Uncle Sam Is Ready...Are You? Organizing Tips For Tax Time

Uncle Sam is Ready...Are You? Organizing Tips for Tax Time

by Stacey Agin Murray

Anyone who is closely related to an accountant knows that there are not four, but five seasons in a year: Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter, and 'Tax Season.' During the other seasons, we accumulate leaves, snow, and mosquito bites. During 'Tax Season' we accumulate paper. And more paper. And if you have a small business or investments--even more paper.

Whether you hire someone to prepare your taxes or attempt to decipher the forms yourself, it is imperative that your papers be in order for this 'fifth season.' Organizing your tax-related documents is not just a project for the evening of April 13th. Good tax organization is a year-round process.

Some pitfalls of being disorganized at tax time:

• You run the risk of misplacing important receipts/documents

• You feel stressed from the mad dash to the tax preparer/post office on April 14th

• Your tax preparer may charge you more money if they have to spend time wading through your piles of loose receipts.

How to remedy these tax-time situations? Prepare now for next year by getting organized!

Set up an all-year round file system

Designate a box, accordion file, or a file cabinet for year-round paper storage and retrieval. Create folders for receipts, credit card and bank statements, anything you have spent money on or need to keep track of for tax purposes. As you acquire such documents, place them in the appropriately labeled folder. This is beneficial not only for tax time but for when you have to retrieve certain papers throughout the year.

Give your tax-related papers a home

Every January, our mailboxes become flooded with documents necessary for filing your taxes. At the beginning of the year, designate a large envelope or box in one area of your home or a file in your file cabinet for these papers. Examples of these are:

• W2's

• 1099's

• Mortgage interest statements

• Bank interest statements

• Real estate tax statements

• Investment statements

• Receipts for charitable donations

Sort and create categories for your papers/receipts

By early February you should have received all paperwork necessary to complete your taxes. Take that envelope/box/file of collected papers and sort them by category. This process will enable you or your tax preparer to quickly locate your papers and receipts. Some basic categories are:

• Salary

• Real Estate

• Medical

• Childcare

• Investments

Save your tax preparer aggravation by throwing away the envelopes that your statements came in and tear off the perforated edges from your income statements. Group the documents into the categories you’ve created and paper clip them together. Place all of these papers in a folder or large envelope.

Call your tax preparer early

If you're using a tax preparer, call in January to schedule a mid to late February tax appointment. Doing this forces you to organize and compile all the necessary information by that date. Also, accountants get very busy as April 15th approaches. You don’t want an exhausted accountant doing your taxes...

Being organized at tax time will give you greater control over the tax preparation process. Instead of feeling overwhelmed, you will feel a sense of calm and accomplishment. Instead of frantically searching for documents you will be able to produce them at a moment’s notice. Instead of your accountant cursing your name, he/she will sing your praises when you present them with an envelope of organized papers and receipts.

The sooner you get organized for tax time the sooner you may get that big refund check. If that’s not motivation enough, I don’t know what is...

About The Author

Stacey Agin Murray, professional organizer and owner of Organized Artistry, LLC, transforms mess into masterpiece with patience, organizing know-how, and a sense of humor. For a free e-list of Top Ten Tips for Organized Living, or to order your copy of 7 Steps to an Organized Wedding Thank You Note please visit her web site at http://www.organizedartistry.com.

stacey@organizedartistry.com

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Organizing A Car Wash Fundraiser

Organizing a Car Wash Fundraiser

by Lance Winslow

The key to a successful car wash fundraiser event is to eliminate chaos before it starts. Having done more than 100 car wash fundraisers myself, I can safely say that there is a right way and a wrong way to do a car wash fundraiser. Here are some tips in organizing your next successful car wash fundraiser.

ORGANIZING

Bringing the troops together isn’t easy. First they need to be motivated. Chances are you already have synergy in your group. You need to harvest this synergy to make an effective team. There are a number of assignments to do to have a successful fundraiser. If this is a sports team or other well-organized group, you will already have a support structure, which will help tremendously. You will first need to set up a car wash fundraiser committee. Here are the assignments:

Person in charge

Publicity coordinator

Location and site locator

Supplies needed person

Ticket sales captain

Shift scheduler

Post car wash follow up person

Environmental coordinator

Since you are probably in charge, seeing as you are reading this book, your job description is as follows:

Person In Charge:

