Today is the end of Week 5 in Melissa Taylor’s online study, using my book “I Used to Be So Organized.” And I discovered that my friend Melissa has been dreading this week because of my chapter on organizing a home office.
Melissa posted pictures of her desk at Proverbs 31 Ministries and I know she wants to get it organized. And I believe there are some tips in the book that will help her (like what to do with all those sticky notes she’s got encircling her)
But let me tell you something about Melissa. And many of you already know this. Melissa is one of those women who will set everything aside if you have a problem. She will stop what she is doing and pray with you. She will step in to help in a pinch. And she will do it all and make sure you know you are loved in the process.
So for the record, I couldn’t care less about Melissa’s messy desk, because Melissa shines so brightly that I never notice her desk when I’m in Charlotte.
But if it bothers her it bothers me. So I hope I can encourage her as she makes process.
Now for today’s “home” work assignment. It does have to do managing the office work at home. But I’m not talking about a home office. I realize not everyone has a designated office space. But every home has a business side to it. We all have manuals and contracts we need to file. Receipts we need to save for taxes. Bills we need to pay. And children’s art treasures we need to preserve. To name just a few things.
If we don’t approach this part of our lives with some professionalism, we’ll find ourselves with late fees, paying for a repair that was under warranty or spending more on taxes than we should. As good stewards of the money God has entrusted to us, we should be wise in how we manage the details of running a family and a home.
So this weekend, my assignment is to consider how you can bring order to one part of the business of running your home. Here are some suggestions:
Organize your bills. If you still get paper bills, identify one locations for them each month. Make a list of your monthly bills, whether by check or online. Then enter the date you need to pay that bill on a calendar. If you mail the bill, move the deadline up 5-6 days. I set a reminder on Outlook to keep track of those bills that are not on auto pay.
Put your appliance receipts and warranties in one place. This could be an accordion folder or a section in your filling cabinet. Keeping a master list of appliance warranties and their expiration dates, can help save you money.
Organize receipts. I put all my shopping receipts in an inexpensive plastic accordion holder organized by month. I do this to make sure I’m charged the correct amount on my bank statement or to make a return. I’ll keep them for one year, then shred them month by month.
Keep a health journal. Oh how I wish I had started this years ago. I would have created a journal with pages for each family member and then kept track of significant health issues. Then I would remember how many ear infections Robbie had, how long they lasted and what medicines didn’t work! I kept all health records, but I kept them by year, and that doesn’t help when you need to know when someone had surgery.
These are just a few ideas on how you can bring order to the office work in your home. If these don’t meet your needs, and you want some fresh ideas, spend time on organizing websites and look at their office products. That gives me lots of great ideas. Here are a few sites:
http://www.containerstore.com/shop
Remember, your assignment is not to completely organize all the paperwork in your home. Simply to choose one area you can make a difference this weekend. And I’d love to know what it is.
If you are reading this in an email, please click here to be taken to my blog to leave a comment.
Thanks for joining me today.
Grace & Peace,
Glynnis
i used to be the most organized with my receipts – file folders for specific areas, medical stuff categorized,…
Not sure what happened – but this last year saw many changes in responsibilities and the last 7 months of receipts are now sitting in a HUGE pile in my large laundry basket – i’ll admit it! will start wading through the basket very soon…….
I had my carpets cleaned on Monday and still haven’t tackled the items I placed on my bed to get them out of the way of the cleaners. This weekend, my bedroom will be my ‘office’ and I’ll be dedicating some effort there…now to decide which one thing will be first…
Thanks for this article. I have been working on my Home Management Binder. Got a mess there going but hope to finish it today and this article made me feel a little better that the whole office doesn’t have to be done this weekend. A little at a time each day and I can see how easy this is going to be using the binder and designating certain days to clean the bathrooms and every other one rather than trying to clean the whole house in a day and I never get to it all. I am excited and really enjoying every day of this study. Thanks so much!
I’m working on one too. I really want to get a good routine going so that when school starts back up I’m up and running!!
I have been on a home organizing tangent this week! We’ve been decluttering, rearranging furniture, etc… But one of the things you mentioned was one I had been thinking about all week to get in order, and that’s the bills! I have no set place to keep them. And I do remember to pay them, just not always on time. Bad me! So I need to do something to fix this. That will definitely be the paper goal I work on this weekend!
