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Friday Favorite: SafelyFiled.com

by Monica on March 15, 2013

in Friday Favorites

SafelyFiled_logomarkDo important tax related receipts clutter your desk? Are you loosing out on deductions because you don’t have an easy, organized system for keeping track of receipts? SafelyFiled.com is a terrific website that can solve that problem and many more. 

 The cloud is becoming the go-to place for storage of documents, but cloud storage can be another cluttered mess without good systems in place. That’s where Safely Filed excels. The site offers an easy, organized platform to store important documents. You can access it from anywhere, allow others access to some or all documents, and you’re even able to see when they have been active in the account. Because the site was built with security as the primary function, it’s a great place to store important documents like living wills, birth certificates, tax returns etc… 

Getting your documents uploaded to Safely Filed is also easy. You can scan documents and upload them from your computer, or you can use their iPhone app and quickly snap photos into the account. That cluttered box of papers in the basement can be uploaded and organized in no time!

Finding important documents quickly when you need them can be a challenge. With Safely Filed, they will not only be organized and safe, they’ll also be accessible at your fingertips on the nearest computer or smartphone. You can search for the document quickly within the site. Keeping track of receipts for tax purposes is a breeze. 

If you’re interested in some help organizing your receipts and important documents onto Safely Filed, the Chaos To Order organizers can show you the way. 

Friday Favorite: Plastic File Boxes To Keep Last Year’s Papers Organized

by Monica on February 1, 2013

in Friday Favorites

75fc3b8480b2c02f8c62a6a775430c92It’s the time of year to gather all of your 2012 data and get it ready for tax time. Rather than waiting until April 13th, start now by using a good plastic file crate to store all of your 2012 papers. Remove last year’s files and place them into the crate along with any tax documents or tax forms. When it’s time to process your taxes, you’ll feel so organized having everything contained in one place. I like to keep a plastic file box for each year. I keep seven years of file boxes in storage and rotate the oldest box. There is also an additional box for long term records like tax documents, mortgage documents and financial statements. If your wondering what papers you should keep in permanent storage, check out our Records Retention Document.  If you want to get papers organized quickly into the container, try FasTab Hanging Folders from Smead. They have the label tab built right into the strong durable folder. If your still planning to make good on your New year’s resolution to get organized, start gathering those tax related papers and get them organized now!

Friday Favorite: Simplystic Organizer

by Monica on January 25, 2013

in Friday Favorites

Here’s a great gadget that helps to make cabinet space more accessible and more organized. Kitchen cabinets are sometimes a tough place to store smaller food-related items. They are too high and deep and it’s hard to have easy access to everything you need. This shelving product has helped solve that problem. Install the Simplystic Organizer into a cabinet and add accessiblity and storage to your kitchen, or any room that you have cabinet storage. The Simplystic Organizer is well constructed and built to last. Once it’s installed, it will last the life of your cabinets. They also make similar models for office supplies, arts and crafts, and the garage. If you want to make the most out of every inch of your cabinet space, the Simplystic Organizer will help get you there! 

If you subscribe to the blog and receive this via email, please remember that the video does not email and you will need to visit the site to see the video: http://www.chaostoorder.com/2013/01/25/friday-favorite-simplystic-organizer/

Friday Favorite: When in Doubt, Throw it Out

by Monica on September 14, 2012

in Friday Favorites

 

If you want to keep clutter to a minimum, have a good system for elimination. If you have something to toss, it needs to be quick and easy to do. If you have to walk into another room to throw something away, you’ll be less likely to make the effort–especially when your in a hurry, that’s when junk can start to accumulate.

With mail for example, if you have a wastebasket handy where you receive the mail, you can quickly toss all the junk without it even making its way to your desk. If you have some purging to do, consider buying several wastebaskets (like this one shown from Sterilite) and placing them discretely around the house to make it as easy as possible to toss what you can when you can.

The quicker you get rid of unwanted items, the easier it is to be organized. When you think about what clutter really is, it consists what you need to act on and what you need to store and what you don’t want–trash. Eliminate the trash, get to work on what you need to act on and find good, efficient places to store what you want to keep and viola you’ll be organized! Sounds easy right? Well, you may need a little help from the pros. If so, schedule your appointment  here!

