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Organizing Checklists And Tip Sheets

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When you're in organizing mode, nothing helps more than do-it-yourself instructions. I've put together a number of checklists, tip sheets, and other how-to's for organizing every area of your life -- home, office, finances, kids, paper management, holidays, traveling, you name it...

Clearing The Clutter

15-Minute Organizing Tips

If don't think that you have time to get organized -- think again! You don't need to block off a full 8-hour day to clear out a little clutter in your life. Here are a few suggestions for quick organizing tasks you can tackle in 15 minutes or less. Just stick one in whenever you have a little free time!
Clutter Control In 7 Easy Steps

Getting rid of clutter in any area of your life is not that hard, it just requires a system -- a plan of attack, a set of guidelines for what to keep and what to toss, and a more organized way of storing everything that's left. Here are 7 steps that will help you lighten the load and create more space.
Consignment Tips

It's often easier to let go of valuable items that serve no purpose in your life if you can recoup some of your investment -- it feels less like wasted money than simply giving them away. Consignment is an excellent option for things like jewelry, furniture, collectibles, designer clothes, etc.
Garage Sale Checklist

When you have a lot of items to sell -- household goods, clothes, toys, tools, things that everyone can use -- a garage sale is an affordable and effective way to make a little cash as you clean out. But a successful yard sale involves more than putting out a few tables and some signs...
Selling Your Discards Online

As you clean out, you may discover a few items that are actually worth something (it's not all junk!) If you're too impatient for consignment and don't have the energy for a yard sale, try selling your stuff online -- either through a free listing like Craigslist or an auction like Ebay.
Tax Deductions For Charitable Donations

Donating unwanted items is a win-win-win situation -- the charity benefits from your generosity, someone else will find a use for your things, and you can get a nice deduction on your tax return. Just make sure you follow the rules or that deduction could raise a red flag with the IRS.
You Can Recycle More Than You Think

Cleaning out doesn't have to mean creating a mountain of trash. "Green" organizing involves making sure that as few items as possible end up in a landfill. So much of what we toss out is actually recyclable -- you just have to know what materials can be accepted and where to take your discards.

Computer Organizing

Computer Maintenance Checklist

Are you taking proper care of your computer? Backing up your data? Protecting your system from viruses and worms? Cleaning out unused programs and outdated files? If not, follow this checklist to keep your most valuable technological tool organized and in good working order.
Glossary Of Common Computer Terms

The technical terminology surrounding the world of computers can be confusing and overwhelming -- especially for a newbie. What the heck is a "gig"? What's the difference between an operating system and a piece of software? How do WiFi and DSL work? We have the answers to all of your questions!
The Right Way To Buy A Computer

You need a new computer. You may know what you want your system to do, but you don't have a clue how to reconcile your needs with the available features and components. Here are some handy questions to ask yourself and the salesman to make sure you get the right kind of computer.
Tips For Internet Safety And Security

The internet is a wonderful tool, but it's also filled with dangers -- people who want to take advantage of your kids, steal your identity, or infect your computer with a virus. Fortunately, there are plenty of ways to avoid these pitfalls -- to protect yourself, your family, and your equipment.

Financial Organizing

Bill-Paying Checklist

Making sure your bills get paid on time requires a reliable system -- not only for organizing your schedule and paperwork, but making sure you are focusing on your highest financial priorities first (especially when money is tight.) Here's a plan that will help anyone regain control over their money.
Budgeting Made Easy

Being organized means being proactive -- in every area of your life. This includes your finances. If you're just drifting along with no real idea of where your money goes, you're not organized. This easy step-by-step budgeting system will give you peace of mind and more cash in your wallet.
Checklist For Financial Freedom

A truly simple life is a debt-free life -- one in which you don't have to work to pay the bills. This may sound unrealistic in the current economy -- but financial freedom is achievable on any income, as long as you understand your true priorities and eliminate money clutter from your life.
Choosing A Bank And Credit Card

With financial institutions behaving so irresponsibly these days, it's tempting to just keep your cash in a sock under the mattress. But with a little research, you can find a reliable and affordable bank that provides the services you need to manage your money and organize your finances.
Tax-Time Checklist

Most people fear tax time because they dread having to gather up all that paperwork and documentation -- they are certain that they will overlook something vital and mess up their bottom line. No worries this year -- just follow this step-by-step checklist and you should have everything covered.

