Tag: postaweek2011

Refine Your Bill-Paying Process

     Refine Your Bill Paying Process: I can’t pay your bills for you, sorry about that. But I can help you pay your own bills better, saving time and money on late fees, and decreasing stress. Here are 7 tips, and a case study for you to think about.

1.  Have one and only one place to stash Bills To Pay:  Where do the bills and mail tend to land? Dining room table? Kitchen counter? Hall table by the door? Everywhere?!?!
     • Decide on one and only one place to put your Bills To Pay.
     • Make it convenient, well-marked and attractive, if it is going to sit on a counter or table top.
     • Make sure the bill-payers/mail-openers know where the One Place is, and that they use it every day to tuck in those Bills To Pay.
     • When it comes time to pay the bills, it is a simple matter of grabbing them all and paying them, instead of searching the house for them or losing them!

2. Be Proactive:  Have a list of all the bills you pay, every month and irregular ones, too, like insurance or tuition. If you have not received one when it comes due, call your vendor and request it. There have been months when we’ve not received certain bills in the mail, and if we had not called about them and made the monthly payment, we would have been charged a late fee.

3. Electrify your Bill Paying:   There are two ways to set up your Bill-payments online:
     • One, set up your payments with your vendors (like Nicor, ComEd, Kohl’s, etc.), to take the payment from your account. Or
     • Two, Set up with your on-line banking to pay the bill. You set the amount and the date of payment, then the bank sends the money.
     • I prefer the second way, for a couple of reasons: It seems safer for your bank to send the money instead of all these vendors being able to request money from your accounts; and if you change banks or account numbers, you only have to re-set your on-line banking information, instead of contacting each vendor with the new information.

4. Spread out your Payments: Sometimes it seems that everything comes due at the same time! In our household, we get paid twice a month, so we prefer to have half of our bills due at the beginning of the month, and half in the middle. You can contact your vendors and request a billing cycle change, to help you budget more wisely. Some due dates cannot be changed, but some can, all you have to do is ask!

5. Put Bill Payment Day on your calendar:
     • Make an appointment every week or every pay period to pay your bills.
     • Perhaps it is every Tuesday evening, or the 1st and 15th of every month. Whatever works for you. Just put the appointment on the calendar, and make sure to do it!
     • Don’t Re-act to bills. Don’t pull out your check book, stamps and calculator every time a bill shows up. Once a week is often enough, you want to pay your bills more efficiently, not more often!

6. An easier way to file your Paid Bills:
     • Filing is for retrieval, not for long-term storage. We keep paid bills for a predetermined time (let’s say 2 years) for “Just In Case”. Just in case we need to answer a question, return an item, or call for service. And that’s just fine.
     • However, we can simplify the filing process by filing our bills by month.
     • For regular monthly bills, set up 12 envelopes, file folders or pockets in a binder, one for each month. Name each month for 2011 “Month name – odd year”, and stash your paid bill stubs and receipts in this file. Set up a second set for, you guessed it, “Month name – even year”.
     • At the beginning of 2012, start filling the Even Year envelopes or binder. At the end of 2012, go back to the Odd year envelopes or binders, shred the contents (by then, up to 2 years old) and start fresh for 2013.
     • Yes, you really do have to file. But, when “filing” is simply putting everything in one folder and (probably) ignoring it for 12-24 months until your system reminds you to purge it, that sounds pretty easy to me!

7.  Monitor your credit rating.  Illinois residents are entitled to a free credit report every year from each of the three credit reporting agencies. Request yours every year, and make sure there are no mistakes, unresolved issues or mysterious entries.  The three credit agencies are  Equifax; Transunion; and Experian.

