WHY store important documents for easy access?

In a nutshell, your most important papers are called vital records. (Think: identity docusments, birth certificates, marriage certificates, social security cards, life insurance policies, etc.) You must store important documents in such a way that it allows  for easy accessibility for it to be any good to you.  YOUR vital records are papers with information that is crucial about:

1. You
2. Your Family
3. Your Home
4. Your Finances
5. Your Health
6. Your History

WHAT are some of the “roadblocks” when you store important documents:

• You don’t know where to start (Our binder kit comes with 8 pre-labeled binder tabs AND easy to understand step-by-step instruction sheets.)
• You don’t know what to gather and store (Our binder kit has 6 brief lists for the collection of specific needed documents.)
• You are stuck in the unknown (Our binder kit includes: contact forms, valuables lists, a total of 25 forms AND a table of contents.)

WHO needs a Vital Records “Grab & Go” Binder Kit to store important documents?

• Families with children
• Mid-lifers facing possible future illness
• Seniors

Once completed, your vital records storage binder will store copies of your most important papers in a “grab  & go” binder for easy access and quick retrieval. (Be sure to let someone you trust know where these important papers are kept so they can find them if you are indisposed.)

WHEN should you begin the process to store important docuements?

Unexpected Death

Often, we are left to deal with emergencies without the necessary paperwork and knowledge to make decisions and quickly move forward. You don’t want to worry about retrieval of these important documents at a time when emotions run high. This project is one you’ll want to make sure is done correctly. Make 2012 the year you gather, organize, and store important documents for yourself and your immediate family members. I AM CERTAIN that the time you invest now in completing this project will offer you greater security and calm. Peace of mind is worth a little “now time” … isn’t it?

 Order your own Vital Records Binder Kit today at a saving of 38% + FREE SHIPPING anywhere in the continental USA.   Your final cost is only $35.   That’s a discounted savings of $16 + FREE shipping on a sure-fire way to store important documents. NOW THAT’S A DEAL!

To purchase your  binder kit through PayPal click on the link below OR contact us directly to make payment by check.

Be sure to include the mailing address when you buy so we can get YOUR Vital Records Binder Kit delivered in plenty of time for Mothers Day.

I recently read the book ‘Getting Organized’ by Chris Crouch. He focuses on changing behavior and points out that anytime we encounter a new idea there are three possible outcomes:

1. Nothing will happen
2. We will alter our behavior in some minor ways
3. The idea will significantly change our behavior and our life forever

A year ago I worked with my client Susan in Alpine, Utah. She greeted me when I arrived with this statement, “I am just NOT an organized person!” “My mind does NOT work that way.” She and I worked side-by-side for a total of 10 hours. Susan learned, Read more…

  I just left the home of Marian who hired me  to help her feel better prepared for life’s unexpected. I worked with Marian on her earthquake emergency preparation because she lives within the Rocky Mountain’s fault line in Utah. We finished up readying her 3 month consumable food supply and 72 hour emergency kits. We are now working on her ‘Vital Documents Grab & Go Binder’. She is already feeling much better prepared.

The following are recommendations made by FEMA – The USA’s Federal Emergency Management Agency which oversees accountability for emergency preparedness including earthquake emergency preparation in the USA. (The tips in paranthesis belong to me.) Read more…

Take Command!   Create a Paperwork Landing Pad

Do you need a go-to spot for paper management of papers that are incoming? As a professional organizer servicing the Utah County area, I find the organizing service most often requested by my residential clients is a workable paper management center. A place for them to stay atop incoming and outgoing family centered information. Papers and memorabilia come into our homes daily and need a place to “land” so they can be easily retrieved and dealt with.

