This seems to be the hardest part of “being organized” for many of my clients. So often, I see people put in a big effort to clear the clutter they have accumulated over many weeks, months or years without making the small changes every day that would help make their lives easier in the long term.

Being organized is all about the habits that you have and that you create. Habits that promote being organized will lead to an organized life, leaving you free from worries (at least, freer!) and the opportunity to live life in the moment – those Zen moments when you get to be totally involved in what you are doing, who you are being, or the experience you are having right now!

What could a small step towards a new habit be?

The time to go back to school is nearly on us again.  This can be a stressful time, not only for the kids, especially if they are in a new school, or changing classes, but also for you, the parents.  There are three common struggles that we find parents have to deal with: routine changes, necessary supplies and clothes that must be purchased and, once school starts, an inevitable paper deluge.  Our advice is to prepare for what you can and forgive yourself for the rest! 

The reason we want to be organized with our tax related items is so that we pay the correct amount of tax.  Assuming that you are an honest person, this means that you would want to pay the right amount of tax as it was due and that if you were audited, you'd be able to provide the IRS with the documentation required to prove your income and expenditure.

You are probably in one of three places regarding your taxes:
1) You have a system set up that you use and that works for you.  Great!  Keep reading and see if there are any tips that you can use to tweak your system and make it even more efficient and easy.

2) You have a "sort-of" system that still engenders a level of panic as tax day draws near.  Stay calm, help is at hand.

3) You have the "ostrich head in the sand" approach and haven't filed taxes for a number of years.  It could take some time to organize your records, but once you have a system set up, it will be easy  to sort your records and make tax time a breeze next year.