Health And Wellness

Ask-The-Doctor Checklist

With the current state of medical care, doctor visits can be frustrating -- you're lucky if you get 5 minutes of one-on-one time with your physician. This checklist will help you keep track of your medical questions and the doctor's answers -- as well as any treatments, test results, or prescriptions.
Check-Up And Vaccination Timetable

Being organized means taking responsibility for your own health care -- knowing what tests and shots you should have at what age, when you should start paying attention to your cholesterol level or bone density or prostate. This checklist makes it easy to be proactive about your family's well-being.
Choosing The Right Doctor

You doctor should be someone you trust completely -- after all, you're putting your life in his or her hands! You want a doctor who respects your time, is always looking out for your welfare, and really listens to your concerns. Here are a few tips for evaluating your doctor and his or her staff.
First Aid Kit Checklist

A well-stocked first aid kit is a good thing to have around -- you never know when an accident will occur at work, at home, or even in the car. Follow this checklist and you should have everything you need for any minor emergency -- but if you need morphine or an IV, you'll have to talk to a doctor.

Holiday And Special Occasion

Christmas Timetable

When you wait until the last minute to shop for gifts, decorate the house, bake cookies, and send greeting cards -- you are guaranteed to have a stressful holiday. But with a little advance planning and an early start, you can get it all done with plenty of time and energy to spare.
Make The Holidays Easier Next Year

If your holidays didn't turn out exactly as you had planned this year, you have another chance do it a little better the next time around. Here are some tips for organizing your holiday to-do's, re-evaluating your priorities, and creating systems to make the season easier and more enjoyable.
Party Planning Checklist

Whether you're throwing a small casual get-together or a huge formal event, a birthday bash or the company holiday party, this checklist will help you with every aspect of your planning -- deciding on a theme, choosing the food, theme, sending invitations, decorations, you name it!
Stress-Free Gift Giving Tips

Gift-giving doesn't have to be as emotionally taxing or financially draining as we make it out to be. It's an easy recipe -- just combine a good system for tracking gift ideas, an organized place to store gift wrap and supplies, and some tricks for saving money while finding the perfect present. Voila!

In Case Of Emergency

Choosing The Right Auto Mechanic

If you're like most people, you're hugely dependent on your car for transportation -- so you need to know that the person caring for your automobile is a) qualified, and b) trustworthy. Ask these questions of your local mechanics, and you'll get a pretty good sense of where they stand.
Disaster Planning Tips

No one wants to spend their life worrying about all the bad things that can happen -- fire, flood, natural disasters, terrorist attacks, etc. But burying your head in the sand doesn't work either. Fortunately, having a plan and being prepared allows you to stop worrying and enjoy each day as it comes.
Home Safety Checklist

Keeping your family safe doesn't mean getting all crazy-paranoid -- hiring armed bodyguards or keeping rabid pit-bulls as pets. Just be smart, use some common sense, and follow this step-by-step checklist -- your family will be well protected against injury, burglary, or attack.
Household Inventory Checklist

If any of your belongings are ever stolen, damaged by fire or flood, or destroyed by a natural disaster -- good luck filing an insurance claim! Just kidding -- but you are more likely to get full compensation if you can produce a home inventory, listing all of your possessions and their value.
Protecting Your Legal Rights

When you need to hire an attorney, how do you know which one will best serve your interests -- at a price you can afford? You don't necessarily want the guy with the ambulance-chaser commercials or the huge ad on the back of the phone book. Here are a few tips for choosing the right legal representation.
Steps To Take In A Car Accident

