost.

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Homemaking Resources

Food Storage and Preparation

Get some fresh air in the pantry and light in the refrigerator!  People are slow to let go of FOOD clutter (yes, FOOD clutter) because they don't want to be wasteful.  If something is stale or past its freshness date, consider it already wasted.  Get over it, get rid of it and buy more carefully next time.  Learn your family's consumption rate.  Try to apply some simple maintenance level principles such as having one spare item on less often used items, a week's worth of perishables and a month's worth of staples.  Here are some food shelf life guidelines to help you cut the FOOD clutter:  

Canned & Dry Goods Storage Guidelines, by Linda Ely Durham
Fruit & Vegetable Storage Guidelines, by Linda Ely Durham
Refrigerated & Frozen Storage Guidelines, by Linda Ely Durham

For decades, home extension offices have been a wealth of information on everything pertaining to home, home farming/gardening, pest control and other basic family information needs.  Here are some excellent web sites: 

Ohio State University Extension Office
University of Georgia Extension Office 
USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service  
For more information, contact the extension office of your state university.  If you find a resource that you would like to share with others, please submit it to the web site administrator:  om@OrganizingMatters.com  

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Organizing Articles & Information

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Organizing Products

www.123Sortit.com
www.ClutterLess.org
www.Messies.com
www.OrganizersWebRing.com
www.OrganizeYourWorld.com
www.OnlineOrganizing.com
www.cableorganizer.com
www.lifeorganizers.com

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Papers

Paper clutter is one of the biggest problems people have in their homes.  Information is your best tool in making decisions.

Emergency Preparedness
Organizing Your Lifebook,  by Cindi Meador Pirtle 

File Helps 
Cross Reference Card, a cross reference card  can help you keep track of in commonly misfiled items.

Junk Mail
Direct Marketing Association Mail Preference Service post cards  Download and print DMA postcards on card stock, cut into quarters and use them to remove your name(s) from direct mailing lists.  You should fill out one post card for each addressee in the home, including all variations of names, even erroneous names.  Because a signature is required for the DMA Mail Preference Service to be activated, for security purposes, you may wish to send the postcard enclosed in an envelope. 

Keep or Toss?
How long do I have to keep my bank statements, credit card statements, investment stuff and tax records?  Most of us could figure out what to do with our papers if we just have the right information at our finger tips.  Here are a few things that will help you.

IRS Tax Publication 552, Record Keeping for Individuals
Keeping Household Records, The Federal Citizen Information Center, Pueblo, CO
Proper Care of your Shredder, by Linda Ely Durham
Records Retention Schedule, by Linda Ely Durham

Medical Paperwork
Organizing medical paperwork is one of the most arduous kinds of home papers to understand, organize and manage.  The following form may help you keep track of how much you have paid to physicians/providers/medical institutions:  
Medical Expense Calculator  (xls version)
Medical Expense Form  (pdf version)

There is a line provided for you to enter your physician/provider/medical institution.  Each month, tally your amount paid to each physician/provider/medical institution.  Enter physician/provider/medical institution name in column A, enter total amount paid to that physician/provider/medical institution in the appropriate month block.   If you tally your medical expenses paid and enter them into this form each month, it will keep a running total by provider or by month and will give your year end totals. 

If your record keeping needs are complicated or extensive, you may wish to purchase;
Quicken Medical Expense Manager, from the makers of Turbo Tax™.  www.Intuit.com.

For help processing your insurance claim and flexible spending claims:  
Insurance Claims Made Easier  by Linda Ely Durham
Insurance Terminology For Families, as appears on the University of Chicago, Illinois web site.

Safe Deposit
Safe Deposit Contents, by Linda Ely Durham

Taxes
http://www.irs.gov/formspubs/ IRS Tax forms and publications.  This is an excellent source of income tax information.  It's very user friendly.  You can search for publications and forms by number or by subject.  

Donation record keeping
Donation check list, by Linda Durham
Getting Maximum Donation Value For Taxes, by Linda Ely Durham
www.ItsDeductible.com, Fail-proof tax donation resource
IRS Publication 526
IRS Publication 561

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Time Management

For some reason, when one part of your life is out of control, everything seems to follow.  To help you see how your time, calories and money are spent, try logging each for a day or so.  See the problem is the first step in fixing it. 
Time, Calorie & Expense Log  (xls version)  
Time, Calorie & Expense Log  (pdf version)

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Professional Organizing Career

Here are a few things that can help you if you are considering a career as a professional organizer.  

Tips for New Professional Organizers, by Linda Ely Durham
Keys to Business Success, by Linda Ely Durham
Top 10 Considerations in Becoming a Professional Organizer, The National Association of Professional Organizers

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Copyright © 1999-2012 Organizing Matters^®|  Contact Us /  281-304-0695 / OM@OrganizingMatters.com  (When e-mailing; PLEASE put ORGANIZING in the subject line.  Thanks!) s has been a professional organizer in Houston, Texas since 1999.  She is a me10er of The National Association of Professional Organizers.