Case Study: A friend mentioned that she wanted to improve on her bill paying process. She pays her bills online, and stores her paid bills near her computer. Her Bills To Pay are on her dining room table, rooms away from the computer. Sound familiar? Sure, because lots of families use similar systems, and actually it is a good system. Having the bill payment and the paid bill storage together is a great idea, so that works. Having the bills on the dining room table may be the sticking point, though. Like any system, paper management requires us to create and stick to some good habits. So to solve that problem, she (and we) could try:
• Creating an attractive basket or handy envelope to collect the Bills To Pay (and nothing else!) near her mail-processing place, for her and her husband to stash all unpaid bills.
• This friend also mentioned episodic bills, not just regular monthly bills, like activity registrations, etc., and to help with that, perhaps she chooses the “once a week” bill payment schedule, for those things that come up between paydays.

Life Lessons I’ve learned from my Tennis Lessons

     I am taking Tennis Lessons, thanks to a lovely Christmas gift, and I love Tennis!  I have learned a lot, too,  and not just about Tennis!  So here are… 

Life Lessons and Organizing Tips my Tennis Lessons have taught me (and how you can learn from them, too)

  1. “Follow-through is critical to success”. 
    • When you swing a tennis racquet, much of the force that carries the ball over the net comes from using the momentum from the entire swing, the entire range of motion.
    • Follow-though is critical to success in Life and organizing, too! 
  2. “Approach the ball the same way every time, regardless of where it comes from.”
    • Good habits make everything work better
  3. “Sometimes an ugly (incorrect or awkward) swing still gets the ball over the net.”
    • This tells us that we don’t need to be perfect to get the job done. 
  4. “A loose grip on the racquet is better than a tight grip”. 
    • A looser grip, or letting go of perfectionism, allows for flexibility in tennis and in life.
  5. “Using new muscles gets easier over time”.
    • My forearm was really sore after my first two lessons, but now even more strenuous lessons don’t bother me at all.  So if we use our “organizing” muscles regularly, that will get easier, too!
  6. We can all learn new skills, at any time in our life.
    • In the context of Life and organizing, this is reassuring and motivating.  We can learn to do almost anything, if we try and if we practice!
  7. New is fun and empowering!
    • Exposure to new things and ideas and people help us to think in new ways about our life.
    • I never thought about taking Tennis lessons, but my wise and wonderful hubby signed me up as a Christmas present.  And I love it!  And learning these new skills reminds me how great it feels to face and conquer new challenges.  We don’t know if we can do a thing until we try, and then we know we can do anything!
  8. Making a Healthy Choice feels great!
    • I have learned things from the wonderful people in my class, too!  There is the instructor and just three of us in the class, me and two life-long friends.  These two friends used to meet once a week for breakfast, and were finding that the time spent together while eating was not helping their health and wellness!  So they chose to swap out their huge breakfast once a week for tennis lessons instead.
    • I love that!  The time and money spent are about the same, and they are keeping the tradition, the appointment with a friend.  But they chose to make it a new and healthy habit, too.    

     So, if you want to take up tennis, great – I’ll see you on Tuesday mornings!  But you can learn Life Lessons without ever picking up a racquet.  And maybe trying something new can change your outlook on life, too!

Are You Drowning in Kid Papers?

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      A friend recently stated she was “Drowning in Kid Papers”, and I know we all feel that way some days.  So let me lend a hand and pull you out of your paper flood!  

     There are 3 kinds of papers:  Archival, Passive and Active.  Most of those Kid Papers bogging you down are Active Papers.  Active Papers require a next action and soon!  They are items such as permission slips to complete; a party invitation that requires a phone call, and then a trip to the store for a gift; coupons to take shopping and redeem;  and bills to mail, etc. 

     How do we get to Act on these Papers?   Decide on One and Only One place for these papers to live.  In our house, the active papers live on the kitchen desk (our Command Center).  They live in Only One Place because that makes acting on them a lot simpler!   And This One and Only One Place is also where all papers land when they come into our house, either via our mail box, backpacks, work briefcases, etc. 