I do pretty well with keeping current with bills and filing receipts but the appliance receipts and warranties have grown over the past 36 years to fill a whole file drawer. I have them sorted in folders by room. The problem is that I never get around to removing them when appliances are discarded. Going through the files has been on my “to do” list for years but somehow my office organization takes a back seat to meals, dishes, laundry, canning, jelly making and keeping the “company” parts of the house livable. My office is also the junk room where everything without a home gets dumped. The past few years as I’ve battled health problems the piles have gotten deeper and I feel overwhelmed when I walk in the door. This is the area I have to get orgainzed to keep my sanity and I will get back to work on it as soon as I get the last of the peaches and figs canned.
My most favorite & my husband’s least favorite store in the world is Dollar Tree. I have been able to come up with so many organizing pieces that it’s almost hilarious. My husband is going to have a shirt made for me saying “It Was Only a $1!”. But back to my story. You see, I have a special needs son that works best on visual cues, so color coding has worked the best in my house. We are only a family of 5 (including the dog), but the color coding method has worked beyond my wildest dreams. Only God could have given me such a brilliant idea like this, being that I have only been Billy’ & Niki’s mom for 2 1/2 years, since they are our adopted children.
I have color corded our entire home & both kids (not just my special needs son) have respondedwell to this sytstem & know exactly where things go by the color of the basket it’s in. Dollar stores are popping up on every corner these days, but I do have to say that if you are on a budget like my husband & I are, you do need to use caution because it is easy to get carried away because it is “ONLY A DOLLAR!” But if you’re like me & you need to color code & are on a budget, it works!
P.S. I forgot to mention that I have also color coded their important papers. Since our children are adopted & both came with mountains of paperwork, I need a place to keep it, so I purchase inexpensive accordion files from Walmart (in their color code) with numerous pockets & sorted through all of the papers. Now when I we go to a new doctor or specialist, I know which pocket to grab from for medical records. Also, I purchase 3 ring binder pencil bags (color coded of course) to keep important papers in my purse when I need them in case of an emergency. They take up no space in my purse & I have them when I need them. I haven’t had the luxury of knowing all of their illnesses, but I do like the health journal idea, & my pencil bag is a perfect place to keep that!
Ah, I love this! I have always colourcoded our calendar (highlighters for each child) and water bottles and towels. Never thought to do it with paperwork! And so easy, since I already have the system and the highlighters! Brilliant!
You are so cute! Loved your advice about the Dollar Store. My mother is a proponent as well. Around here, we mainly have Dollar General and they are somewhat limited at times. Since I’m single and portable, I color code based on different aspects of my life. Started doing that in college-somehow, red always fell on the class that I didn’t particularly enjoy. Haha. But, it also reminded me that it was important either way
I am so thankful the Lord sent me to this study! I have been so frustrated but I am now getting a peace about it all! I retired a year 1/2 ago after 40 years of working outside the home. I had all these dreams about having a perfect house, painting (I LOVE to paint) and studying His Word, learning to pray in a more powerful way, connecting to Him, but I so wanted to get my house in order! Right after I retired my Mom died, then 5 months later my daughter-in-law died. I have seven grandkids, but now I have a 9 year old (ADHD and other things) special needs child. My son does a lot, but I get Haley daily because he works 6 days a week and brings her over at 6:00 am. The house is worse than ever! But I am so thankful that I now know I can pull it all together! And that He comes first! Establishing that daily time with the Lord has been truly “freeing!” This ministry is so wonderful and it is so amazing feeling like we actually know you girls! You all are helping so many beautiful women! Thank You!!!
Thank you so much for sharing your story Lynda. It is inspiring and I will keep you in my prayers. God has a season for all things and I’m so glad that you are finding freedom in this study as well as a closer relationship with God.
I learned about this way to control children’s school projects after my kids were grown, so many of their special creations are lost in some box some where. At the beginning of the school year, set aside a drawer for each child. Every time a child brings home some art or a special project, place it face down in the drawer.
Then, at the end of the school year, create a scrapbook for the year’s work. Do it with the child, take some photos of the child with the most memorable items and pass those on to family and friends. You can video the child talking about the projects, teachers, friends, feelings, memories about the year’s events – then archive them and send them to grandparents, aunts, uncles, godparents, etc.
If the child is very excited when the project first comes home, video THAT as you put it in the drawer. Send those videos to loved ones, and it lets them share more actively in the child’s life. (You might also encourage loved ones who live far away to video or photograph THEIR lives and send the recorded memories to your family.)
You can file and catalog the video by the child’s name and school year.