Friday Favorite: Expandable Pull Out Shelf

by Monica on July 13, 2012

in Friday Favorites,Tip of the Day

In order to create optimal organization in your space, you need to have a place for everything. Making the most out of every bit of storage space you have is crucial. Here is a product that is terrific for adding space to a cluttered cabinet. This pull out shelf by JA Marketing is awesome because you can install it yourself and it’s expandable! You can adjust it to the exact size of your cabinet, so one size fits all from 12″ to 20″. If you have a base cabinet in your kitchen or bathroom that’s stuffed and cluttered, these would be a great addition. I like to put one at the bottom, and add more depending on the size of the items in the cabinet. I have one cabinet that has 3 pull out shelves and I’m able to fit much more than I would a regular cabinet without these terrific expandable pull out shelves. You can find them here.

Friday Favorite: Smead SuperTab Folders

by Monica on June 29, 2012

in Friday Favorites

When we work with clients clearing through their filing systems, we often see people wanting to reuse old, sometimes even tattered file folders. We suggest that the old folders go into the recycle bin and they use a newer, more durable folder. When you think about how long you keep file folders, doesn’t it seem worth it to spend a few extra dollars and get something that will be more functional and last longer?  The Smead SuperTab folders are a great choice because not only are they made with  a durable heavyweight paper, they  are designed with a larger labeling area. They didn’t make the folder taller, that wouldn’t work in a file drawer because if you fill your drawer too full with folders they are already riding too close to the top and can get tattered and make the drawer hard to close. They designed them so that the bottom section (where the papers go) is a bit lower and allows you to have a larger labeling surface. If your file drawers are in need of an overhaul, consider good quality file folders like these to keep systems running smoothly.

Friday Favorite: Foldable Ironing Laundry Center & Valet

by Monica on June 15, 2012

in Friday Favorites,Uncategorized

When it comes to household chores, laundry is an ongoing nag at the top of the list. Having an organized system for doing laundry is essential to getting it processed quickly. Here’s a product I found during our visit to the International Home & Housewares show that I really like. The Honey-Can-Do Foldable Laundry Center is a multipurpose laundry station that includes an ironing board, laundry sorter, iron rest and clothing hanging bar. It’s a great product that can do a lot. Since I already have another laundry sorter, I’ve found having the two extra bags is great addition. I use one for dry cleaning and the other for items that are going to be donated (it’s always good to have a bin for outgoing clothing). I keep out in my laundry room with the casters at the bottom locked, but I love that it also folds up nice and slim when needed. The laundry center is available at Home Depot for $120.49, and I also found it priced even better at Wayfair.com for $69.00 with free shipping! It’s a nice, well made product, and since there’s no getting around the drudgery of doing laundry, you might as well have something that makes getting it done a little easier!

Food Storage Containers Out Of Control? Get Them In Order!

by Monica on May 18, 2012

in Friday Favorites

Here’s a post I wrote for the Sterilite blog on their Ultra+Latch food storage containers. You can also find this article at Sterilite.com.

As a professional organizer, it’s a pleasure to take advantage of extra time to organize a drawer or cabinet in my own home. I recently tried Sterilite Ultra+Latch food storage containers and was happy to eliminate some of my dilapidated old containers that were mis-matched or missing tops. I recycled the old and started fresh with the Ultra+Latch 20 piece set. My overflowing drawer thanked me, and in my transfer of containers, I found some other good qualities about using the Ultra+Latch:

Nicely stacking. These containers stack well and are thin enough that I can stack several on a shelf in the refrigerator. I love to fill them with healthy snacks for the family, this way when kids look into the fridge, they can quickly grab something healthy.

UltraLatch
Square shape a must. Always use plastic containers with a square shape if you want to maximize storage space. They are great in the freezer too where you can fill it tightly with individual frozen meals.

Label-able. The containers are translucent enough that you don’t really need a label, but since I like to keep a labeler handy in the kitchen, I labeled the containers so my kids won’t be able to tell me they didn’t see what was in there.

