The tax deadline is quickly approaching.

How can you make next year’s tax time less stressful?

Create two files in your filing cabinet called “Current Year’s Taxes” and “Last Year’s Taxes”.

Current year’s tax file

This is your catch-all file for anything you will need for filing taxes such as:

• Donation receipts – place copies of your checks, donation thank you letters, or even hand scribbled notes as reminders of the donations you made. Include the receipt if you donated items you purchased.
• End-of the-year forms such as W2s, mortgage interest statements, etc. File them immediately when you receive them so they don’t get lost in a pile of paper.
• Any other information you will need for filing your taxes.

When it comes time to file your taxes, everything you need can be found in this file. No more hunting around for receipts or trying to remember what donations you made throughout the year.

Last Year’s Tax File

Keep the past year’s tax folder for easy reference when filing your taxes.

Tax time can be a little less stressful with some simple organization.

While you are on the road, you need to keep your business receipts in one place. You are required to turn in an expense report to reimburse you for work-related expenses. Your saved receipts are scattered all over your glove box, your wallet, your briefcase and your car. How do you tame the paper trail? Here are some suggestions.

1. Invest in a Filing Cabinet

Your receipts will ultimately come to rest in a filing cabinet. Invest in a good locking filing cabinet and fill it with hanging folders, manila folders and small envelopes. Create a hanging folder for each month, placing labeled manila folders inside. Place the information that you have sent your accounting department into that folder. Include the printout of the PDFs, the actual receipts, and any copies of your accountant’s paperwork. This will provide proof in case anything gets lost.

2. Start a Spreadsheet

A spreadsheet can help you keep your categories organized. You do not have to use elaborate accounting software. All you need is a simple spreadsheet program which separates information into cells. Enter your pertinent information into the spreadsheet, including date, category, place, purpose, and amount. Keep a separate tab for each month.

3. Scan Your Receipts

Scan your receipts, one at a time, into PDF format. Use pertinent information in the name of the file. If you’ve got a gas receipt for October, label the file ‘October – Gas – 101010 – 2485.’ After you have scanned your receipts, put the originals into a single folder for that month. At the end of the month, create a single file of PDFs for that month and combine it with the information from your spreadsheet.

4. Shoeboxed

Shoeboxed will organize your receipts into an easy-to-use format. [Free, Plans start at $9.95 per month] If you do not have time to scan your receipts, place them into one of the postage-paid envelopes that Shoeboxed provides and mail them. Shoeboxed will scan your documents and organize them. For those businesses with backlogged receipts, Shoeboxed offers special plans to assist their customers.

5. Be Regular

Take a few moments every week to scan and file your documents. This keeps you from being faced with a mountain at the end of the month. The entire process of scanning, noting, and filing should take no longer than an hour. This process will save frantic searches and scrambling to get your expense reports filed on time.

6. Keep a Folder in Your Briefcase

While you are on the road, it is sometimes not feasible to scan and file your reimbursable receipts. Keep all of your receipts in one place by carrying a manila folder in your briefcase. This folder should have stapled edges. You should carry a single envelope within the folder for the smaller receipts. Nothing will get lost, and you can provide notations on the outside of the folder.

7. Know Your Accountant

Accounting departments will inevitably issue rules for reimbursement practices. Find out their requirements before you establish your personal filing system. Do they want to receive physical receipts? Are they just as pleased with scanned documents? Do you need to hand write everything for authenticity? For larger companies, there is usually a requirements list. Is there anything that will expedite the process?

The best way to handle the clutter of paper receipts is to attend to them immediately. When this is not possible, set aside a regular time each week to scan, sort, and put away your receipts. You will no longer have to worry about tiny slips of paper populating your wallet, billfold, or purse. If you are organized, your accounting department will reward you with faster reimbursement.

James Adams writes for Cartridge Save, but contributes guest posts regularly to other blogs. He analyzes and reviews Dell ink cartridges among other printer cartridges.