As a grandmother who has had ADD all my life, I’m now sifting through boxes of special items and photos to record memories so that I can leave a LEGACY. I praise God that I am still alive so that I can do the sifting, but it would have been lost if I had died at a younger age. (I am making sure that I use the opportunity to discuss character-building comments and telling of how the Lord worked in my life.)
Thank you so much for sharing this idea. That is such a wonderful idea. There is nothing like those memories. I have done the same since I was a child and I’m so grateful. Priceless. God bless you girl!
Thank you for the little extra push on the health journal! I have a good friend who has one and I have thought for years that I needed to put one together, too. I am going to a new doctor next week and I am going to get started on this ASAP so I can be prepared for that appointment! Thank you!
I LOVE the idea about keeping receipts in an acordian file for a year, then shredding them month by month. Right now all of our receipts are piled together in a plastic rubbermaid drawer. I will be using this new method of organizing my receipts. Thank you so much for all of the great ideas!
Thank you for the great practical reminders!
I currently use folders for bills, receipts, etc. We (I) also record all receipts in an Excel document so we can keep up with how much we are spending each month. I’m thinking of investing in one of those scan receipt thingies (I’m so technical- lol) because I get way behind with recording things. But I do know that keeping things in folders makes it so much easier to find information when needed.
Thank you so much for this study! I’m making changes a little at a time!! How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time!!!
Thanks for the practical reminders especially about the health journal. I love that concept. I have journals sitting downstairs with nothing in them so I could use one for the family. I think I have an idea of organizing the receipts from stores. I have a can on the desk downstairs and when I go shopping I put the receipt in there so my husband and I can go over the receipt. Once we have gone over it he or I put our initials on it so this way we know we have discussed the receipt. Just a little thought.
Thank-you for all your practical tips, Glynnis. I plan on tackling my bills. Filing the ones I need to keep and I love your idea for making a list of all my bills and when they need to be paid.
I also typed out a letter size list of all my surgeries, diagnosis, and medications and gave one to each of my children and my husband (have you ever known a man to remember anything about you when he needs to??). I make changes to the meds list when needed. No matter where I am, who I am visiting, the knowledge needed is there.
The first thing I did was write Home Offices on the top of a sheet of lined paper in the projects section of my Home Management Binder! Then broke it Down into the 4 places from which I run the home and help in hubby’s business. This weekend’s homework is going to be setting Up our son’s medical notebook in a 3 ring binder. He is a Type 1 diabetic using a pump so there are many different layers to his papers. I had already made a notebook for myself at year’s end as required by a dr I was seeing at a Teaching Hospital so even though I dread this job I have a template. First page in the notebook is names/numbers for all drs, hospitals, pharmacies, & insurance. Then there are tabbed sections for each doctor I have seen, each hospital, labs & test findings, prescriptions, and the last section has pockets (ziplock bags) to house films. This has been immensely helpful & I take it to every appointment. It takes time & effort to get it organized but I highly recommend we do this for each family member. A 3 hole punch is a big time (& thumb!) saver. The medical staff LOVE it because it makes their job easy. Hope this is helpful for some others in this fabulous study we are doing…I glean much from all the comments.
Suzi–Thank you so much for your advice in this area. I have a manila folder with all of my health information as well as small composition books that I can tote around with me each day to record items-like md appts, what was stated, diet, meds, how I felt that day. These composition books are 4×3 and so useful because I can look back at a particluar date or look for other highlighted items if someone asks me a question. I have one for general daily items (so I can see my progression during the day) as well as for my volunteer work. Each one is a different color. But, I do need to organize my medical records more efficiently since I do have had and do have some health issues. Your advice was awesome! And, I agree with you-the blog posts as well as the comments are both inspirational and educational for me.
Each week, this study is allowing me to grow deeper and closer to God. I developed a health journal a long time ago and it has been essential. However, it is a daily list which I color-code to find things more easily. However, I do need to create a few documents with certain elements like Suzi stated above so that I have my medical history in one place.
Since I am in a transitional state right now, I have been dealing with how to store important items as I travel. My “home” office is often a coffeeshop and it has been frustrating and time-consuming to try to find important items because I have stuffed them somewhere for “convenience” at the time. These chapters reminded me that although I don’t have a steady home right now, I feel confident in the direction that God is leading me. And, it’s important for me to organize my car if that is essentially my storage space for this season of my life.