  1. Use the Steps from Julie Morgenstern, Organizing From the Inside Out:
  • Sort and Purge – Make purging easy:  What can go now?  Trash?  Shred? Recycle?
  •      Complete forms and put right back in the backpack (we keep envelopes and small $$ in the desk drawer)
  •      File school papers right away. 
  • Sort the rest into Active, Passive and Archival papers
  •       Put away passive and archival immediately
  •       These are Active papers, so sort them by action:  Calls to make, Forms to complete.  Or, Sort them by when you want to Act on them, By Day:  I have a file for each day, so if I have calls to make, I’ll tuck all those reminders in this week’s Thursday file, when I know I will have an hour at home to make the calls.  Or, The Best idea:  Act on them RIGHT NOW, if you can, and move them along.
  • Assign a Home / Containerize:  Have a work space the whole family knows about, and if it tends to be a kitchen counter, so be it.
  • Equalize (Means Maintenance):  Regular maintenance is vital to any paper management system, so plan to act on your Active Papers every day or two, and to look at your Passive Papers every month or two.  Purge the information that is no longer important to you or that is about events and seasons now over.  Every Friday we clean out backpacks and folders, with my sons standing next to me.  We use four categories: Papers for Mom to Act On, Recycle/Toss, File (keep) and Homework to Complete. 

       Here are some examples of files on my kitchen desk, use them as inspiration to create and name your own files:

  1. “To File – Child’s Name” files, one for each child. I fill this file during the week as backpacks come home with papers, then file the items in a bin on each child’s closet shelf when I clean house (every week or 2)
  2. “Academics – Child’s Name” file, one for each child, for quarterly assessments, certificates, awards, etc. throughout the year.  These become part of their Archival records in their binder.
  3. Kids Activities: Current team rosters and contact lists, receipts for paid fees, raffle tickets, etc.
  4. Kids (Possible) Activities (for ideas when they come in the back packs or mail)
  5. Kids Extra Pix (pictures people give us through the year, extra school photos)
  6. Kids Religious Education (handbooks, general information)
  7. Kids Music (handbook, repair information, copies of completed sign ups)
  8. Kids Gifted Program (handbooks, overviews, resources)
  9. Kids Boy Scouts (contact information, handbook and yearly info)
  10. Kids Service (ideas for service projects, things to do)
  11. Kids School (handbooks, schedules, Principal notes and newsletters, sick child policies)

I also have a file holder on the desk, for general Family files.  All of these are accessible to all family members.

  1. Family: Adventures (ideas for places to do and things to do, parking passes, free day passes, etc.)
  2. Family: Events (guest lists for RSVPs; info or permission slips from venues, menu and party ideas for upcoming events)
  3. Family:  Home Improvements (ideas like paint colors or new front door brochures; active bids for projects, info on a new couch)
  4. Family:  Memberships (membership cards and literature for aquarium, zoo, museums, etc.)
  5. Family: Menus and coupons (take out and catering menus, along with coupons and such)
  6. Family:  Recipes (finally, some place to toss all the recipes I grab out of magazines, in a place where I can actually flip through and try them out!)
  7. Family:  Travel (travel info and packing lists for upcoming trips, accessible to me and my hubby, file goes on vacation with us)
  8. On a clip above the desk, we have upcoming event information, in reverse chronological order.  These are just for information purposes, Actions have already taken place:
    1. Invitations I have already responded to
    2. Newsletters from the library, with events I have signed up for circled or initialed
    3. forms to be turned in, like registration, with the due date noted on top
    4. Look ahead to tomorrow’s schedule

      Archival Papers are those items worthy of Long Term Storage, For example: mortgage papers, wills, passports, birth certificates, etc., and annual tax papers (for 4-7 years).  We store archival papers in small and movable labeled bins (not too big), file cabinets, or bankers boxes.   Archival Kid papers could be Keepsakes and treasures from each school year.  A great way to store those are Binders (a separate blog published 2/20/2011)

     Passive papers will most likely not be needed or retrieved except for disposal.  We keep them for a pre-determined amount of time and then discard.  Passive Kid Papers include: Completed everyday assignments and art projects; Yearly school handbook; contact lists for teams, or schedules and calendars (after we input the information into our date book / PDA of choice).   Here are a couple of ideas for How to take care of Kid Passive Papers:

