Printables Binder
One thing that’s come from not being able to spend money right now is that I’m a lot more resourceful. There are so many blogs that share free printables that can be used for parties, gifts, decor, charts, documents, etc. I love you all and your creativity. The only problem I have is that I’m not very tech savvy and even though I save something on the computer I might not be able to find it when I really want it. So I came up with a back-up plan using these supplies, that I of course, already had on hand (borrowed from my school supply tote).
Here are some of the printables I keep in the binder. I just slipped them into page protectors for easy access.
marthastewart.com
marthastewart.com
kindovermatter.blogspot.com
doecdoe.blogspot.com
howaboutorange.blogspot.com ?
livinglocurto.com
?
eatdrinkchic.com
Clean Mama also has some free printables on her site you won’t want to miss. Just because she’s so nice! Love her!
If you know the origin of any of the printables or I have it wrong. Let me know, I’ll correct it.
To make the binder more presentable, I just cut scrapbook paper to size and slid it into the binder pocket.
Then I made a label from ribbon and a small tag for the spine of the binder. Now I can just flip through the binder to find the printable I want, cut it out and it’s ready to use. I have some other binders to show you later and some fun ways to decorate using the free printables.
I’m linking to:
Frugal Finds at It’s a Blog Party
Motivate Me Monday at Keeping It Simple
Market Yourself Monday at Sumo’s Sweet Stuff
Filed under General organizing, Paper | Comments (6)
Paper Pom Flowers
A lot of you already know how to make these, but this is for those of you who don’t. I made these for a wedding reception this Friday. Cute colors, huh?! So Bright and Springy!
This is the tissue paper Ashlie brought over for me to use. I made them 3 different sizes, but you construct them all the same way. Just cut more paper off the ends if you’d like them to be smaller.
Start with 10-12 sheets of paper. I put some of the polka dot blue paper in with the solid blue (2 solid, 1 dot, 2 solid, 1 dot, 2 solid, 1 dot, 1 solid). Stack the sheets on top of each other and start folding accordion style. Folds should be about 1 1/2″ wide. If you’re making smaller poms make the fold width about 1″ wide.
Once you’re done, fold the paper in half just to find the center of the paper.
Cut a piece of wire 6″-8″ long. Put the wire in the center of the paper and twist the ends together to keep the wire in place. This will be in the center of the pom.
Make a loop with the ends of the wire. Put ribbon, string or fishing line through the loop, when you’re finished making the pom, to hang it by.
Draw an arch or semi-circle at each end of the paper to form the petals.
Use sharp scissors and cut through all the layers of the tissue paper.
Fan the paper out like this
Then start pulling the papers up (towards the center) to form the pom, one sheet at a time. You need to be careful so you don’t tear the paper. Be gentle at first, you can make adjustments later. This picture is half a pom.
Fluff and make adjustments to the poms till they look the way you like. The pink one is all solid sheets and the green one is 7 solids and 3 stripes.
So fun! I want to make these for every party now.
It looks like Spring on my table until the Bride comes to pick them up. I think she’s putting these on or above the signing table. Such happy colors! Best Wishes Ashlie and Chad!
I’m linking to:
Strut Your Stuff Thursday at Somewhat Simple
Get Your Craft On Thursday at Life As Lori
Feature Yourself Friday at Fingerprints on the Fridge
Creative Cats at Poppies at Play
Saturday Nite Special at Funky Junk Interiors
Weekend Wrap Up Party at Tatertots and Jello
Craft Schooling Sunday at Creative Jewish Mom
Motivate Me Monday at Keeping It Simple
DIY Project Parade at The DIY Showoff
Made It Monday at The Persimmon Perch
Spring Fling Party at This Blessed Nest
Talented Tuesday at My Frugal Family
DIY Day at A Soft Place To Land
Show and Share Day at Just A Girl
Show and Tell at Blue Cricket Design
Whatever Goes Wednesday at Someday Crafts
Bring In The Spring at Posh Pieces
Flower Categorically Crafting Show at Someday Crafts
Martha Stewart Inspired Challenge at The CSI Project
Filed under Crafts, Decorating, Paper, Parties | Comments (28)Conquer Magazine Clutter
It’s Why Not Organize Something Wednesday. Yes, I know Wednesday’s almost over. I’ve been a little under the weather, had to take Emilee to the orthodontist, rearranged the entry and the dining area and worked on something for Young Women’s. This is the first chance I’ve had to sit down at the computer. So let’s get started.
