Tag Archives: organized

Getting Organized ~ Controlling Paper Clutter is an Ongoing Job

I have a confession to make … it’s time to come clean … I issued a challenge to all of you in our Newsletter, but I haven’t been able to do it completely 🙁

I really wanted to get my piles of paper clutter organized and filed … but it wasn’t meant to be. Not in February anyway, but it’s OK ~ I got a little bit done, and “every little bit helps” 🙂 I was able to shred my pile of “you’re pre-approved” mail and “opt out” of receiving them. I also spent a lot of time preparing financial spreadsheets to give to our tax guy. I’ve made myself a goal to enter this data monthly from now on … no more procrastinating and waiting to the last minute.

I also spent some time going through and deleting some files on our family computer. As long as I’m confessing, I still had many, many homeschooling files … and, yes, my youngest child graduated in 2011 😉 I have to remind my perfectionist self that “every little bit helps”!

So, they say confession is good for the soul, and so is forgiveness … so I am forgiving myself, instead of mentally beating myself up. This paper clutter is an ongoing challenge that I will continue chipping away at … I hope you’ll join me.

How My To-Do List Helps Me Get & Stay Organized

I love lists … it’s true ! I love making them, but I especially love checking things off my to-do list.

I make many kinds of lists, but my to-do list is my main list and then I make off-shoot lists from it. For example, I may list: go grocery shopping, run errands and pay bills on my to-do list. An off-shoot list from grocery shopping would be a meal plan list and a shopping list ~ an off-shoot from run errands might be drop off dry cleaning, return library books and pick up a prescription from the drug store ~ an off-shoot for paying bills might be to balance the check book, schedule individual online payments and then file the statements. Usually my main off-shoot type list is grocery related … only if I’ve procrastinated / blown things off like running the errands or reconciling the bank account, do I break it down into doable chunks. Writing tasks down is a way for me organize my thoughts and make a plan to accomplish everything. I’m a visual learner, so having a list in front of me helps me to see the “big picture” and then be able to prioritize things. Continue reading →

Back to School Time = Have an Organized Plan Time

Tis the season … Back to School season, that is 🙂

Yes, friends, it’s that time of the year again … and with it brings a myriad of feelings from anticipation/dread to stress/relief … and anywhere in between.

While my kids are no longer attending school, I remember that it can be a stressful and expensive time of year. I, personally, always felt better when I had a good plan. As a homeschooling family living on a single income:

I tried to set aside some money each payday during the summer for school supplies and textbooks/curriculum.
I attended conferences to get new & fresh ideas from other parents.
I tried to have my school year ‘planned out’ by mid summer, so I could be on the lookout for great prices on the curriculum I planned to use for the upcoming school year.
I tried to find used textbooks at Homeschool Used Curriculum Sales. Many times, I could buy used books from other homeschool families in my coop.
I also searched online for used books.

Some of my favorite websites were eBay.com and Half.com. I’ve found some good deals on some Facebook Groups pages and on Craigslist. I also like vegsource.com and homeschoolclassifieds.com. I have purchased, as well as, sold on both of these linked websites … it isn’t very hard 🙂 These two sites also have a convenient ‘want to buy’ tab. If you are in the market for any high school level curriculum (yes, I’m still emptying my last homeschool bookshelf), I am currently selling some Rosetta Stone and AO LifePacs foreign language and ABeka language arts items … check them out at the links above 🙂

Could you use some help with planning your Back to School schedule ~ lesson plans ~ school supply shopping ~ online research ?

Contact Tracy Helps You ~ I’ll come alongside you to help get it all figured out … then you can breathe a sigh of relief & focus on enjoying the last, long dog days of summer with your family 🙂

Getting Organized ~ Kids Toys Storage Tips & Ideas

Back in the old days, a.k.a. when I was a little kid, toys storage was a wooden toy box … all or most of my toys fit in it. To be truthful, I had a little cradle where my dolls “slept” when I wasn’t playing with them and a small bookcase.