As an individual who likes to have a “place” for things, this past month has been very frustrating. And, I want to be available for God’s calling on my life and not have to sift through this bag or that one. Thankfully, I have three small filing boxes in which I have stored important long-term records. However, I must confess that it is the pending and more recent papers which are not very well-organized. I’m thankful for canvas totes which are easily portable as well as my laptop. However, I can also get lost in the details (3 ring binder or notebook etc) so these tips are so beneficial to me. So, if anyone has had to travel as a part of their career or life, I would love any pointers!!!
Thanks again Glynnis. Each chapter has been exactly what I need at this point. The websites as well as additional reading material are also very helpful. God bless!
My husband has been asking me to do this, so now that the topic has come up, I guess I need to clean out the two drawer file cabinet which is SUPPOSED to house my receipts, warranties, health and car insurance info, etc. etc. etc. Right now it is full of stuff from 2009 ( the year before I got remarried). The stuff from 2011 and 2012 is in two stuffed manila folders in a plastic storage bin under the computer desk. This is the area I need to tackle for sure!
Struggled with paper clutter for years. I highly recommend FileSolutions Home Filing Solution. It is inexpensive and takes very little time to set up.
Correction: FileSolutions Home Filing SYSTEM.
Glynnis, Your post brought tears to my eyes! You gave me so much purpose! You made me sound important. Seriously, thank you for even noticing the things I do that organization can’t create, but truthfully, if I were more organized and just took time to put some systems in place, I wouldn’t waste so much time otherwise!
I love your home office ideas. So true how even if we don’t work from home, we have needs at home that need office organization. Our laundry room serves as a dual laundry/office. I’ll be working on implementing some of these ideas this weekend. AND I’ll be working on bringing order to my P31 office in the next few weeks!
Love you Glynnis! Can’t wait to see you and hug your neck in less than 2 weeks at She Speaks!
I am really enjoying this study and learning a lot. I hope I can put a lot of it into practice. I love the idea of the health journal and wish I had started one already. I am going to try to start one this weekend. I have a special needs daughter, and this would be very handy. Thanks for the suggestion!
Thank you for a wonderful week of encouraging us to organize our home office. Not only do I have a home but it also is a home-based business. Since April 09 my husband has had major health issues with many dr visits. Keeping track of business, ministering to him keeps me needing to be organized which does not come naturally for me. My office and time where I meet my Father is a corner of the den sofa. My desk is my coffee table, filing cabinet small fabric boxes from Walgreens. Oh yes, I do have an office room but boy is it not organized. This week-end I plan to take steps to organize my den make shift office as well as my room office. The Holy Spirit keeps reminding me the He is the master organizer and He will enabled me bring glory to God if I will listen to His direction. Thank you for letting Him use you with simple inexpensive suggestion. Love this study!
My daughter is starting her last year of college this fall, so this winter I gave her a plastic tote box that holds file folders. I labeled the file folders for her: education, banking, taxes, shopping receipts, etc. Going to label 2 new ones for her per your suggestions: medical and appliance receipts. I think I’ll also make one for auto receipts.
Thank you for all your wonderful ideas!
I am so proud of you ladies! I am still plugging along with the study but feel “left behind!” Sounds ax if you’ve all made great progress! My husband and I worked hard in our kitchen, even applying Old English to the cabinets! But I still have piles to go through, home business, scrapbook articles, mail,etc! Praying I can let go so I can LET GOD organze me!
Has anyone seen the Neat Scanner advertised on TV? I wish I didn’t watch those infomercials! Before they are over I want to orderjust about amything! I have reined myself in a little. However I’d love to get a scanner that did all the Neat scanner says it will do. I have done a little research on it, customer reviews are very high so I hesitate. My questions to the readers is, does anyone have a scanner similiar? Paper files at home have never workedmfor me. I too am a Tecnologly “junkie” so I think the electronic versions may work.
Rexpectfully,
still STRUGGLING
Hi Glynnis,
Personally, my issues are knowing which papers to keep and for how long as well as keeping letters and greeting cards. It seems to me if someone took time to pick out a sentiment that spoke to them about me, I should refer to it again. That seems especially true if that person has left my life either through death or by moving away etc. The bad part about it? I have a 4 1/2 foot by 2 foot container overflowing with papers I haven’t even filed. That doesn’t the boxes neatly filled and waiting. UGH.
Thank you for having uplifting AND useful information. I have removed all other devotional emails except yours. God has led me to the one that “works”.
Thanks for all the tips! With three children, ages 8, 5, and almost 2, I can use all the tips I can get! I really want to get a good system in place before school starts again in a few weeks. Yikes!