  1. Short term – Open file holders on the desk or counter top, see above for suggestions 
  2. Monthly “Reminder”  files – a file for every month, for upcoming events, reminders, deadlines, etc. more than a month away (birthday party ideas and gift ideas are great to pop into monthly Reminder files).
  3. Also, if your young Picasso’s artwork and projects are gumming up the works, keep a few from year to year, or save them all to review in June, after school is over, and have your child pick their top 10.  Or, take a photo of the artwork or project, and print up and keep the photo as a memory (then you can toss the big cumbersome original)

     So, friends, if you, too, feel like you are “drowning in Kid Papers”, consider this your Life Preserver!  Spend a little time setting up your space to manage the deluge, and then spend a little time every day maintaining, or “staying a-float”.   Peace to you – Colleen

Bind Up That Paper Monster!

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Published originally in July, 2010 via  my website.   Copyright © 2010 M. Colleen Klimczak

 

I hear paper management questions all the time:

  • “What do I do with my kids’ school papers?”
  • “I cut out lots of recipes, how can I remember to use them?”
  • “How do I store my papers so that I can find things easier?”
  • “Maintenance is a pain – how can I make it go easier?”

            The answer to all these questions can be “Binders!”  Early on in my business, a friend and client helped me embrace the idea of Binders, so thanks to DCD!

 When to use a Binder system:

  • When you work with categories, like Children’s School / PTA or Medical Papers, 2009;
  • If you are a visual person or prefer to see your papers instead of filing them in file cabinets;
  • When you want or need your papers to be portable;
  • You have space limitations, binders work well instead of large file cabinets;
  • When you don’t have a system that works, or are ready to try something different to get a handle on your paper management (WHICH MEANS ALL OF US!).

Why use a Binder system:

  • You can read your information like a book;
  • You can organize your information how it makes sense to you;
  • Binders are Portable, to work on when you are on vacation, when you travel, when you are out and have some time while waiting, etc., or to take with you to doctor’s appointments;
  • Binders are Flexible, you can add or subtract folders as life evolves;
  • Binders are Duplicate-able, meaning if they work for one family member’s medical issues, perhaps you can use them for other areas of your life.

Situations that might benefit from a Binder System:  I use them for:

  • Working with categories, like
    • Children’s School / PTA or Medical Papers, 2009
    • Class topics / presentation notes, organized by topic
    • Recipes, like Main Dishes, Appetizers, Desserts, Beverages, Family Favorites
    • Children’s academic papers, organized chronologically and by child (see below for example)
    • For Bills, organized in pockets in the Binder…
  •  
    •      Chronologically by year, then by vendor
    •      Chronologically by year, then by month
    •      Use pockets for pen, calculator, check book, stamps / address labels

How to set up a Binder system:

  • If you don’t have Binders and accessories at home, take a trip to the office supply store.
  • Pick up a few 1”-3” 3-ring binders, a 3-hole punch, a stapler, 2 or 3 sets of binder pocket folders with tabs, plus pens and notepapers.
  • Sort your papers into categories, if you have not done so already, and pick a category like “Your Name – Medical” to try out the Binder idea.
  • Within my Colleen- Medical binder, I have clear binder pocket folders labeled:
  • An example of a non-medical Binder is a Binder for each student in your home.
  • As my kids get older and involved in more academic and leadership opportunities, it is so easy to access their report card history, special achievements and activities, since all the information is already grouped together.
  •  
    • Insurance Statements from my insurance company
    • Bills or statements from my physician appointments
    • Completed / Paid bills for those insurance statements and paid bills, once they are matched up and paid in full
    • Notes or articles I want to ask my doctor about
    • Articles about things I want to learn more about, like Heart health or weight loss
    • Other items might include pre or Post-operative instructions, prescriptions to fill, information about prescription meds I am taking, etc.
    • You can also keep your lab results or similar items in a binder, to make it easier to flip through them and review your progress over time.
  • We have 3 sons, therefore 3 Binders on the shelf in the kitchen.
  • Each child has a Binder, and in that Binder is a pocket for each school year.
  • We 3-hole punch the various papers or use sheet protectors (also available at your office supply store) to store awards received, newspapers articles, school pictures in photo pages, grade reports, team pictures from sports, notes, etc.