Crash! Dammit! Getting into an accident is no fun, but you can make the clean-up process go more quickly and smoothly if you have a plan. Just print out this checklist and put it in your glove compartment -- you'll know the right steps to take to protect yourself and and your rights.
Stocking Your Auto Emergency Kit

It's Murphy's Law -- the only time your car is going to break down is when you don't have an emergency kit in the trunk. So, conversely, if you have an emergency kit, you'll never have mechanical trouble! Probably not, but it's still a good idea to have these items with you at all times -- just in case.
What To Do If Your Wallet Is Stolen

Identity theft is a large pain in the neck -- so the moment your wallet is stolen, you need to take swift action. The faster you respond, the less hassle you'll have to deal with later on -- you also reduce the chances that the thief will have time to do any real damage with your credit cards.

Moving And Relocation

Change Of Address Checklist

You might think that, when you move, all you need to do is change your address with the post office and utilities -- but there are many more people who need to know that you've shifted locations. This checklist will make sure that everyone is updated and none of your mail gets lost in transit.
Moving With Pets

While your new home may be great for pets, you have to take some special precautions when you bring your hairy (or feathered or scaly) little babies on the road with you. Here are a few tips to keep them safe and comfortable and as stress-free as possible as you go from one house to another.
Packing Tips

Packing up your home to move is one of the hardest and most exhausting things you'll ever do. There is a lot of emotion tied up in your "stuff", you're trying to clean out as you pack, and you want to make sure everything arrives at its new home in good condition. Challenging, but not impossible!
Taking Moving Expense Deductions

If you are being relocated by your work or are moving for a new job, you may be able to count your moving expenses as a legitimate deduction on your tax return. These guidelines will let you know if you are eligible -- as well as what you can (and can't) deduct.

Organizing At Home

A Quick And Easy Housecleaning Plan

Of course housecleaning is no one's idea of a fun time. But you don't have to give up every weekend to your vacuum -- as long as you do a little bit of straightening up each day and create a routine that reduces the amount of mess you create in the first place.
Grocery Shopping Checklist

You know how it is -- you get to the grocery store and have no idea what you needed to buy. Or you arrive home and realize that you forgot some vital ingredient for dinner. Print this list out, sort through the fridge and pantry, and circle the items you need to pick up on your next shopping trip.
Home Maintenance Timetable

Do you know when to change your furnace filter? How often you should have your plumbing inspected for leaks? What's the best time of year to clean your gutters and downspouts? Even if you don't, that's okay. Use this checklist to keep your home in good shape all through the year.
Preparing For Visiting Houseguests

Welcoming visitors into your home should be a joyous occasion -- not a burden or a stress. Preparing before their arrival is the key to an enjoyable visit -- creating a comfortable environment, making sure you have extra supplies on hand, and helping your guests understand the rules of the house.
Tips For Organizing Your Closet

Is it easy for you to find just the outfit you want in the morning -- or do you struggle through piles of clothes that don't fit or are out of style? Are your shoes, hats, bags, and other accessories stored in an organized fashion? If not, here are some proven techniques for creating a closet you will love.
Tips For Organizing Your Kitchen

The kitchen is the heart of any home -- but does your home have heart disease? Are cooking and cleaning more of a chore than they need to be -- because your cabinets and pantry are jumbled and disorganized? Try these tips for clearing the clutter and setting up an efficient and functional kitchen.

Organizing At Work

Business Travel Tips

When you do your work on the road -- as a salesperson, putting together international business deals, or just attending a professional conference -- you need to take extra precautions to stay organized. It's all here -- from making travel plans to tracking expenses to returning to the office.
Meeting Planning Checklist

Many people will tell you that meetings are a complete waste of time -- not entirely. At least they don't have to be -- as long as you know why you are meeting, you have verified that a meeting is the most efficient way to accomplish the goal at hand, and the meeting is well-run and organized.
Office Supply Shopping List

You can't complete your work efficiently if you don't have the right tools on hand -- but you may not realize that you are running low on an item until you are standing in an aisle at Office Depot wondering what the heck you needed to buy. This list will serve as a handy memory-jogger.
Setting Up An Ergonomically Correct Workstation

A desk by any other name does not necessarily smell as sweet (although I'm not 100% sure what a desk is supposed to smell like!) There are certain workstation arrangements that encourage productivity and comfort -- others that just leave you frustrated at the end of the day. How does yours measure up?