Do you have piles and piles of magazines? Are you reading all of them? Are you ever going too? Could you find what you want when you want it? Wouldn’t it be easier to take out what you need and file it? You can either keep the piles, give up and throw them all away, or try some of these clutter control ideas for your magazines:
- As soon as your new magazine arrives for the month recycle the old one whether you’ve read it or not. These are our magazines and catalogs ready to be recycled.
- Instead of saving entire magazines, tear out and file only the articles you want to save for future reference. Keep them in a binder all together.
- Store you magazines where you’re more likely to read them. On your nightstand, in the front seat organizer of your car, in your bag for work, etc. I store mine in a trunk by the front door, so I can just grab a couple on my way out the door.
- Put a limit on the number of magazines you subscribe too. And limit purchases at the checkstand, you can always just glance through them as you’re standing in line.
- Read only the articles you enjoy or will benefit from.
- Save some magazines separately from the others for your children’s school projects. You should probably limit them to 10.
- Cancel subscriptions to magazines you haven’t read in 3 months or donate the remainder of your subscription to a friend or family member.
- If you’re a little behind on your reading schedule reading time into everyday until you catch up.
- If you’re way behind on your reading just scan the contents page and read only the articles that really appeal to you.
- If you subscribe to craft magazines, take out the pages you are going to need and put them in sheet protectors inside a binder, instead of keeping the whole magazine.
I subscribe to a few magazines, especially since the subscription rate has been so low. I use the “rip and read method.” I take out the articles that really appeal to me and put then in a file labeled “read” and take them with me when I have an appointment or when I know I will be waiting for the kids. I’m able to stay up on my reading and have something to do while I’m waiting, like at the orthodontist today. If I want to keep an article, craft idea or decorating ideas or pictures, I just file them in the appropriate binder. I have binders labeled Decorating, Gardening, Scrapbook, Holidays, Organizing, and Parties. If I want an idea, to work on a project or want to look up an article, I know where to find it. I also purge my binders yearly. Just because something once appealed to me doesn’t mean it still does.
Now go through those magazines and free up some space for those new ones on the way.
I’m linking to:
Victory of the Week at Design-aholic
Tip Me Tuesday at Tip Junkie
Filed under General organizing, Paper | Comments (6)Keeping and Storing Important Papers
Sorry I’m late today. It’s Why Not Organize Something Wednesday. I’ve been asked in the past, “What papers, bills, statements, receipts, etc. do I have to keep and for how long?” Since it’s the beginning of a new year and we want to purge some of those old papers, plus we’re thinking about getting all our paperwork together for tax purposes I thought now would be a good time to go over what to toss and what to not. In January of last year I did a post on a Retention Schedule. You can go over to that post from here and you can print out the sheet if you’d like. Just remember, this is what I have learned from others and what I have done for years. I’m not an accountant (nor do I play one on TV). I have never ran into any problems, but if you have any questions or concerns, it might be best to speak to a real live accountant.
Here’s how I file things I still need to get my hands on through out the year. This basket sits next to my desk and I have everything, I need, readily available to me. You can go here to find out more about filing.
There’s a file in the basket marked “taxes”. I put everything in there I’m going to need to be able to file my taxes for that year. Most papers from mortgage companies, credit cards, utilities, etc. start coming in about now. All you need to do is stick them in the file until you’re ready to work on your taxes. I think April 14 is a good day. Just kidding (you accountants out there).
Okay, I’m not one to keep things I don’t think I’m ever going to need again, but I keep all my tax papers along with copies of the filed tax return forever and forever. Call me paranoid, but in this case I’d rather be safe than sorry. They don’t take up much space, so I don’t have a problem with keeping them. This will be the only time you will hear me say you can put papers in a manila folder and pack it away. Just make sure the description and year are on the outside. I just wrote mine on with a sharpie marker. You can use a label maker, but I didn’t want to waste my tape on something that’s packed away in a box.
Then pack it away in a bankers box. It’s the perfect size, they stack well and they’re cheap. Okay I probably should have used the label maker for the box, but it’s in a storage area so I really don’t care (or maybe I do and I’ll make a label later).
