Organizing superstars: Share your tips please! :)

[margecat]

Originally Posted by SwampWitch

We keep the kitties' papers in their carriers, in pockets on the sides.

Our paperwork is in stackable file boxes (with snap lids and handles). There's a section for medical, with a file for each of us, a section on immigration for me, a section for car-related papers, one for house maintenance and heating, etc.

When we come into the house, we put all receipts and mail in a drawer in a table in the front room. Once a week, Husband goes through it all, recording and paying bills. Then the receipts are filed by month (and year) in one of the stackable file boxes.

We have a box for recycling paper under the kitchen sink, so it's easy to throw newspapers and such in there.

The key to staying organized is to have a place for everything. If you don't have a place for it, it's not worth keeping and you have to toss it.

I have to stay organized because it drives me crazy to search for things.

I love the tips, especially the kitty medical records! I've often wondered about how I could store them (I have 9 cats to haul in all at once, so I get a discount!). I've often worried about how I would get the paper together in an emergency, such as an evacuation, as the few shelters that allow pets sensibly insist on medical records.

Thanks!

MargCat

 

[sprocket]

For example, how do you organize your important paperwork, bills, reference manuals, etc? How do you have your garage organized?

The key for me, is actually allocating time to the organizing. If it's done once a week, then it never becomes too overwhelming.

Paperwork:
Every year, I get an expanding file with 31 pockets. I then use labels for each pocket.
Home/Personal Categories
Auto expenses
Banking
Cable
Credit Card Bills
Grocery
Mortgage
Personal expenses
Household Items
Home Improvement expenses
Gas/Electric Bills
Phone Bills

Then categories for my husband's work expenses he can write off his taxes

Then categories for my two different businesses.

Then a ledger book with all the categories listed on separate pages, and the appropriate items listed weekly. End of the year, add everything up and the figures go to the tax preparer.

Important documents are kept in a file until time to take to the safe deposit box.

All my books are organized by topic on my book shelves. All my fabric is organized by type of fabric on either bolts, or folded in crates. All silk is together; all cotton is together; all panne is together; all flannel is together, etc. All my thread is organized by color number, with cheat sheet cards noting which thread number is used for a particular fabric/print.

 

[gingersmom]

My most favorite tool for organizing is a cross cut shredder.

 

[karmasmom]

We live a completly disorganized organized life. Everything has a place but we have run out of room so things are pilling up. Plus my DH build his skateboards in the livingroom and paints them in the bathroom, we have no garage. So now we have tools and things everywhere. We are both artist and live that way to. It can be chaos at times. Karma loves it, she hates it when we clean the house. She likes having all those hiding places.

The only thing we keep very neat is our MP3 collection, we have about 550 discs each holding anywhere from 5-10 albums. We have so many we had to start a database. What we do is uae those white paper sleeves. Each didc get two numbers. The first number is the disc number and the second is the database number. They all live in a big plactic box we got at the Container store. We need a new box though, the one we have only holds 500 and we passed that a few weeks back and the collection keeps growing.

We also have the same thing for movies. If we buy one we copy it file it and usually sell the original to a used movie store. I never throw out the boxes, the landfills are full enough. Usually you can get 1/2 your money back and someone who wants it but can't aford retail can buy it. We have about 400 movies and it to keeps growing.

 

[lsulover]

Well I don't know where nothing is, I kinda have a general idea, but I usually have to hunt for stuff.

I am not a organized person, I am trying to get better though.

 

[crazyforinfo]

opps posted in wrong thread. LOL talk about un-organized!