ORGANIZATIONAL TIP
OF THE MONTH

January, 2008

Each month you will find a tip designed to help you keep organized and "on-track" throughout the month, and eventually, throughout the entire year.

Week One

Transfer all of your on-going appointments, birthdays, anniversaries and automatic payment schedules to your new 2008 organizer/calendar. You will be ready for the year and less likely to miss an important event or appointment.

Write down all of your goals and plans for the year. Once you have each goal written down, break each one into the steps required to complete each goal or task. You will know in each case what you need to do to accomplish each of your goals.

Take the time now to begin your preliminary vacation planning. It may seem early but the sooner you get started on the planning, the sooner you can start saving.

If you are looking for some family entertainment that won't strain your budget? Take the family and head for the local library. Everyone can choose books and videos that the whole family will enjoy.

Clear junk drawers. Take one drawer a day, starting today, and sort through the contents. Toss obvious junk into the trash, donate duplicates and then sort the keepers and put into trays inside the drawer.

Schedule an energy audit with your energy provider. You should have received at least one heating bill by now and an energy audit will show you where you can take steps to save and keep your heat inside.

Start now to plan your holidays for 2008. Christmas may seem like a long way away, but it will be here before you know it. If you plan to do a little each week, starting now, you will be able to relax and celebrate a stress-free holiday season.

Inventory your emergency supplies in your car for winter driving. Be sure that you have the following:

• an ice scraper and snow brush
• a flashlight with extra batteries
• an empty coffee can with candles and matches
• sleeping bag or blankets
• a small shovel, a bag of sand or cat litter for traction
• jumper cables
• first aid kit
• small tool kit, non-perishable food
• drinking water

You never know when you might get stranded and with these supplies you'll be prepared.

Week Two

Do a bit of home maintenance now to prevent expensive repairs later. These should include:

• cleaning your furnace filter
• checking the furnace fan belt
• checking your water heater
• checking exhaust fans
• cleaning your humidifier
• removing snow and ice from overhangs and vents
• checking and resetting your GFCI outlets and testing your smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors

Do your end of year accounting. Gather together into one file all of the tax paperwork you have to date for the past year. Whether you take your taxes to an accountant or do your own taxes, it is important to have all of the necessary paperwork together. You will appreciate this later on when it’s time to get the taxes done.

Set up your files for the new year. Don't forget a file for 2008 taxes. This is the one place where all of the tax paperwork can be filed during the year. Then next January, you only have to grab one file and go.

Replace your shelf paper and drawer liners.

Go through your home with a screwdriver and tighten screws on drawers, doors and furniture. Make a list of minor repairs that need to be done. Note any supplies you'll need to make repairs or replacements that are needed. Take one trip to the home improvement store and pick up all of your supplies at once. Then you can make repairs as you have time without having to make a trip to the store first.

Take advantage of January sales to purchase linens and bedding, sport and weight-loss equipment, computers, winter clothing and accessories, organizers, storage containers and shelving.

Clean your range hood filter.

Week Three

Clean faucet aerators and turn on indoor faucets that don't get frequent use. Run water into floor drains to maintain the trap’s water barrier.

Check you fire extinguishers to make sure they are fully charged and recharge if necessary. Be sure you have the appropriate extinguisher in the kitchen, garage and basement.

Start planning your spring garden now. Seeds can be started using milk cartons, egg cartons or even tuna cans. Make sure that you put drainage holes in the cans.

Take a day to rest and refresh. Don't plan to do any work or chores, just do what relaxes and refreshes you.

On Martin Luther King Jr. Day, if you are fortunate and have the day off of work, do some research on the life of Dr. King.

Go through the contents of your medicine cabinet and remove expired medications. For old out-dated medications, your pharmacist can help you to dispose of them safely.

Set up a picnic in your living room. Prepare a picnic basket, set a blanket on the floor, dress for a picnic and enjoy a summertime treat on a mid-winter day.

Week Four

Discard old food in your refrigerator/freezer. Inventory what is left and use your inventory list as the basis for planning meals.

Go through magazines. Tear out articles of interest and put them into a sheet protector. Place these in a three ring binder for keeping. Recycle the remainder of the magazine.

Clean one shelf in your pantry. Getting one shelf in order is great motivation to complete the whole pantry.

Call and schedule an oil change and checkup for your car. Winter driving is hard on vehicles. If your winter temperatures regularly go below zero, you may want to discuss having an engine block heater installed.

Get caught up on your correspondence. Take time today to send any thank you notes outstanding, or surprise a friend with a handwritten letter.

Order in pizza and enjoy a family pizza party. Set up a movie and enjoy a relaxing movie and pizza night with the family.

Jan 29th is the deadline for all W-2 forms and other tax forms like 1099’s to be in your hands. If you have all of these forms, make an appointment with your tax preparer and get your taxes filed early this year. Even if you prepare your own taxes, make an appointment with yourself to get this done.

Double check your February calendar to make sure you don't miss any appointments or activities.

On Jan 31st, review the New Year’s resolutions you made at the beginning of the month. If you're still on track, great! If not, revise them to make them more realistic, and then start fresh tomorrow, February 1st.

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Copyright © 2007 Florette Anderson

Excerpted from “60 Minutes to a Clutter-Free Life”, a systematic tutorial on virtually painless organization.