My Latest Posts
Organizing for the Holidays
Fall is a great time to organize for the holidays. Stores are full of Halloween costumes and treats with some already setting up aisles of Christmas//Hannukah themes.
But wait… Don’t you already have rafters or storage closets full of holiday decorations from years’ past? Most people I know have many bins (some even entire storage units) full.
Instead of giving into the temptation of purchasing new holiday decorations, why not save hundreds or thousands of dollars by shopping from your own supplies? To make this more pleasurable, first do the following:
1) Gather all holiday items from every part of your home and/or storage areas into one space.
2) Remove everything from the boxes and bins.
3) Sort and Categorize items by holidays (e.g., Easter, 4th of July, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hannukah, New Year’s, etc.)
4) Evaluate everything to see what may need to be repaired, donated or tossed. this is also a great time to untangle lights, cords or other messes caused from last year’s rush to clean up.
5) Choose the best of the best to decorate your home with this year. Anything not being put on display can now be re-evaluated. Is it time to let it go?
This exercise will most likely take several hours and for some, several days! 😉
Make the process easier by inviting me in to do the sorting and categorizing part. Once all is nicely arranged, all you need do is shop from your own, well-organized holiday store!
Sensible Organizing Solutions, Inc.
(858) 300-5757 or (619) 302-5254
www.sensibleorganizing.comSOS…
Helping smart, busy people make room for what they love best!
Drowning in Excess
Before SOS-2001 Cluttered Office Floor
Do you have an insatiable need to constantly acquire an abundance of stuff? Perhaps you find yourself frequently shopping as a form of relaxation or distraction from hurt, anger, boredom or a feeling of lack.
Take a look around. Is your living room open and inviting with plenty of room on the sofa and chairs should you have guests? Or are toys, games, electronics, clothes, leftover food, kitchenware and other clutter usurping most of the furniture?
Are you floors and hallways filled with obstacles to trip over?
Are you kitchen counter-tops filled with paper and other items that have nothing to do with eating or preparing food?
Do you have trouble thinking straight because your office is too cluttered? These are some of the many reasons smart, busy people like you call me for help.
Most of you have invited me out to help with one or more of the above mentioned situations. But perhaps we never finished the project or you have simply allowed old habits to slip back in.
Need another kick start? No matter how bad the clutter has gotten since we last worked together, there is no need to feel embarrassed or ashamed. Priorities constantly shift and “life happens”. You will not be lectured or judged. My goal is to simply help you get back on track — wherever you are — whenever you are ready. We all have setbacks.
Now isn’t this better? 
The beginning of Fall is a good time to remove all of the excess from your path, your work-space, your home, your brain, your life!.
Jana Hartwell, CPO®
Certified Professional Organizer; Time Management & Productivity Consultant
President, Sensible Organizing Solutions, Inc. (SOS)
NAPO-San Diego Chapter President / 2012-14 and 2001-03
NAPO-SD Immediate Past President & Membership Director / 2014-15
www.sensibleorganizing.com
https://facebook.com/SensibleOrganizingSolutions
https://www.youtube.com/user/JanaHartwell/about
http://www.yelp.com/biz/sensible-organizing-solutions-el-cajon
Office/Fax: 619-334-8767
Mobile: 858-300-5757
Fun & Creative Organizing Solutions!
In an effort to break up some of our San Diego “June Gloom” weather, please enjoy a visual display of some fun and creative organizing solutions.
<<— When sorting out earrings, use buttons to keep them in pairs.
Each ping pong ball has a household chore written on it. Use these as a fun way to get your family motivated to help you declutter. —>>
<<— My young niece’s friend used fancy, colorful duck tape to cover a rolling trash bin. Inside, lives all of her stuffed animals. Can also be used as a laundry hamper, toy chest or…? Let your child decide.
Okay… How long do you think it took for this photographer to get each of these cats to stay in place, long enough for this picture to be taken? —->>
If you have missed any of my previous quick tip newsletters, please visit Jana’s Blog. Your comments and questions are always welcomed.
Jana Hartwell, CPO®
SOS… Helping smart, busy people make room for what they love best!
Get Organized — Get Healthy!
What does getting organizing have to do with good health? Plenty! Find out more by listening to this 2012 interview of Jana Hartwell, CPO®, on Living Health 365 You don’t have a half hour to focus on this recording? Go ahead and cheat by playing it in the background as you sort papers or do other tasks at your desk. Perhaps some good tips will sink in for you subliminally. Please let me know if you have any “Ah-Ha!” moments by posting a comment.
How to Handle Cumbersome Receipts
Look familiar?
It’s tax prep time and one of the most annoying details to deal with can be gathering and organizing all of your RECEIPTS.
Most of my clients have receipts laying around (usually folded or crumpled) in many different places. In the purse, wallet, car, kitchen or bathroom counters, bedstands, junk drawers, top of dresser, mixed with piles of other papers, inside shopping bags, in pockets of clothing or suitcases, etc.
And at tax time, do you stuff them all in a small shoebox or bag and bring them to your Accountant to sort?
To avoid having to gather receipts from all over the house and car during tax-prep time, here are some tips for handling your receipts as they come in:1) Designate a central place in your home or office to store your receipts.2) Make sure the container is large enough and wide enough to handle all receipts for the year (the box shown above is clearly not large enough for those receipts).3) Label the container “Tax-Deductible Receipts”.
4) Provide separate containers for receipts not related to your taxes (e.g., “Returns” or “Rebates” or “?? Receipts”.
5) Before placing a receipt in your designated container, unfold it and determine if it is tax-deductible.
6) If the receipt is not tax-deductible, do not place it in the receipt container (throw it away immediately or place it in a separate container).
7) To make it easier to enter receipt info into your money-management database (i.e., Quicken, Quickbooks, Excel), circle the date and amount on each receipt with a pen.
8) At least once a month, enter receipt info into your database system. Once receipts have been entered, place them in 9 x 12 envelopes and label them by the month/year or by the quarter.
When tax time rolls around, all of your receipts will have already been separated, entered in your database and organized by months of the year!
This will save you hours or even days during tax-prep time.
Jana Hartwell, CPO®