Food stays fresh. The watertight seal keeps food fresher longer and helps prevent spills and leaks. I really did notice a difference. I haven’t used them in the freezer yet, but I bet they would do well at keeping food fresh longer.

Well constructed. I’ve grown tired of those flimsy semi-disposable containers. I appreciate a well constructed piece that isn’t going to rip, tear or melt in the dishwasher. The Ultra+Latch containers made the mark.

If your plastic containers are in need of an overhaul, I suggest you take a look at the Sterilite Ultra+Latch containers. The purchase can help get that plastics drawer organized, get your fridge in order, and even help you make eating healthy a little easier!

 

Friday Favorite: Smead Tax Organizer

by Monica on April 13, 2012

in Friday Favorites,Tip of the Day

Ok all you procrastinators–you’ve got only this weekend left and your taxes must be filed –or at least your extensions! So if you have put it off to the very end, and even if you’ve already filed, here’s a great product to help keep all of your tax documents organized. The Tax Organizer by Smead is a booklet style organizer that can fit perfectly into a standard size file drawer. It has 6 pockets with heavy duty tabs, and a sheet of labels included with preprinted categories–they may even help to get you thinking about other deductions you might not have taken!  Another cool feature is each tab is actually a pocket that will hold any papers, even small receipts will not fall out.  So get moving quickly and get your taxes finished, organized and off your plate until next year!

“Clutter” The Play

by Monica on January 18, 2012

in Tip of the Day,Uncategorized

There’s a very interesting production making it’s Chicagoland debut tomorrow called “Clutter: The True Story of The Collyer Brothers Who Never Threw Anything Out”. It’s a play based on the true story of the brothers who were wealthy, eccentric hoarders in the 1920′s–long before the hoarding phenomenon. Because of their hoarding, the two brothers became shut-ins in their aristocratic New York neighborhood. Langley Collyer is missing and Homer Collyer is found dead amongst floor-to-ceiling piles of newspapers, books , and junk. the police investigating the case, two brothers with a strained relationship mirroring that of the Collyers, are simultaneously making discoveries about themselves. Narrated by the brothers and the police investigating the bizarre case, this darkly fascinating tale is a poignant and profoud exploration of human behavior. It’s opening tomorrow night at the Greenhouse Theater, 2257 N. Lincoln Avenue and closing March 11. Clutter is written by seven-time Emmy Award winning playwright Mark Saltzman. Here is an exclusive offer to our readers:

Friday Favorite: Viewables Labeling System

by Monica on January 13, 2012

in Uncategorized

January is a great time to clear through your filing system.  With the start of a new year, there’s often files that need to be  re-created and files from past years that can be put into storage. We suggest that you go through and clean out your files 1-2 times per year, so the time has come–right?  Some of you may even be long overdue!  Smead has come out with a great labeling system called Viewables. As you see in the photo, they are “viewable” from the top, front or back. Having the top viewing feature is great for that bottom drawer at your desk. You don’t have to bend down to see the labels when they are viewable from the top. They are also very customizable, so you can completely customize the label, number of lines to print, colors and fonts. The system is also very flexible, you can re-arrange the Viewables tabs just like the standard hanging file tabs, they fit into the same slots. 

Open that file drawer, pull out the labels and get your files cleaned out and in order today. Of course, you can always call your Chaos to Order organizer to come and give you a hand if you get stuck. You can even schedule your appointment right here.

Friday Favorite: Project Organizer

by Monica on December 9, 2011

in Friday Favorites,Tip of the Day

The month of December feels like it’s two months rolled into one. If you think about it, the amount of “extra” things we do in December is overwhelming. We do everything from holiday decorating to baking and parties to year end finances and  needing to squeeze in those special holiday visits with friends and family. Work still has to get done, and sometimes at the end of the year there’s even a big push to also get extra work done–go figure!  Here’s a little product that can help to keep your projects organized . The Project Organizer from Smead is a great place to keep papers from several different projects relating to one category. I particularly like the labels because you can create 10 different categories with labels all in one Project Organizer. There’s also plenty of space inside for notes and lists. It’s made with a durable cover and 2-ply tabs. If you’re on the go, it’s good to bring along. Check out the Smead Project Organizer and get your papers in their place!