Pitch the idea to a group and get them to approve it. Find volunteers. Make a time line starting six weeks before and up to one week after the event. Look over the descriptions of other assignments. Make sure you feel confident that each volunteer is capable and willing to do his or her assignments. Regularly check to make sure assignments are being met. Check often. Team follow up is essential. Also, get or make the tickets. Make sure you feel confident that you can do all this. If not, either get the confidence or explain briefly the car wash fundraiser idea and give this book to a person who you know can do anything. The other job descriptions are as follows:

Publicity Coordinator:

Call all local publications that are applicable and submit information to the Community Calendar sections. Call the radio stations. Make sure they put the event on the Public Service Announcements (PSA’s) schedule. Call local reporters and let them know of your event. Make signs. Make wrapped coffee cans for extra donations. Write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper two weeks before the event.

Location And Site Locator:

Find a visible high traffic location. Contact property owners. Get insurance for the event if property owners desire such. Discuss traffic flow with the property owner. One week before the event write a confirmation and thank you letter.

Supplies Needed Person:

Round up buckets, hoses, soap, sponges, towels, etc. Collect signs from the publicity person before the event.

Ticket Sales Captain (Coach):

Give out tickets to your group’s sales force. Keep a log of tickets given out and money collected. Schedule meetings two times per week with your sales staff. Make sure your log matches with the number of tickets and amount of money they collected.

Shift Scheduler:

Make sure you have enough volunteers to come and wash the cars the day of the event. Have exact names and times and make sure the volunteers know when they are working. Have phone numbers for all your volunteers. Call and confirm with each person the week of the event.

Post Car Wash Person:

Make certificates for the other assigned jobs on the committee. Make a certificate for the gas station owner or the property owner. Send a letter to the editor of your local newspaper publicly thanking everyone for their support. Make sure the car wash site is spotless when the car wash fundraiser is done. Sample standard thank you letters are in the Appendix Section of this book.

Environmental Coordinator (If Needed):

Make sure no car wash water goes into storm drains, ditches or waterways. Get vacuums to remove excess water, block off storms drains, etc.

"Lance Winslow" - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/

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How To Make Your Life More Organized

How to Make Your Life More Organized

by Chuck R Stewart


There are lots of ladies who will agree that their lives are stressful and it is hard to keep everything together. Also, numerous females will tell you that their purses are normally big messes with everything their entire lives shoved into the handbag. This is where a can be a good idea . Purse organizers are for those kinds of women who are tired of hunting through their purses to find car keys, a credit card, lip gloss, etc.

There are all kinds of women who really should keep their purses organized. Busy moms might require an organized purse so they know where the children's snacks and medications are in their bags. College students are always needing pens, pencils, and their cell phone in a short amount of time. It is wise for female students to have their purses organized so they can find these things easier and not have to search through their purse to find their pen or cell phone. Finally, businesswomen keep their Blackberries, their schedules, and their important documents located within in their briefcases and/or their purses.

To be a good businesswoman, you need to be organized and in order to do so, these women need to have their briefcase or purse as organized as it can be . It would look pretty bad if a businesswoman is in an important business meeting with executives and she has to search her purse to find all the materials she needs for the meeting. If she has to search for a minute or two through her purse to find things it looks unprofessional and it gives the message that she doesn't have her life together. Again, this is an example where purse organization is important.

There are lots of benefits to having organization in your purse. It can be pretty bothersome when you are at a sales counter trying to purchase something and you have to dig through your purse to find your wallet or credit card. Also, it is a pain to have to take a long time to look through your purse to find your car keys after coming out of a mall or the grocery when your hands are full of bags. How many of us have, at one point, had to empty the entire all of the contents of our purses to find our car keys? This does not have to be how your life is . Also, lots of females keep their day planners in their purses. When your purse is organized, it is simple to find your planner so you don't have to search for your planner either.

An organized purse is one of the easiest and smartest ways to start making your life more organized. Numerous females keep some of their most important items in their purse, so being able to find these items quickly and efficiently can always be a help and never a hindrance. You do not have to be bashful when it comes to telling friends that you have an aide to help you organize your purse. Nearly every woman should have something to keep their purse in order, so it is easy to find things and so that they can make their life easier.

About the Author:

Chuck R Stewart recently reviewed new trends in fashion and was impressed with the many choices of purse organizers available to help keep handbags better organized. He loved the efficiency that a purse organizer can bring into a chaotic lifestyle.

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