Do you shop online?

The convenience of online shopping makes it an attractive option when time is limited.

Want to continue to receive updates about clearance sales without cluttering up your regular email account?

Create an email to use just for online shopping

Use a free email account (Live, Gmail, etc.) which has many advantages:

1. All communication regarding shopping goes in one place.
   
   
2. Your regular email account isn’t cluttered with sales updates.
   
   
3. Live and Gmail have wonderful spam filters.
   
   
4. If spam ever gets to be a problem you can easily:
   • Create a new email account
   • Update your profile information only with the stores you purchase items from.
   • Delete the older email account.
5. If you change internet providers, your shopping email account isn’t effected.

Many people have photos everywhere: they could be dumped into boxes, mounted in stacks of albums, still in unopened envelopes from the developer, strewn about in drawers or displayed in an ever-increasing array of picture frames.

You would think that digital photos would be easy to manage, but often they are not. Some people print out all their digital photos, adding them to the stack of traditional photographs they have to deal with. Probably even more people have so many photos piling up on their computer that they can fill up their hard drive if they’re not careful.

Here you will find 10 tips for keeping family photos organized that will help you preserve your heritage without all the clutter in digital and in paper form.

Traditional Photographs

1. Choose your organization method: Grouping your photographs by size makes them more manageable when stored in a box or on a shelf. You can get special sleeves used for archiving photographs that match the size of your photographs. Although this method makes them look neat, they often don’t fit well chronologically, meaning that you may have to sort your photos by date or event and then by size.
   
   
2. Develop your old exposed film: It’s amazing how many rolls of film are sitting around in drawers never having been developed. It’s time to find out what’s on those images. Use a special developer that specializes in processing old film to get the best results.
   
   
3. Protect your color photographs: Many people don’t realize that color prints don’t last forever. In fact, the life of a color photo is estimated to be about fifty years. The way to extend the life of your photographs so future generations can enjoy them is to store them in archival quality acid-free sleeves.
   
   
4. Drop the bad shots: You probably don’t need those thumb shots, accidental photographs of the ground or sky, and photos that are so blurred you can’t even tell who’s in them. Throw them away: they are useless. By getting rid of the bad photos you will save space, while tidying up your collection.
   
   
5. Get a scanner: You can get one a special photo scanner or a general purpose high resolution scanner and convert your old photographs into a digital format. You will probably want to keep the originals, but you will be able to preserve them forever in digital format whereas time takes its toll on physical prints.
   
   

Digital Photographs

6. Control the bloat: By eliminating the cost and hassle of photo processing, digital photography has enabled camera owners to take as many photos as they like, resulting in mountains of gigabytes inside computers rather than the cluttered drawers, shelves, and boxes formerly associated with photographs. Choose the images you want to keep and delete the rest.
   
   
7. Name your files right away: You don’t need those generic names that start with “untitled” or “img.” Name your files right away before you forget what they are about. Also, adopt a naming system that makes sense so your images are easy to sort and search.
   
   
8. Tag your images: Photo managers such as Picasa, Flickr, Facebook, and others allow you to identify the people in each photograph, making your collection easy to search and sort. You can also add keywords that help you quickly locate images of certain types and events.
   
   
9. Use folders: Create folders to conveniently sort your photos. If something goes wrong you’re your photo manager, you need a system that makes photos easy to find using nothing but your operating system.
   
   
10. Backup regularly: Many people spend a lot of time organizing their digital photos only to lose them all in a hard drive crash. Use an online backup service, an external hard drive, or optical Blu-ray or DVD disks to make sure you always have a copy even if bad things happen to your computer.
    
    

Use these 10 tips for keeping family photographs organized and you will see how a small investment in time and effort can make your photos more enjoyable for you, your family, and your friends.

This guest article was written by James Adams, a tech analyst who works at a leading printer cartridges store offering franking machine supplies. Although most of his time is taken up writing about newly released hardware, James is particularly interested in posting about business processes and productivity.