In the 90’s, when my kids were little, they each had a big, plastic Little Tykes toy box. Both my children were a little spoiled (ok … a lot spoiled) by very generous grandparents. If I remember correctly, they had more toys than they knew what to do with. The toy boxes were always so jam packed, that the lids wouldn’t fit. I started supplementing the storage space with square laundry baskets. I noticed that they mostly played with the toys in the baskets, and not with the toys in the toy box. I finally figured out that the toy box was overwhelming for them … they couldn’t find what they were looking for without pulling everything out. Continue reading →

Getting Organized ~ Tips For Keeping Your Filing Cabinet Organized

I don’t know about you, but I’m kinda glad the Holidays are over. Don’t get me wrong … I LOVE the Holiday season, but I’m the kind of person who does better having a routine. Part of me likes being in “vacation mode” ~ but the other part of me longs to get back to my routine / schedule 🙂

January is the perfect time to take a good look at your files. In the first couple of weeks of January, I like to purge and get my files organized. It’s a new year, and the perfect time to update your file cabinet.

I usually sort through and file my paperwork once a month, but I skipped November and December. You know how it is … decorating, baking, shopping, wrapping, going to all those holiday parties … so I spent a few hours last week trying to get caught up 🙂

First I updated my household management file box. I purged all of 2012 papers, then moved all of my 2013 files into the last year folder to make way for this year. For a more thorough explanation of my filing system, you can check out my previous blog post here. I then had quite a large stack of 2012 documents to shred.

Then I had to take my own advice, and get my paper clutter back under control. In just those couple of months, my paperwork and junk mail really piled up.

Now I have a fairly full recycle bin (lots of holiday sale papers). Unfortunately, I was only able get partially through my shred pile because my shredder died … so I’m on the lookout for a great sale price on a new one.

Are you making progress on getting your paper clutter under control ? Share your tips and techniques with us 🙂

photo by: mrmanc

Tracy Helps You’s Tips for Holiday Parties

December is here and with it comes numerous invitations to Holiday parties and get-togethers. I attended one last night and have another tonight, and it’s only the beginning.

Santa Hats … Fun Christmas Dessert

It’s always so much fun to spend time together with friends and indulge in delicious foods. There is usually a buffet table loaded with quite a variety of appetizers, desserts and drinks … that’s probably where you’ll find most of the guests 🙂

Which brings me to my tip for Holiday Parties … I always ask if I can bring something. Many of these parties are actually annual celebrations for various groups I belong to, like my bowling league, small group or choir. We have a Christmas party every year and all bring a dish to share.

As you know, I love lists … so I created a list (spreadsheet) for Party Food. I keep track of what dish I bring to each party, each year, so I don’t bring the same thing to the next year’s party or to another group party (some people overlap groups). I also keep a copy of the recipes with my list. Then it’s easy to send a copy to someone if they enjoyed my dish and asked for the recipe. I try to plan out what dishes I’ll be bringing after everything is cleaned up on Thanksgiving night (my official start of the Christmas season) … I just love having a plan 🙂

I really enjoy looking through magazines and cookbooks for new recipes to try out. Actually, my latest obsession is browsing on Pinterest … don’t knock it til you’ve tried it 🙂

PS … I brought the little Santa Hats last night, they were a big hit … I’m bringing the Pita Christmas Trees tonight !

Getting Organized – Tips For Filing Your Important Documents and Paper Work

Filing … I don’t know anyone who likes to do it, at home or at the office. However, it has to be done or you’ll have mountains of paperwork and won’t be able to find anything when you need it.

There are numerous different approaches and tips to setting up an organized filing system. You can probably spend the better part of a day searching Google for the best one. The trick is finding what works for your household needs. Once you decide which setup is right for your family, it basically comes down to the mundane task of ‘just do it’ 🙂

Here is what works for me … Continue reading →

photo by: 401(K) 2013

Getting Organized – Garage Storage

It can be overwhelming, where do you begin?

I recommend that you start small. Assess the whole project and then try to break it down into more manageable parts.

Take the garage for example. Typically, they hold much more than just our cars. For most families, the garage is one of the main storage areas. As a matter of fact, some people park their car in the driveway and use the garage space exclusively for storage. Continue reading →

photo by: joguldi