Filing Cabinets Don’t Work for ADHD Minds: Help for Paper Pilers

October 19, 2020
by Lisa Woodruff
from ADDitude.mag

Did you think we would still be dealing with paper in 2020? Me neither. I was sure that the “future would be digital,” yet here I sit with stacks of paper around me and more paper in every room. If you’re wondering how to organize paperwork, start with this management system.

Paper is a Hard Habit to Break

Ours is a paper-based society.

Paper-dependence starts with birth certificates and Social Security cards. In short order, kids become paper producers. From precious handprint turkeys to report cards, they bring home so much paper that is heart-wrenching to discard. Some you keep as memorabilia; some you save for a while to remind you of an action item — like an upcoming field trip or project.

When I realized I would never be paperless, I changed my goal from eliminating all paper to having less of it.

Read the rest on ADDitude.mag.

ADHD, paper clutter, paperwork

Step-by-Step Guide to Organizing Your Financial Documents

Even though we are in the Digital Age, paper remains a constant in our lives. While junk emails have replaced junk snail mail (trees happy, inboxes…not so much), one of the major paper generators of all is personal finances. Last summer my husband and I sold and then bought a home—the amount of paper those two transactions took was mind-boggling. We all have bank records, loans, credit cards, and utilities…and that is just the beginning. So much of our money-related information enters our homes as paper! Organizing paperwork can definitely be overwhelming. Let these guidelines help you get your financial documents in order.

Review what documents you have.

Before you can organize your documents, go through them and see what you have. Organize them into categories, such as To File, To Shred, To Read, To Pay, and Needs Action. You may discover unpaid bills, receipts for tax deductions, and all sorts of other paperwork you didn’t realize was in that big stack. If you’re uncertain about what to keep and what to shred, refer to our thorough guide on paper retention.

home organizing, office organizing, paper clutter

Get Started on Your Taxes Now

This year the IRS began accepting tax returns on January 24, 2022; this is earlier than the usual February. The deadline to file your 2021 taxes is midnight on Monday, April 18, 2022. That date will be here faster than you think. Don’t hold off any longer—the time to file is now. According to the IRS, 20-25% of Americans wait until the final two weeks before the deadline to prepare their documents and file. The sooner you file, the less likely you will need to file an extension or pay a fine.

Here are seven reasons to get started on your taxes today:

By the end of February most financial institutions have mailed out their respective tax documents. You should have all your documents gathered and organized. If you think you are still missing something (e.g., a document, form, or receipt), call the appropriate person to get that item sent to you right away. Tip: an email with the attached file is much quicker than the U.S. Mail.
If you think you may be entitled to a stimulus payment, filing your taxes early is likely the quickest way to secure those funds. In March 2021 lawmakers approved a $1,400 stimulus check, but some people did not receive it. For instance, if your wages changed in 2021, you may have been eligible for a stimulus check without realizing it. Taxpayers who didn’t receive a stimulus payment, or who didn’t receive the full amount they were owed, may claim the missing funds through the Recovery Rebate Credit on their 2022 taxes.
Tax preparation professionals will once again be busier than ever this tax-filing season. As soon as you have all your documents, submit them to your tax professional. Don’t procrastinate on this; even CPAs have to get extensions if they can’t file your taxes in time.
There is a penalty for not filing your taxes by the deadline. This penalty is harsher and different from the penalty for failure to pay what you owe by the deadline. You should file taxes on time even if you are unable to pay all the taxes you owe by the due date.
Get ahead of the fraudsters! Another advantage of filing early if you expect a refund: It helps ensure that you claim your money before fraudsters have a chance to claim it in your name.
Don’t forget that tax refunds are your money! Why wait any longer than necessary to claim it? You’ll feel much better knowing it’s in your bank account, and not the government’s coffers.
Filing your tax return now and checking that off your to-do list is one more way to lighten your load. No more thinking about taxes for at least another 9 months!

income taxes, IRS, paperwork

What to Save and What to Shred: Paper Retention Guidelines

Even with many day-to-day tasks moving online, there will still–and always be–paper. The average American receives almost 50,000 pieces of mail in their lifetime, and 30% of it is junk. No wonder so many of us have piles of paper items that can quickly accumulate if not taken care of. You want to tackle the stacks of paper on your desk, but you’re not quite sure how to start? Our guidelines will help you know what to save, what to recycle, and what to shred.