I keep all my tax folders in one area, by year, so if there is a problem I can find them easily. Wow, that was a boring post. Sorry about that, but I hope I gave you some good information about keeping and storing important papers.
I’m linking to:
Victory of the Week at Design-aholic
Show and Tell at Blue Cricket Design
Transformation Thursday at The Shabby Chic Cottage
Strut Your Stuff Thursday at Somewhat Simple
Tip Me Tuesday at Tip Junkie
Filed under Office, Paper | Comments (4)Displaying and Storing Kids Art Work and School Papers
I promised this post about ideas on storing, organizing and displaying your child’s school and art work earlier this week. I have still been feeling a little under the weather, so I apologize for being late on getting this out. I had actually written this about a year ago and it’s been published in a few online magazines since then. I have made a few changes though, as far as pictures and adding a few more ideas.
First, you don’t have to keep everything. You have permission to not keep every little tiny thing your child has ever made a mark on and you won’t be considered a bad parent. There will be some things you will want to keep though. Here are some ideas on what to do with them.
Frame their little masterpieces as artwork. You can leave them up for a few months or years. Your children will be so proud to have their art displayed in their home.
My daughter painted this in 1st grade and she’s in 6th now. It’s at the top of the stairs by her bedroom:
My son did this in 5th grade and he’s graduated now. He’s the one leaving for Basic Training tomorrow:
This one is in my other daughter’s room. It’s about 2 years old.
Make their larger pieces of art into placemats. Take them to the copy store to have them laminated or purchase clear laminating or contact paper and do it yourself.
It seems like all of my kids at one time or another have made life size drawings of themselves. What do you do with all those huge pieces of artwork that won’t fit in a binder? Take a picture of your child with the art and put it in their album. Now you have a memory of it forever and you can toss the actual art.
Think of creative ways to display your kids artwork or school papers around your home. Make a little clothesline and hang them from clothespins, hang them from clipboards or display a few pieces of their art on a cork board and rotate them weekly. You can toss the old ones or keep a few special ones for a binder.
Mail or take some artwork to grandparents. Speaking from a grandmother’s point of view, they love it. Make sure your child’s name is on it and the date.
Take some of their extra nice pieces or ones that would coordinate with a specific month and have them made into a calendar. How fun would that be to have around the house or to give to the grandparents?
Have a basket for school papers you won’t be saving. You can use them for scratch paper or lists and your preschooler can use them to draw on.
Temporarily store school papers and art in plastic stacking drawers and then go through them at the end of the term. Have a separate drawer for each child. Only keep the ones you and your child really love.
Once you have decided on the papers you are going to keep for a school year, put them in protective sheets and put them in a binder or have them spiral bound at a copy center. This makes it easy for you and your child to look through them.
Let your child pick some art to put up in their rooms. Change it out with the seasons or when they get tired of it.
What if your child has bigger items, like pottery or wood working projects? Display these throughout your home or in one location and rotate them often.
Be sure to keep papers from the first of the year and the end of the year so you can compare writing, drawing, spelling and math skills. Keep special awards, notes from the teacher and other special reminders from that year also.
Enjoy your kid’s work, but don’t feel like you have to keep everything. None of us have a house that big.
This is my first time participating in Met Monday at Between Naps on the Porch. I love this site! Check out other great metamorphosis projects at Between Naps on the Porch and get some awesome ideas you might be able to borrow.
Filed under Children, Paper, School | Comments (3)Papers, Papers Everywhere!
It’s Why Not Organize Something Wednesday and today we’re going to be tackling all those papers coming into the house daily. Jessalyn wrote in and especially wanted to know how to deal with all the papers coming home with her kids from school. Do you ever feel overwhelmed with what to keep, where to keep it, or what you would feel safe with (heaven forbid) tossing? What about when you come in from the mailbox? Yay, more paper! It’s never ending. First we’ll tackle the mail.
1st: Deal with papers daily! Not twice a week or weekly. Everyday. What if you don’t have time to do it right now? You’re running to soccer practice, a play performance or you’re trying to get dinner ready. Then you need a file folder labeled “Daily Mail”. Open the mail, put the pieces in the file you need to keep, and then toss, shred or recycle the rest. That way if you need to reference something, at least you know where to find it.
