Tax Time. . .

As we begin a new year, do you want to be more organized?   I know I am trying my best to be organized.  When thinking about your taxes organization is key to success.   Here is what I do. 
I have a folder where I keep all of my bills, it stays in the kitchen so that I can keep up with it.  Once the bill is paid it goes to another folder in my file cabinet.  I also have a separate file folder for tax documents.   This folder also stays in the kitchen so that as the mail comes in I can put things where they belong.   If I do not sort it as it comes in  I end up covered in piles of paper.  I also throw anything away as soon as I realize I do not need it.  I would bet you have fallen victim to those piles of paper too. 
Now you should have a small folder with bills that need to be paid in your kitchen or wherever your command center is.  You should have a  larger  folder for  your paid bills.  Your tax records can be kept in a smaller folder but kept close at hand as things come in during the first of the year. If you keep everything organized  from the beginning,  tax time will be easier and less stressful. 
I just finished straightening everything out for the beginning of a new year.  Below is a picture of my folder where I put my bills to be paid.  This folder has a large magnet on the back so it hangs in the fridge.
Good luck!  And breathe. . .

Dreary Wednesday. . .

Schools closed, not unhappy about that.  Sprat needs the extra time to recoup and goodness knows Big T could use a break.   It is so dreary and cold today and it is hard to cook with two growing boys always in the kitchen eating.  Today may be more about organization in the kitchen.  Heaven knows I need help in the organization department.  I have started trying to clean my dumping ground, I mean the kitchen island, off so it is of more use while cooking.   Does anyone else have a catch all place in their kitchen where all the mail and everything else in the free world comes to congregate?   My landing pad seems to be my island.  How can you cook when you cannot see your counter tops? 
I took a before picture, I hope you will not judge.  My island is pretty bad.  I spent most of the morning tossing useless or outdated  paper.  Then I had to find a home for those items that did not belong in the kitchen in the first place.   That was a chore, many of those items were the boys so they had to do some work today too. 
I still have a basket with greeting cards and some other things and a dish with the kids medicine so they do not forget to take it.  I also have that tumbler for change on my island that I talked about one Friday when I was sharing how we saved our $1, 000 cash. 
I feel like I did get something accomplished today with my home organization that I have been wanting and needing to do for some time.  My next goal in home organization will be my "in cabinet command center."   Stay tuned for that one.
I hope you did not mind that I did not cook or post a recipe today. 

Let's Start 2015 off Right. . . Organized

Wouldn't you love to be organized this year?  I know I sure would.  The one thing I do stay on top of is financial organization, thanks to Dave Ramsey.  I know you are probably tired of hearing me talk about him and how much I like him and his view on finances.  Sorry, that is the way it is.  Why re-invent the wheel?  When it comes to money, if you want to be financially set, you need to do what those that are financially set do.  One thing for sure, you must be organized.  The rest of my life is terribly unorganized but I am on top of the financial end of things in our house.  
The first thing to do is get a large file to hold all of your bills.  I have one that I keep all of our bills for the whole year.  You never know when there will be glitch in a computer somewhere and a creditor might come to you and say, you did not pay your bill when you were supposed to.  If you keep that bill and mark how much you paid and the date it was paid, that will never be an issue.  You can simply say, oh yes that bill was paid on X date and if you have kept your bank statements you can go back and see when the transaction cleared your bank.  I have had this happen once.  I was prepared and it was taken care of very quickly because I had kept very good records.   You may ask why would I keep all of my bills for the entire year other than what I mentioned above?   If you are self-employed and work from home you may have some home deductions for your taxes.  If you work and have a cell phone, use your Internet at home for work then there is a possibility that those could be deducted from your taxes.  Check with your tax person or if you do them yourself check with what ever software you use to do your taxes.   Turbo Tax is the most well known but, HR Block has come out with their own tax software and it seems to be more reasonable than Turbo Tax.   If all else fails contact the IRS.  I have actually done that before, we had a crazy year where we had odd deductions that I had not dealt with before and I called the IRS.  The gentleman I spoke with was very helpful and very nice and he walked me through filling out my forms for this particular deduction.
I always start in January getting my information together for tax time.  Whether you do your taxes yourself or you have someone do them for you, you need to keep everything straight.   I keep my tax specific information together separate from my other bills so that I can make sure that I get all of that information before I start our taxes.  Those usually start rolling in about mid January.  
The IRS started issuing warnings in March of 2014 about con artists calling people and telling them they were with the US Treasury and that they owed the IRS money for their past due taxes.  There were many that fell victim to this scam, please be aware government agencies do not just call you and have you give them your debit card number over the phone to settle a debt.  If someone calls you and says they are with some government agency please demand identification.  Do not take anything they say for the truth, question everything.  If you stand your ground odds are they will get scared and hang up, then you know it was a scam.   If you suspect a particular phone call is a scam, simply call the agency using a number that you know to be true and let them know or call the police.   This goes for all government agencies, there was a scam that ran through an area near us where people were threatened to be taken to jail over a failed jury duty appearance.   These people were told if they paid a sum of money that it could all be taken care of with no jail time.   Con artists and scammers are all around and come up with new ways to steal money all the time, be on your toes in 2015.   Here is a link to Dave Ramsey's tax tips:
www.daveramsey.com/tax-tips 

Let's Clean up those extra files

Have you ever really looked at your files?  I looked at mine the other day and I realized I had some duplicate files.  I actually had quite a few duplicate files.  Guess what?  There is help to clean that up.  Check out www.auslogics.com  look at their "duplicate file finder."   Remember if I suggest it, that it is safe and more than likely Free.  
Sorry I was late posting today.  Like everyone else I am trying to get all my shopping and wrapping done.  As Christmas is fast approaching my posts may slow down but, please stay tuned because I will get back on track as soon as I can.   

Book Club this weekend. . .

I am hosting book club this weekend.  I have been cleaning all week to get my house half way presentable for my lovely book club ladies.  I can now see my floor in the living room.  Why can I not keep my house clean once it is clean?  I know there are people out there that keep their houses clean and do so on a regular basis.  My excuse has always been my kids but, let's be honest, it's me too.  It is just so frustrating to clean and then have your kids or husband come behind you and leave things laying around.   I have enough laundry that I could wash every day and still not get caught up.  My dishes are the same, with everyone eating at home during the summer my sink can pile up in an afternoon.  It is amazing how big my living room is when it is not covered in shoes, book bags, sweatshirts, books, dog toys, and anything else that doesn't seem to have a home.
I have read some books and seem some things on social networking boards about organization and cleaning. I have tried to use those tips but I always get behind and end up trying to do a months worth of cleaning in a day or two.  I am beginning to think there is no hope for me and organization.  
I have a couple things left to do tomorrow and I should be ready for my book club party.  I may have to have the family over since my house is already clean.  I give it a week and it will be cluttered with new stuff, especially since we are getting geared up for school.