“How long do I keep paper?” is one of the questions I get asked the most. Many people are afraid to throw papers out. To help, I compiled this list from several sources including the IRS, for which there is a direct link to their recordkeeping document at the bottom.

These recommendations are for residential recordkeeping. Business recordkeeping varies, please check with your accountant.

Save for 1 month

• Credit-card receipts
• Sales receipts for minor purchases
• Withdrawal and deposit slips. (Shred after checking against your monthly bank statement.)

   Read more...

Laura Ray has been named President of the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO) – Georgia Chapter, effective December 9, 2013. Laura, who was in her second term as Vice President of the NAPO-Georgia Board 2013-14, and in her third year on the Board, was voted in after the current President resigned.

The Organizing Authority(R), the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO), is the premier association dedicated to the field of organizing. Since forming in 1985, NAPO has been dedicated to serving its members through education, networking, industry resources, and promoting the profession to the public.

In January, I had the privilege of filming a segment on organizing for TrustDale TV which airs Sunday mornings on the local  NBC affiliate, WXIA-11Alive. The segment featured me and my client Tom DiGregorio, who hosts a regular feature on the show called Tom’s Tips. If you’ve never seen it, TrustDale is hosted by consumer advocate Dale Cardwell and features tips on how to find reputable contractors and avoid scams.

My interview with Tom and Dale ran February 24, 2013. If you’d like to watch it, here’s a link to it on YouTube.

I train individuals on how to take control of their e-mail and work more effectively. One simple solution is to UNSUBSCRIBE from publications and regular advertisements — even from your favorite stores. Most people say, “It only takes a second to delete the (unwanted) e-mail.” So, they’ve never taken the time to unsubscribe. Here’s the truth:

If you receive 10 unwanted e-mails on a weekly basis and 10 more e-mails that arrive on a monthly basis, that adds up to 640 e-mails a year. If you take a few minutes to unsubscribe the next time you see these unwanted e-mails, you will protect your in-box from 640 e-mails! Yes, these are e-mails that you won’t have to deal with at all!

Rainbow -- From a friend's window

I love learning from my clients. One client, an artist, already had a stellar system of daily to-do folders when I met her. She has 7 folders, one for each day of the week. What colors did she choose that would be easy to remember?

Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo and Violet. For all you color fans out there, it’s the old stand-by, ROY G. BIV! That’s the mnemonic to help remember the sequence of hues in the visible spectrum and in rainbows. (Thanks to Wikipedia for the definition.)

Laura with organizing guru Julie Morgenstern (on R) at San Diego conference

Now there’s a title that grabs your attention. What? Never check e-mail in the morning? Organizing guru and author of “Never Check E-mail in the Morning” Julie Morgenstern says devoting the first hour of the day to a critical task starts the day with you in charge and not the other way around. Makes sense!

I met Julie last week in San Diego at the annual conference of the National Association of Professional Organizers. More than 700 organizers attended, including some from the Netherlands, Brazil, Canada, Philippines, Australia and Japan!

Face the day with peace of mind and confidence by organizing these daily-use spaces in your home.

1) Kitchen — It’s the heart of the home and usually where everything lands when it comes in the door. If the kitchen is in chaos due to mail, school bags and recent purchases, it can add stress to your day and be a barrier to family meal time.

2) Home Office — Win the battle against paper and develop systems for handling paperwork and mail. If you have a home-based business, you want an orderly, professional-looking office so that you can focus on your business. Being organized in this space means an easy-to-use filing system and a space that you enjoy being in.  Read more...

They say the size of your trash can is directly related to how much you are willing to throw out. Go bigger. If you have an itty, bitty trash can by your desk, get a bigger one. And, if you handle your mail in other rooms, like the family room, keep a trash can in there, too!

One of my favorite time-saving e-mail tips is to do this first BEFORE opening any e-mail:  Delete everything you can without opening it. This includes junk mail, trails of e-mails that are not helpful to you, “fyi” e-mails that are not critical to your life or work right now, and e-publications that you don’t have time for that day or week. And an added bonus:  this also helps you remember who is in charge of your e-mail — take control!

I finally have my own home office. Why would I set up my office like a cubicle? Been there, done cubicle world. U-shaped desks have proven to be the most productive workspaces. Everything is at your fingertips if you have drawers for supplies and filing, as well as a shelf or two for books or notebooks above.