Organizing Your Kids

Age-Appropriate Chores And Responsibilities

The trick to getting your kids to help out around the house is to give them jobs that they can easily accomplish at their age and ability level. But you also want to make sure they don't get bored -- keep challenging them more and more as they get older and older. Here's some help.
Babysitter And Pet Sitter Tips

When you give your most precious possessions to someone else for safe-keeping -- be they your kids or your pets -- you want to know that they are well cared-for. This checklist will make sure that your sitter has every bit of information he or she needs to keep your babies safe and happy.
Childproofing Checklist

Bringing a new baby home is a joyous but stressful event -- you can't help but worry about them, 24 hours a day. But with a good childproofing plan, at least you don't need to worry about them sticking a fork into the light socket or deciding to try and go swimming in the toilet bowl.
College Planning Checklist

Applying to college is exciting, if a little nerve-wracking. You can help your prospective freshman organize the school search with this checklist -- covering issues like the securing of recommendations, financial aid, campus visits, and what to do with all of the attendant paperwork and documentation.
Homework Tips

As a parent, your job is to teach your kids the organizing skills that will allow them to succeed as adults. That includes study skills -- setting up a conducive environment for learning, providing the proper supplies, and helping your kids learn how to focus fully on the task at hand.
Sending Your College Student Off To School

Your baby is leaving home! While no checklist will help you get through the emotional side of letting go, this one can assist your new freshman with setting up a dorm room, finding an apartment, managing daily life on their own, and organizing all the documents necessary to become a real adult.
Tips For A Smooth Back-To-School Transition

Are you dreading back-to-school time? So much to do -- supplies to buy, extracurricular activities to join, summer habits to shed, trying to get your kids back into a regular routine? Good luck! These tips might help a bit -- some suggestions for making the back-to-school transition a little easier.

Paper Management

Creating A Filing System

Your file cabinet is the core of your paper management system -- it can make or break all your other good efforts to get organized. How do your files measure up? Can you find any document in seconds? If not, try this customizable and entirely scalable system for personal or business files.
Document Locator Checklist

If something were to happen to you -- emergency, illness, disability, death -- could you easily lay your hands on your most vital documents? If one of your family members needed to retrieve your birth certificate or insurance policies for you, could they? Be sure you can answer "yes" to this question.
Eliminating Junk Mail

Junk mail is a modern-day plague -- no vaccine will protect you from it. But there are steps you can take to cut down on the amount of unsolicited mail you receive -- if not entirely eliminate it. It does take a bit of patience and perseverance -- but it's well worth the effort.
Records Retention Guideline

Do you know how long you legally have to keep all those papers in your filing system? Tax records? Credit card bills? Old insurance policies and appliance warranties? Some might be longer than you think -- others could be tossed out right now. Read on to find out which is which!

Senior, Estate Organizing, And End-Of-Life Issues

Caring For Elderly Parents

As the population ages, more and more of us assume responsibility for the care of our elderly parents. Whether you have your folks move in with you, help them find suitable assisted living, or just oversee their legal and financial situation -- you need to be armed with the right questions to ask.
Downsizing Tips

You may be downsizing to simplify your life, to save money, or because you are moving to some form of senior or assisted living. But the issues are the same -- how do you decide what to take with you, where will you put it all, and what do you do with the items you choose not to keep?
Estate Organizing Checklist

No one likes to think about dying -- but planning ahead is a much better option than leaving your most important decisions to your bereaved loved ones. Do you family a favor and provide them with a little peace of mind -- by getting your affairs in order while you are still able to make your own decisions.
When Someone Dies

Death is never a pleasant experience -- and when you are responsible for disposing of a loved one's remains, the emotional burden makes it twice as hard. Don't worry about what you need to do if a family member or friend dies -- this checklist will make sure that nothing is forgotten.