The Simplify Experts Paper Retention Schedule:

All tax returns are to be kept; receipts need to be kept for the last 7 years of returns only.
Bank statements only have to be kept for 3 years unless a key component in your 7 years of tax receipts.
Financial Brokerage accounts – keep the current year statements. At the end of year, save only year-end and tax related forms. Trade confirmations need to be kept to prove the original price of the stock when purchased until sold. Keep trade confirmations in a labeled manila folder with your tax receipts.
Keep all medical billing statements and prescription receipts for the year should you incur large medical expenses for that year and have enough to claim a tax deduction. If you did not meet the medical claim amount for your income, than shred all medical billing at year-end.
You only need a couple months worth of utilities unless you run a business out of your home and are writing off a portion of those expenses to your business.
If you believe you will be doing a wealth of improvements to your home for the life of your home, keep all home improvement receipts for capital gains tax when you sell the home.

paper clutter, paperwork, The Paper Magnet

Professional Organizer’s Guide to Writing Thank You Notes

A Professional Organizer’s Guide to Writing More Thank You Notes

I am a big fan of appreciation and thanking someone warmly for a gift or a kind act. I love receiving handwritten thank you notes (I don’t knock email notes either) because it means someone took the time to let me know they both received the gift and are favorably acknowledging the efforts made on their behalf. A personal piece of correspondence is the best kind of mail to get. It’s a treasure in the sea of junk mail, catalogs, and bills. I especially adore a thank you note that points out something spot-on about the item and/or something special about your relationship with that person – bonus points!

Apparently, I am not alone. An article in the New York Times, “You Should Send That Thank You Note You’ve Been Meaning to Write” from July 20, 2018, agreed that people like getting thank you notes. Seriously, who would not like getting a thank you?

gratitude, Professional Organizer, thank you notes

Declutter Your Desk in Just 5 Minutes

In our 2018 book Declutter and Thrive: Overcoming 6 Common Disorganization Types to Reveal Your Best You, one of the “types” we describe is The Overburdened Employee. For this individual, clutter and disorganization at work or in their home office is a daily struggle, negatively impacting their productivity, stress levels, mental and physical health, as well as their career.

Set aside time to declutter and organize your work area, whether it’s at the office or at home. Get help from a family member or friend. If this task is overwhelming, get support from a professional organizer. Then use the tasks listed in the infographic below to maintain the space and vastly improve productivity, focus, peace of mind, and respect from co-workers.

declutter and thrive, paper clutter, productivity, the overburdened employee

Get Control of Your Personal Information – Know What to Shred

Personal information security is a hot topic these days. Between news of identity theft, mass data breaches and social media personal data security, the subject is front and center in our minds. We all want out personal information to be safe, whether it is our financial information, medical records, or social media data. Each year, we handle hundreds of documents that entail sensitive information, physical paper, our personal and financial paperwork.

It can be confusing to figure out what documents we need to keep, how long, and what documents we can dispose of, and how. Some individuals are so anxious about identity theft that they do not dispose of any paperwork at all! That results in massive paper piles, making it nearly impossible to find important documents when you need them. These piles can become an overwhelming burden. Paperwork clutter is a common problem, and very tedious and time consuming to tackle.

So, how can we protect our personal information (without getting buried in paper), at least the kind of personal information which commonly arrives in the mail? What to keep? How long? Why? We have some answers for you.

What Personal Information to Keep and How Long

Tax Returns: Keep copies of all your tax returns. Keep the back-up information and

paper clutter, personal information, shredding

5 Ways to Make a Rainy February Productive

February – the month of the Super Bowl and Valentine’s Day, football jerseys and candy hearts. Around here, it’s also the month when we start wishing for the puddles to dry and spring to arrive. While it is still cold and gray outside, you CAN be productive and get lots done inside. Grab your favorite coffee drink, and let’s get cracking!

Put Away Holiday Decor

If you haven’t done so yet, pack up the rest of the holiday décor and put it away until next year. Return your inflatable Santa to it’s box in the garage, and recycle the sad, dry Christmas wreath. If the gloomy February weather is sapping your energy, you might need an energetic, cheerful organizer to boost your productivity and get the last of that holiday décor put away. We are a phone call away.

Reduce your Partner’s Burden this Valentine’s Day

For Valentine’s Day, think about doing something simple yet thoughtful.

income taxes, paperwork, summer vacation, Valentine's Day

10 Reasons We Keep So Much Paper

It seems that everyone struggles with paper clutter. At the beginning of each year, we encourage clients to go through filing cabinets, recycling or shredding unneeded documents. For some folks though, the paper clutter is deeper than a few old insurance explanation of benefits or old quarterly financial statements.

The following are ten reasons we hang on to so much paper!

Information is powerful. We keep a lot of paper as reference material, so we can find it later when we need it.
For many people, printed copy is easier to read than online. Some folks print reams of documents with the intention to read through every page.
Catalogues are promises of a better future self or home. We often hang on to them for inspiration or potential future purchases.
Magazines can be full of knowledge we’d like to retain. We keep them to read them again, or to hang on to the “knowledge” we’ve gained.
Beautiful photography in magazines may inspire our travel. We may get ideas for home remodeling projects from magazines. Although much of this information is also available online, we may keep the magazine as a physical reminder.
Sometimes, the paper is your work product. You may have copies of projects

filing, get organized, paper clutter, shredding

Organize to Protect Your Identity

Data breach. Customer information stolen. Identity theft. Those words regularly appear in the news, making you, the consumer, angry. You wonder why companies can’t seem to figure it out–either stop collecting personal information or protect it!

Despite companies’ security efforts, the risk of identity theft isn’t going away. Criminals world-wide seem to be one step ahead. In 2016, over $16 billion was stolen from consumers, around $1,300 per victim.

data breach, identity theft, paperless