Every year thousands of people have their homes broken into, are victims of fires, floods or other disasters that requires them to file an insurance claim. You may not remember everything you have in your bedroom until months or years later when you go looking for something and realize it is gone. I recommend everyone create an inventory of the items they have. This includes businesses as well as homes, garages, storage units, etc.
Here is the video of our theater in our home. I talk about what is in there and where it came from if I know. I don’t talk about the cost since there are receipts to show that.
Once you make a video, put it someplace very safe like a safe deposit box. You want to be able to prove you had what you said you had. The video is the first step in getting a home inventory together. You also need to keep receipts for everything you purchase so there is no question about how much the items were worth when you purchased them. If you have antiques or jewelry you may also want to have appraisals done then updated every five to ten years so if something happens to them, you get reimbursed for the current value not the amount you purchased them for.
I used a Flip Video Camera to take this video and as you can see it is adequate for the job. It’s important that you document your stuff so you don’t add more stress to the situation when trying to remember everything that is damaged or missing. If you took just 15 minutes a day, you could document each room in your house, garage or business in no time.
Do you find yourself dreaming about the day your house is organized? You’re not alone. Everyone can’t have a team of people come in and do it for them (unless you are one of the lucky people who aren’t embarrassed to show the world their mess on TV). Quite frankly, if you let someone else get your house organized there is a high probability that the house won’t stay organized. Getting rid of the clutter is only part of the problem. Once the clutter is gone, you need a process to stay organized. This is why I advise the 15 minutes a day strategy.
You may or may not have kids but chances are that once your home is organized 15 minutes is all it takes to get it tidy daily. Click to read more →
The past few months have been a challenge for me to say the least. I’ve spent some time away from this website to focus on some other endeavors and am very happy with the direction my life is taking. I really enjoy organizing and love to help people get their stuff in order and I want you to know how much I appreciate your support and will make a solid effort to keep giving you useful tips.
How is your year going so far? Are you staying caught up on your business and personal paperwork? Have you been filing weekly and keeping up on your bookkeeping? If you haven’t had the time or inclination to do paperwork, what are you waiting for? Click to read more →
Yesterday I was sending some links to websites I have designed to a potential client and found out that one of my website databases was corrupt. It was so bad that the site wouldn’t even load. I started to panic when I realized I didn’t have a recent backup of this site. In fact, this site hasn’t been backed up since last April and I have a ton of new information posted on it that I didn’t want to have to recreate. Click to read more →
I have one, my Mom has one, my co-workers have one and I bet you have too. I’m talking about junk drawers. You know, that one drawer in the kitchen or laundry room that you put everything in that doesn’t have a home or where you put stuff when suddenly company is at the door.
I haven’t opened my junk drawer in months but today I was looking for a little rubber foot that goes on my espresso knock box. My junk drawer had old broken birthday candles, a lighter, shoe laces, keys to who knows what, and two dozen miscellaneous items that I don’t think I have looked at in the past year and a half. I did however find some velcro that I needed for a project so that was a good thing and I found the little rubber foot I was looking for. Click to read more →
Let’s face it, there is certain paperwork that you must keep like insurance policies, tax returns, leases, mortgage documents, etc. These items can pile up fast and keeping them organized is very important. If your paperwork is stashed in drawers, boxes or in stacks, finding these items can be difficult. Check with your accountant and attorney to see what items you should keep in your permanent files.
Imagine if something were to happen, would you or your loved ones be able to find your insurance policy or mortgage paperwork? What if you are in a car accident and need to find out what your health or vehicle coverages are, could you find your policy? Don’t delay, you need to get these items filed. Click to read more →
Well 2009 is here and after I got home from running errands today I realized I hadn’t made my new year files. I usually do this weeks in advance of the new year but somehow it just got away from me.
There are many different ways to set up your files and I actually use two different methods; one for personal and one for business. My yearly personal filing system is really easy. I use just thirteen file folders with a label each month and one for bank statements. I scan most of my paperwork in digital form but I always keep my original bank statements, ATM and credit card receipts until the statements come in, receipts needed for warranties, receipts for charitable tax deductions, copies of rebates I have applied for, and anything else I think I may need the original of.
Here is the process I use is for my nearly paperless office: Click to read more →
I have put together the first book in my series My Neat Life. The book is called My Pet’s Neat Life and contains 10 pages with fill-in-the-blank forms to keep track of everything about your pets. Keep a complete record in one place of all of your dog or cat’s vaccinations, weights, veterinary visits, contact phone numbers and more.
Just print out the book either one or two sided and put the pages in a slim binder with a pocket folder or envelope to store your pets medical and vaccination receipts.
I was taking my dogs for a walk and came across a lost dog sign on the stop sign a block away from our house. The sign had a long description about the lost dog but there wasn’t a picture. I went to the neighbor’s house and asked them if they need help putting a picture on the signs around the neighborhood. It turned out they hadn’t ever photographed their dog so they didn’t have a picture. Think about it - could you easily recognized a brown and white, Doberman / Pitbull / Lab mix dog if you saw it?
I hope as we ring in the new year that you take time to reflect on last year, dream about the years ahead and be thankful for everything you have. I am very thankful for all of you for making my dream come true with my Neatology site. I hope I can continue to offer tips that you can use to create a more organized home and life.
Being disorganized is not the end of the world but wouldn’t being organized give you a little better outlook on life? I hope you will visit my blog often to read my tips and share your tips and tricks for making your life neat.