2nd: Once you have time, after the evening rush, go through the folder and put papers where they belong. I have a folder for every member of the family, and a separate area for bills that need to be paid. I have a basket that sits by my desk for all the files I need to access often. You can use a basket or a table top file holder (just make sure it’s big enough for the files you need to keep there). Remember you need to make it convenient for you, so you’ll use it.
3rd: Make files you will use and use the files you make. Some suggested categories are: one for every family member, coupons, to read, to file permanently, to do. When your child brings home their soccer schedule, file that in their personal file. When you receive a birthday invitation or reminder to make a dentist appointment, file that in “to do”. Something catches your eye that you want to read, file that in “to read”. I love the “to read” file. You know how you always seem to be waiting some where? At the doctors office, at the kids school or after sports practices, just grab the file and bring it with you. Ta-Da, time to read.
4th: Use your calendar! Before you file away that birthday invitation, write the date and time on your calendar. You can also give yourself a reminder to buy the gift a few days before the party. Before you file the soccer schedule, write down the days you have treats for the game. My calendar is color coded so I know what’s most important at a glace and what pertains to me or another member of the family. I also write down when bills are due a few days before, so I can pay them online.
5th: Go through your files once a week to weed out old papers and make sure you didn’t miss anything. This should keep your files pretty small and easy to find anything you need to access.
If you keep up on this, dealing with papers should only take a few minutes a day.
Now, school papers. Ugghhhh! Why do they send so much home from the schools, on six different papers, for four different kids? Yesterday I received book swap reminders, parent-teacher conference reminders, monthly calenders, lunch schedules, green ribbon week calender and walk to school day reminders x 3!
1st: This is where I put all the duplicates. In the paper recycling basket. We use these for coloring, doodling, working out math problems, shopping lists, paper airplanes, etc. At least they print them off in different colors so we have some variety. The other basket is for newspaper, flyers and magazines for recycling. That will be going in the mudroom if it ever gets finished.
2nd: Back to the calendar to write down the parent-teacher conferences, walk to school day, book swap days, etc. All color coded in light blue, for kids.
3rd: What to do with their school work. Clipboards have been a lifesaver for me and the kids. Nothing has been lost in the last 5 years, since we started using them. What goes on them? Spelling words, math homework, projects being worked on, supply list for projects, book report info, etc. Everything is at their fingertips. If we’re running to dance practice or a soccer game, they can grab their clipboard and bring it with them to work on their homework. Plus they have a hard writing surface. I also put any papers that need to be returned to school or notes to teachers on it, so they can be put in their backpacks in the morning. The clipboards are checked everyday after school, before bed and before school. It only takes a few minutes.
This has been a long post, so I’ll cover what to do with your little darlings art projects and other school papers later this week. I hope this has helped you manage your daily paper coming in from the mailbox and school a little better. For us striving to be in a paperless society we sure do have a lot of it, don’t we?
Thank you to all of you that have sent me your Organizing Dilemmas. I will get to all of them as quickly as possible. What Organizing Dilemmas do you have? Leave me a comment or e-mail at leanneja@organizeyourstuffnow.com and I’ll be happy to write a post about it. Here’s to a more organized life!
I’m linking this to Works For Me Wednesday over at We Are That Family. I know it’s late, but I was without a computer for most of the day.
Filed under Calendars, Children, Paper, School | Comments (4)Suggested Items to Store in Your Safe-Deposit Box
Here is a list of suggested items to store in your safe-deposit box or fire proof safe in your home:
· Title Insurance Policy
· Will and Trust
· Current Life Insurance Policy
· Divorce Decree
· Passport
· Financial and Health Power of Attorney
· Birth Certificates
· Death Certificates
· Marriage Certificate
· Copy of Drivers License
· Automobile Titles and Registration
· Deeds
· Homeowner’s Policy
· Investment Records
· Insurance Policies
· Military Records
· Medical Records
· PIN Numbers
· Social Security Cards
· Photos on Computer discs
· Stock and Bond Certificates
· Cemetery Plot Deeds
· Household Inventory
Filed under Paper | Comment (0)Retention Schedule
1-3 Months
· Sales receipts for minor purchases. If you’re not sure whether you’re going to keep an item, save the receipt until you decide.