     Imagine the Binder system is like the main drive and folders in your computer.  The Binder is the main drive, and the binder pocket folders are the sub-directories for different areas of your life.  Think about the different areas, the “categories” of your life, and give paper management and a Binder system a try! 

Published originally in July, 2010 via  my website.   Copyright © 2010 M. Colleen Klimczak

Soar to New Heights: Your Landing and Launch Pad

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Every day is a good day to to work on your “Landing and Launch Pad”.

Your Landing and Launch Pad:

  • Is the flat surface near a door where you drop your stuff and bags when you enter your home and pick them up again to take with you when you leave;
  • Is crucial to your success in arriving at destinations on time and prepared; and
  • Is one organizational project that will improve your life immediately.

Why do you need a Landing and Launch Pad?

  • We come and go from home daily, often multiple times! At Klimczak Central, 5 people come and go, to and from many destinations and events.
  • Assign a Home to your necessary items (like backpacks, briefcase, keys and cell phones), corralling them in one location.  Eliminate the last-minute scramble on the way out the door!
  • You probably have a L/L Pad already, but maybe you haven’t given it much thought.  This is your chance to consider your stuff and space, and make both work better for you!

What belongs on a Landing and Launch Pad?

  • Essentials like backpacks, briefcase, keys and cell phones
  • For Launch
    • Shoes, coats and accessories
    • Boots, gloves and hats in winter
    • Umbrellas, sunscreen, ball caps and sunglasses in summer
    • Activity Accessories:
      • For Example, Bags for Soccer with shin guards and uniforms; a bag for Band with music and instruments, etc.; and the bags to go to Choir with me, Cub Scout meetings with us, etc.
  • For Landing:
    • A place to hang your keys and empty your pockets, an envelope for receipts, a jar for loose change, and a shallow bowl for your pocket contents
  • Time between Landing and Launch:
    • Phone chargers and a surge protector
    • Stock items for purses, backpacks and diaper bags, like our stash of small snacks, tissue packets, chap stick, band-aids, anti-bacterial lotion or wipes

 Where should a Landing and Launch Pad be, and what does it look like?

  • Just like your Command Center, let function dictate form.
  • Choose one door as your main entrance, and funnel all the family through there so stuff doesn’t end up all over the house.
  • A L/L Pad near your coat closet is a great idea, but not always feasible, for example our coat closet is at the front door, and our L/L Pad is at the back near the garage door.  We just limit the number of coats out at any time to 1 per child, and 2 per adult.
  • We set a 2-pair shoe limit per person at the L/L Pad to cut clutter.  Extras are stored in bedroom closets.  This time of year, we see boots and sneakers, and sneakers and crocs in the summer.  (I am the worst offender of the 2 pair rule, but I am working on it!)
  • To encourage participation, consider each family member.  For example, my youngest son has a row of hooks for his coat and backpack at his eye level, and he’s great about hanging his stuff there!
  • Use vertical space – coat racks, baskets under benches, over-the-door shoe organizer with pockets for shoes, of course, but also seasonal accessories like gloves and mittens, or umbrellas and sunscreen.
  • We keep it basic.  A bench for staging bags and for putting on shoes, hooks for coats and bags at varying heights for all of us, a basket for extra hats and gloves, and a large rubber (waterproof) mat for boots and shoes.

As with any Organizing Endeavor, maintenance is critical to your Landing and Launch Pad:

  1. Pick a spot for your essential items and stick with it.  Label it, if that helps.  But ALWAYS USE IT!
  2. Give each person assigned and labeled space (e.g. a hook or two, a cubby or basket, even a magazine holder on a shelf) for their Launch stuff AND USE IT!
  3. Re-pack bags immediately upon returning home.
  4. Keep only current season (weather and sports) items in your Landing/Launch Pad, to cut confusion and clutter.    There is so much activity there, it is essential to keep only the stuff you really need.

Invest a little time and thought (and perhaps a little money) this week, and set up your Landing and Launch Pad to make your comings and goings run more smoothly!