Organize for ease

How can you keep up with each child’s school information so that it is neat, organized, and easy to find?

Folders

Use folders with pockets (you don’t need the 3-prong type) to hold handbooks, school maps, newsletters, PTA memos, order forms, etc. Pick a different color folder per child.

Teacher and class information

On the front of each folder, write the teacher’s information (name, email, and room number). For the kids in middle school and high school, tape a copy of the class schedule on the front of the folder.

Contact numbers for the school

At the top of the folder, write the school’s phone number for calling in absences. Since my child’s high school requires about 5 pieces of information in the message, I have that written on there, too, to remind me what information to leave in the message.

Saves time

Having all the important information easily accessible on the front of the folder saves time when you need to contact the school or a teacher. There will be no more digging through a pile of paper for the teacher’s email address or that uniform shirt order form.

Door Hanger

Great for kids’ rooms. Use it to store handheld electronics, shoes, brushes, scarfs, junky toys, and whatever else you can get off the floor and dresser.

$8.00 at Walmart or 15 Pocket over the door room / closet organizer is $9.99.

Tie holder

Not only is this great for neatly hanging ties in the closet, use it store belts, too.

Wall mounted tie rack is about $9.00 at Walmart

Coupon Organizer

Organize coupons by category with this handy little organizer. It is small enough to fit in your purse and take to the grocery store.

$3.00-$4.00 at Currentcatalog.com

Pocket Calendar

I can’t live without this pocket calendar. I love it because: (1) It has big squares to write in and (2) the pocket is great for holding birthday invitations, tickets, or anything else you need to hold onto for an event.

$9.99 at Currentcatalog.com

Auto Wallet

Insurance and registration information won’t get lost in the glove compartment when it is stored in an auto wallet.
$4.00 at Currentcatalog.com

Business Card Holder

I use this to hold business cards for doctors, dentists, home repair companies, etc. Organize the cards in sections such as adults’ medical, kids’ medical, home repair companies (A/C, plumber, etc.), and miscellaneous stuff (haircut places, spas, and consignment shops). It makes scheduling appointments quick and easy.

Around $10 at local office supply store, too.

Small Wicker Baskets

Use small baskets to hold bills or items such as scissors and tape for quick easy access. If you like to keep items handy on the counter, they look nicer stored in a little basket.

$10 at Pier 1 Imports

Is there anything more frustrating
than losing your keys?

I religiously place my keys in the same spot when I walk in the door. I can’t remember the last time I lost them.

I took great pride in my flawless record.

That is until the day the unimaginable happened…I misplaced them.

My kids found this amusing coming from the person that writes about home organization. I was teased relentlessly as we all searched the house, and the kids were more than thrilled about the opportunity to sarcastically recite my own lecture about keeping up with items.

Had they fallen on the garage floor? Did the dog run off with them? Are the kids playing a trick on me? They were hopelessly lost, but I was relieved I had a spare set.

TIP: Always keep a spare set of keys in case of an emergency.

Bye Bye Guitar Hero II keychain.

I finally came to the conclusion that I threw them away by accident. I frequently pull that mom move…you know the one where you try to get all the stuff out of the car and into the house in one trip because of an irrational refusal to make a second trip.

I tend to have one arm overflowing with my preschooler’s papers, lunchbox, book bag, my purse, a shopping bag, mail, and my keys in one hand while gathering up trash with the other. It resembles a cheap balancing act from a circus.

I figured, amidst the chaos of getting everyone inside, my keys ended up in the wrong hand and were tossed in the garbage. The trash was well on its way to the dump before I realized this possibility.

Find a spot to keep your keys and make it a habit.

Not only does it save you the time spent hunting, you are stuck at home without them.

Yay! I found them!

I’m thrilled to report that I found my keys a few days ago, and my favorite keychain is back in service. After being missing for over a month, the keys finally reappeared. Turns out they were in my purse’s side pocket (which I never use), so I guess they slid in undetected.