Here in Utah we have larger families (4 individuals) with many of our children involved in after-school clubs, sports, and other activities. The amount of “stuff” brought home and needing an organized “rest stop” is often doubled. If YOUR kitchen counter is cluttered with family schedules, school papers, mail, or invitations; I suggest you assign a small file box as the “family file” to help clean up that chaos. The family management center is a place for your incoming paper to “live” until it’s completed. This works ideally for busy families needing to organize life’s activities. Here’s how to get started:   Read more…

Do you want to get on with the business of organizing your home by downsizing your stuff, but you’re scared you might someday need the items you are currently holding on to? The “what to keep” process begins with two BIG questions, 1) “How do I decide what I should keep?” 2) “How do I know I won’t need that item in the future?”Well, it’s your lucky day! I am a Utah based professional organizer who services clients through out the state of Utah and I am here to answer those questions for you. Please begin by watching the TV segment I recorded recently. It has some great info for you, THEN read on to learn even more!   Read more…

   Today you get to learn how to organize your home business office to be of value to yourself and your customers/clients. If what you do IS of value, then now is the time to optimize your space and time by organizing your home business office. My definition of living organized came from a mentor of mine Stephanie Calahan, “Easily finding WHAT you need WHEN you need it.”

Below are a few home business office organization ideas pulled from the NAPO website. I’ve added my own thoughts in red. Read more…

   Home office organization is necessary in order for your mind to feel calm enough to function well in your home office.

“It was a pleasure working with Vicki. The most helpful thing I learned was organizing my home office paperwork. I can quickly file and find anything now. The ‘sticky notes’ and paper piles previously covering my desk have now been eliminated. The information she taught me has been very helpful.” –Linda in Highland, Utah

“Before I worked with Vicki it took me a great deal of time to find what I needed in my office. Now I know where everything is kept. I now have an attractive, organized space where I get many things accomplished. Order in my office has brought me peace and happiness. I’m now in control, not my things in control of me.” —Norma in Provo, Utah

For additional helps, here are some helpful links to pages and posts on my website and blog:

1. Home office productivity includes making sure your to-do list gets done
2. Home office organization should definately include organizing your MOST IMPORTANT papers – your vital documents
3. Home office organization includes organizing your desk
4. Home office organization includes organizing your paper clutter
5. Home office organization includes organizing the papers in your file cabinet

In the podcast, home office organizing,  which I recorded today. I talked you through the important parts of home office organization. Then in my show page blog I gave you some great information about how to fine tune those items I discussed generally in the podcast. Listen and look for even more great information.

Home office organization is key to peace and order in your life. Don’t give up if you have not yet succeeded! Click here to see before and after photos of home office spaces I have organized, click here. Contact me if you have tried and found you need professional organizing help. I organize by-your-side throughout Utah and by phone and transfered photos nationwide. Leave a comment at the top of this post and tell us your favorite home office organization tip!

Organized Clutter?

These two words have very opposite meanings. At dictionary.com we get the definition of both words:
n. clut·ter
1. A confused or disordered state or collection; a jumble.
v. or·gan·ized
2. To put together into an orderly, functional, structured whole.
a. To arrange in a coherent form; to systematize.

At the conclusion of a seminar I taught recently in Mapleton, Utah many people come forward to visit with me and some used this term, organized clutter, to describe their living conditions. I believe there is no such thing. Either there is Order OR there is Clutter.
_____________________________________
Tips to Prevent Clutter
Here are three simple questions to ask yourself before you bring
something new into your space:
1) Am I going to use it often?
2) Am I going to use it now, or in the very near future?
3) Where is it going to go?
REMEMBER THAT:
• everything must have a place and space is limited
• clutter can not be disinfected or sterilized…only reduced
• possessions are never as important as people

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Problems can not be solved at the same level of consciousness that created them. — Albert Einstein   THINK ABOUT IT!
One of the best ways to prevent clutter, is to stop it before it starts.
The best way to stop it before it starts is to set up systems that meet your needs.  Remember that there is no such thing as organized clutter. Happy Organizing!

For organizing help

Home Organizing Workshops

Join Vicki for any or all of the 3 classes she will be teaching during the month of January 2010 in conjunction with National Get Organized Month. The class information is listed below. If you have any questions about the Utah professional orgainzer, Vicki Winterton, and her organizing classes please contact us.

“I just wanted to say thank you for your time in teaching me about time management. As you promised, the “Action File” has changed my life. I’m able to stay on top of the paper mess that comes into my home. I knew the importance of daily maintenance prior to your class (I only learned this in the last year!), but you’ve taught me how to perform daily maintenance on the paper mess, not just tidying the house. Wow! What a great thing!” –Diane, 2009 UVUcommunity education class