Lists
		Organizing Documents

This originally appeared in longer form in a special piece Family Circle magazine asked me to write. They called it "Secrets of her Success," a title that made me laugh because I feel anything BUT successful on the home organization front. But I try!

They laugh at me at my house. In fact, they laugh at me a lot. It's not my new outfit that has them grinning. No one's laughing about my hairstyle (though I did catch my husband suppressing a giggle when the colorist turned my hair pink!)

Nope, they're laughing at me and my lists. A modern millennium momma I'm not. I'm much more connected to our cavewoman forebears: still worrying about what my family will eat, obsessing about the weekly forage for food. The only difference is that my ancestors patrolled pastures looking for nuts and berries, whereas I scout the local store for sales.

I am a control freak.

I have the family's menus planned for the entire month. I have the weekly shopping list to go with it. I have a standing order I check off weekly for the on line grocery service I use. I have my grocery list pre-printed in the order of my neighborhood store, with the essentials bold-faced so I don't forget to get them!

And for this: they laugh. Loudly. Unabashedly. I went on strike and thought, "Let them fend for themselves - that'll show 'em." Without the lists, we soon ran out of bread for sandwiches, yogurt for breakfast, and had eaten chicken so many nights in a row, we were growing feathers. I brought the lists back out and stopped listening to my family.

My strike taught me a very important lesson: the more you feel in control about your home and yourself, the more peace you will feel and the more time you will have to spend with the people who matter to you.

Here is Deb's list for homemaking essentials:

	Menus - Email me for a sample week!
	Pre-printed grocery lists - Email me and I’ll send you mine!
	Hand held data device - I have used both a Palm and a Blackberry. Whatever you choose, make sure you back up your data. Sometime I’ll tell you the story of trying to find the one cab driver named “Singh” in New York City who had my Blackberry in his back seat. And no, it wasn’t backed up!
	Computerized checking program - You will save countless hours come tax time if you have used Quicken or another of the computer programs to organize your checkbook. Again, back up the data regularly!
	On line banking - If your bank doesn’t offer this service, switch banks. Banks want your business and if the bank you use isn’t savvy to the time-pressured world you live in, they don’t deserve your business. I rarely enter a bank any more. Neither the tellers nor I have missed each other.
	Simplify your homemaking decisions - We have white sheets and towels in every bedroom and bath. How much simpler laundry day is! Throw ‘em in, throw in the bleach. Any twin sheet works in any of the kids’ rooms, the towels work in any of the bathrooms. We have nice linen guest towels in the powder room – and the kids know NOT to use them under penalty of death.
	Clean out your closets regularly - You know this already. If you haven’t worn it in five years, you never will. Ditch it. Get a tax receipt for your donation. Go through the kids drawers monthly. They grow. Half that stuff in there doesn’t fit them. Give it to the next kid in line or hand it off to a friend. Chances are your kids grew so fast, it is still in good shape.

Most of us feel we are drowning under a mound of paper, and we probably are. Knowing which to keep and which to toss can sometimes be confusing. Maybe this will help:

AlWAYS KEEP:

	Marriage License
	Social Security Cards
	Green Cards
	Adoption Papers
	Birth Certificates

You might want to have copies on hand and keep the originals in a safe and secure place like a bank safe deposit box. The rental fee for this is tax deductible.

KEEP FOR ONE MONTH:

	ATM Receipts
	Credit Card Slips
	Deposit Slips

KEEP FOR ONE YEAR:

Anything you will need for the next income tax return. Receipts for tax deductible expenses, phone and electric bills, charitable donation proof, bank statements, pay stubs. Any of these you use for tax preparation should then be kept with your tax documents.

KEEP THREE TO SIX YEARS:

All your tax documents. This includes tax returns, supporting receipts and paperwork, year end statements, etc. The IRS typically recommends you hold onto tax papers for only three years. But if they suspect you of underreporting income by 25% or more, Uncle Sam could go back six years into your tax history. Protect yourself by hanging onto everything tax related for at least six years. I recommend you put your return and year end statements supporting it in one manila envelope with all the miscellaneous supporting receipts in a second envelope stored together.

HOMEOWNERS RECORDS

If you own your home, you should have one file specifically related to home expenses. A copy of your deed, closing documents, mortgage papers, etc. are all important to keep here. You will also want to hang onto any receipts for Capital Improvements done on your home during the period of ownership. These can help reduce your tax basis later if you sell your home at a profit.

OTHER THINGS TO KEEP

Keep all proofs of payment for any debts you may have paid off, including car loans, mortgages, student loans, etc. Property titles, deeds, and mortgage documents are also important to keep for as long as you own the items.