I can’t believe I had the keys with me all along.

What item do you misplace the most?

Sometimes you have to laugh so you don’t cry.

With my mouth hanging open in both shock and terror, I took it all in as I scanned the room. Every drawer, bookshelf, and container had been emptied into the middle of the floor. Her attention to detail was impressive, and nothing had been left untouched.

There, teetering atop the mountain she had so proudly built, was my two-year-old grinning from ear to ear at her accomplishment.

It is one of those moments as a parent that you simply must freeze with a photo so you don’t forget, or in case you need a favor when they are a teenager, you can whip out the picture as proof that they owe you one.

Four hours later the room was back to its original state, and only then could I see the humor in it.

Now do you feel better about what you are facing in your child’s room?

Kids are disorganized by nature.

Their rooms become a mess overnight leaving Moms throwing their hands up in the air in surrender to the floor covered with “stuff”. Despite what we Moms think, kids really don’t want to live in a messy room.

Ask yourself, “Why is the room messy?”

Does he/she have too much stuff? If there is more “stuff” than can reasonably fit in a room, it can be overwhelming or even impossible for a child to keep the room neat. Maybe it’s time to re-evaluate the contents and “spring-clean” the room.

Clearing out the unused and outgrown

Start with the closet and work your way around the room. Closely examine the contents and determine what needs to stay and what can go. Have they outgrown this? Are they ever going to use this? Have your child participate since you may need their advice on items.

Make a pile of clothes, toys, and books that you need to:

• pass down to a younger child or neighbor
• toss (broken or missing pieces)
• donate to a charity or sell at a consignment store

Once you are done, you will find you have ample space available to organize what is left.

Everything needs a “place”

The key to keeping the room organized is everything having a “place”.

Have you noticed how the toys, puzzles, etc. at a preschool are arranged? How does it stay neat with 20 kids playing every day? The answer…everything has a place. When “clean up” time comes, even the smallest of toddlers knows where everything goes and can participate in tidying a room.

Now apply that philosophy to your child’s room. Assign a place for clothes, games, toys. Use baskets and plastic containers to store groups of small items. Use labels to mark the contents so your child will know where to put his toys when he is done. If your child didn’t participate in the organizing, give him a tour of the new room so he is familiar with the arrangement.

I recently organized my teenager’s room. Things he had outgrown long ago were taking up precious storage space. I was able to remove 4 lawn/leaf bags full of items from his room. His little sisters thought it was Christmas when they received a few lost treasures such as Lite-Bright. With more space now available in the closet, I was able to get items such as musical instruments off the floor and onto a shelf in the closet.

Identify the trouble spot and solve the problem

What is causing the most clutter?

My child’s collection of game systems, games, and accessories was the cause of a constant mess on the floor. Every time the cabinet door was opened to look for a cord or controller, out spilled the contents in a tangled ball of cords and accessories, and he wasn’t able to find what he needed. I realized this was the main source of the clutter in his room, and it needed to be fixed.

Solution:

Since three drawers in his dresser were now available from the cleanup, I took his game system controllers, cords, accessories, etc and created a drawer for each type of game system. This freed up space in the entertainment center to actually place the games neatly so you could see them all. Now when he needs a cord to a specific item, he knows exactly where it is without digging through a mess. Problem solved. Since reorganizing the room, he has kept it immaculate, and I couldn’t be more thrilled.

As you make more space available, you are able to organize the room so it functions well. When toys are off the floor and in closets or drawers, the room immediately evolves into an inviting, relaxing atmosphere free of the chaos of clutter.

No longer will you have to brace yourself as you open the door, scared of what you will find.

Related Articles:

Clutter and the Avalanche Effect
7 Ways to Combat Clutter

Prevent clutter by working the following tasks into your daily routine until they become a habit. I’ve focused on the areas that will make the biggest “instant” improvement in five minutes or less.