· Withdrawl and deposit slips. Shred them after you’ve checked them against your monthly bank statement.
· Credit Card receipts. Keep receipts until you compare them against the monthly statement. Keep statements for seven years if charges are tax related.
1 Year
· Pay Stubs. Shred them after you receive a W-2 from your employer.
· Household bills. Shred bills once a year that have been paid. Keep receipts for big purchases as long as you have the item.
· 401 Statements. Keep quarterly statements until the annual summary comes. Keep the summary until you retire.
· Social Security benefit statements.
· Monthly bank statements, credit card and brokerage account statements.
3 Years
· Bank records. Keep checks related to taxes, home improvement, mortgage payments and business expenses.
· Medical bills and proof of payments. Shred records after you no longer need them.
7 Years
· Receipts for business entertainment. Keep with business files.
· Income tax returns and supporting paperwork. The IRS has six years to audit returns.
· Year-end financial statements.
· Homeowner records. Keep all records of improvement costs to your home and expenses incurred in buying and selling your property.
· Year-end Credit card statements.
Permanently
· Brokerage statements. You need these records to prove capital gains or losses at tax time.
· IRA contribution records. If your contribution was non-deductible, keep the records to show you already paid taxes on the money.
· Tax Returns.
· Wills and Trusts.
· Anything that shows proof of paying something off.
Check with your personal accountant or tax preparer to see if there’s anything else you need to be keeping in your personal records.
Filed under Paper | Comment (0)Suggested Categories for Binders
Sometimes it’s easier to store and retrieve ideas and information in binders rather than files. Use sheet protectors to hold and protect your papers. They are made to hold full sheets, half sheets and quarter sheets depending on what you need. Label the outside of the binders for fast indentification and easy retrieval. Here are some suggested categories for binders:
· Addresses/Anniversaries/Birthdays
· Craft Ideas-keep all your crafts ideas in one binder. Take it out and toss it if you decide you’re not going to do a project.
· Decorating Ideas-do you love to look through magazines and incorporate their ideas into your home? Instead of keeping the whole magazine, take out the ideas you like and store them in a binder.
· Family History-keep birth, death and wedding announcements. Store information from other family members and information you gather all together in one binder.
· Gardening-do you love to garden and plan your garden for next season? Gather ideas and information about landscaping, plants, trees and decorations in your binder.
· Gift Ideas-keep ideas for Christmas, Birthdays and Anniversaries all in one place. Have a separate sheet for each person and record sizes, favorite colors, favorite activities, favorite stores, etc.
· Hobbies-do you scrapbook or build things? Keep all your inspirational ideas in one place and easily accessible.
· Holidays- keep decorating ideas, recipes, party ideas, games, shortcuts and activities all in one place.
· Home Remodeling-store ideas, colors, measurements, blue prints and before and after pictures in a binder for easy access and more inspiration.
· Recipes- keep all your favorite recipes in a binder and protected from spills. Use dividers to separate food categories.
· Travel/Vacation-keep information on favorite destinations, hotels, restaurants and airlines in the binder along with destinations you would love to visit.
Filed under Paper | Comments (2)
Suggested Categories for Permanent Files
· Automotive- for maintenance and repairs
· Bank- savings, checking, deposits
· Copies of Certificates- birth, marriage, death
· Charity- receipts and donation record
· Childcare- receipts and records
· Children- separate file for each child
· Credit Cards- statements
· Dental- claims, orthodontics, procedure plans
· Estate Information- copy of wills, living wills, funeral info, power of attorney, trust information
· Financial- stocks, bonds, mutual funds, capital gains
· Home Maintenance- receipts, purchase orders, plans
· Household inventory- back up on computer
· Insurance- auto, home, life, medical
· Investments
· Medical- doctor, vision, prescriptions, claims
· Memberships- health club, book club, stores, etc.
· Pets- shot records, vet information
· Real Estate
· Retirement
· Safe Deposit Box- contents
· Taxes- deductions, receipts, mortgage, donations, business expenses
· Telephone- cell, land line, long distance, computer
· Utilities- gas, power, water
· Warranties- only for products you still own
You can make sub-categories for certain files depending on how much information is needed to be kept in that file.
Filed under Paper | Comment (1)