Time Management Tools

20 Ways To Say No

If you have trouble saying "no" to other people's requests -- and subsequently find yourself wrangled into activities that don't interest you, or that fill your schedule and prevent you from focusing on your priorities -- perhaps it's just because you don't know the right way to say it. Here you go!
Creating A To-Do List That Works For You

I am a consummate list-maker -- I love my lists! But a list is only as good as your ability to complete it. If you have problems finishing off your to-do lists, you're not making the right kind of list. And hey, maybe you even need to move a few items to a "not-to-do" list.
Scheduling Your Time More Effectively

What does your day look like? Are you able to get everything done that you want? Or are you sidetracked by distractions and derailed by interruptions? There are steps you can take to schedule your time more effectively -- you just have to know the right time techniques.
Tips For Dealing With Interruptions

Interruptions can be really annoying, but they aren't fatal. In fact, most interruptions are pretty preventable. It's all a matter of knowing how to properly deflect an interruption, how to hone your own ability to stay focused, and the best tricks for getting back into the moment after you are interrupted.
Tips For Overcoming Procrastination

Do you have a hard time getting going on a project? Or maybe you start off fine, but run out of gas halfway through? You might even stay busy all the time, checking email or re-organizing your desk -- but not working on the really important tasks. You have a bad case of procrastination!
Top Ten Motivators

Staying motivated to complete your goals is a challenge -- even when it's something you really want to accomplish in life. I know, and I'm an organizer! Here are ten proven techniques that will keep you on task, excited about what you're doing, and making progress every day.

Travel Made Easier

Airline Travel Tips

Since 9/11, airline travel has become a huge pain in the neck. It now takes at least 2-3 times longer to get through airport security and onto the plane than it did before the war on terror. But even with all the many ridiculous rules and regulations, there are things you can do to speed up the process.
Car Maintenance Checklist

How do you treat your car? Does it go to the doctor as regularly as you do -- for oil changes, tune-ups, and inspections? Or are you running on a tire and a prayer -- hoping to God the thing doesn't die on you in the middle of a long trip? Get organized and get on a regular maintenance schedule!
Choosing The Right Travel Agent

A competent travel agent can be a wonderful asset if you're on the road regularly -- especially if you go overseas or need a package of services in one location (hotel, car, airfare, tours, etc.) But some travel agents are better than others -- how do you know that you have one who will really work on your behalf?
Hotel Reservation Checklist

Getting a good hotel room involves a little bit more than finding the best price on Hotwire (I can say this from personal experience.) And this is doubly true in foreign countries where you might not be able to get a personal recommendation. Here are some questions to ask about your potential lodgings.
Keeping Safe While Away From Home

When you head out on a trip, what kinds of precautions do you take to protect your person and your property? I'll bet you think that illness, lost luggage, and threats of theft or violence are unavoidable -- well you're wrong! There are steps you can take to be safe away from home.
Packing Checklists

Some of my friends take several days to pack for a trip. Not me -- I can pack for any length trip, any type of trip, inside of an hour. Do you know why? It's not because I have fabulous packing super-powers (I save my super-powers for other things.) It's because I have fantastic packing lists!
Traveling With Children

If you've ever traveled with (or next to) an unhappy child, you know how important it is to keep kids occupied, fed, entertained, and generally taken care of on a trip. Here are some tips for packing, flying, and car travel -- as well as ways to keep your little one from asking "Are we there yet?"
Traveling With Pets

It's great to be able to take your animal-children with you on a trip -- but it does require a little extra pre-planning. You can't just throw Fido or Boo-Boo Kitty in the car with you and go. Do you have all the right supplies? Are they secure and safe during transit? Are they comfortable and happy?

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