EARLY AM

1) Get a load of laundry started.

If you have enough dirty clothes for a load, get them into the washer first thing in the morning. Move them to the dryer when they are finished.

Reduces pile-up of laundry and complaints from your child that her favorite jeans have been in the pile for a week.

2) Make your bed.

There is nothing that can neaten a large space in 2-3 minutes like making a bed.

The room feels cleaner. You paid a lot of money for that pretty comforter. Enjoy it the way it was intended to look, which is not wadded on the floor.

A special thanks to my mother for adding this tip to the list. Apparently you are never too old to have your mother remind you to make your bed.

AFTERNOON/EARLY EVENING

3) Take care of incoming mail immediately.

Trash/recycle the junk mail, and put the rest in the appropriate places (bills to pay, “to-do box”, magazine rack, “to-be-filed” basket, etc.). Do not place any of it on the counter.

Prevents paper clutter from accumulating around the house and bills from getting lost.

4) Fold and put away laundry.

Find a few spare minutes to fold and put away the load of laundry you did this morning. If you did more than one today, you are ahead of the game! Congratulations!

Prevents the laundry room from having piles of clean laundry as well as keeps it from being used as a dressing room.

EVENING

5) Kitchen cleanup

After dinner, take the time to wash all the dishes and run the dishwasher if it’s full. Wipe down the counters, cabinets, and appliances quickly.

Keeps the kitchen clean and the silverware drawer stocked. There’s nothing worse than eating your cereal with a fork!

6) Kitchen counter cleanup.

The counter tends to be a “drop-off” spot during the day. Take all items back to their assigned places. The counter is for food, snacks, etc., not paper clutter.

Keeps the kitchen area neat and orderly.

7) Nightly toy pick-up.

If you have kids, toys tend to make their way around the house quickly during the day. Get everyone involved with a quick 5-minute pickup to put everything back in its place.

Keeps living room/toy room organized and clutter-free. Say “good-bye” to the pain of stubbing your toe on a Barbie car or the shock of stepping on a Lego in a sleepy morning daze.

I like to wake up in the morning with my house in order. Mentally, it puts me in a better mood because I am not slapped in the face with things that need to be done on the way to making my coffee. I also find I am more productive during the day when the house is free of clutter.

Related articles:

Creat a laundry sorting system.
See myebook and get a filing system started in minutes.

There is a conspiracy going on in my house that can be described with one word: Laundry.

It is my personal goal to one day have all the laundry in the house both clean and put away.

I realize this is an unrealistic goal for a mother of three, but a mom can dream, can’t she?

Every time I return to the laundry room to fold the final load with great anticipation of rejoicing in domestic bliss at the ultimate accomplishment, I find a freshly-deposited pile of clothes awaiting my attention…maybe next time. The kids must be ensuring my job security.

Do you know how much laundry you have to do?

Is it all in one spot and sorted?

I have a little nook in my laundry room that wasn’t being used, so I turned it into a laundry sorting system.

Three trash cans were assigned a certain type of clothes (towels, white/light colored clothes, dark clothes).

I put the labels on the picture so you could get the idea. They aren’t actually written on them. However, while you are training everyone in the house, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to tape a temporary label on each one until everyone understands the system.

Dirty clothes are brought to the laundry room and sorted into the correct container. My rule is, “check pockets and zip zippers” before this step. However, I don’t really trust this step since I’m kind of fond of my clothes and don’t want a crayon to add new color to them, but it helps.

Now I can quickly look and see if I have enough clothes to run a load. A full trash can is about a load of laundry. Yikes!…as you can see I have about three loads to do today.

My kids didn’t have room for clothes hampers in their rooms, so this solved the problem of where to put all the dirty clothes. This idea will not work for everyone due to space restraints, but perhaps you can adjust this idea into a new form that works for you.

One day….one day the impossible will happen. I WILL win the battle of the laundry.

Got other laundry tips? Please share.