Resources to help you during a move
Moving is stressful, especially if you are closing on two properties on the same day. The amount of things that can go wrong or over looked are innumerable, so it helps to be very organized. Luckily, I’ve got my ultra-organized wife to help me in this endeavor. She has a checklist for every detail: the movers, the insurance, utilities, finances, closing, and packing. I’m a bit less organized. I have a scrap of paper on my desk with a series of names and numbers that I have to contact. I’m not perfect.
Here are some resources that can help:
- Real Simple has a helpful checklist that can make moving less stressful. They also have some helpful tips on hiring a mover.
- Buyer closing checklist from myrealestatestory.com.
- 12 general packing and moving tips at About.com
Obviously, some of the items on these checklists should be handled by your real estate agent. That is what they get their commission, but it is also good to be on top of everything when the closing and moving dates arrive.
Popularity: 6% [?]
Tips for quick grocery shopping
Grocery shopping is a necessary evil. Does anyone look forward to their weekly visit to the grocery store? If you’re like me, you defer these duties to your spouse. My wife has the grocery shopping down to a science. She tries to get in and out of the store as fast as she can. Don’t we all?
Here are some tips that she has to make your grocery shopping visit easier to deal with:
- Make a meal plan: Decide what you’re going to eat this week and what you’ll need to make that happen. (Erin will write more on this specific topic next week.)
- Make a list from your plan: Not only will this help you remember what you need, it also discourages you from picking up things that you don’t need.
- Separate the items on the list into their own sections (dairy, condiments, cereal, produce, etc.). This will reduce the chances of having to double back for something that you forgot in another section.
- Go shopping at off-peak hours. The less of a crowd the faster the shopping goes. Avoid weekends. (My wife goes before work early in the morning.)
- Sale items above all: Look over your weekly sale items before heading to the store. Saving money on groceries is a good thing.
- Get physical. Don’t be afraid to elbow fellow shoppers to get to the checkout ahead of them.
Ok, so that last one is a joke, but I hope these tips help you use your time more wisely. The less time you spend in the grocery store, the more time you spend doing something you actually enjoy.
Popularity: 45% [?]
Conquer kid clutter
Having a 20-month old is a bit like taking care of a drunk friend. They don’t really know what they are doing, but they are having fun while they do it. My daughter is getting into the “terrible twos” a bit early, so hopefully they’ll end early.
One thing that seems to get worse as she gets older is the toy accumulation. I’ve mentioned this problem in some prior posts and I must say that my wife and I continue to struggle with it. I’m always on the lookout for new ways of curbing clutter that is kid specific. So, I was pleased to read this article in the Detroit News that had a long list of kid specific clutter tips. Tips such as:
- Divide and conquer:
Big toy boxes make it too easy for toys to get jumbled together. Better: a bin for Legos, another for action figures, another for dollhouse furniture, etc. - Toss the flimsy crayon boxes:
Same goes for the marker and colored-pencil boxes. Instead, put drawing tools into lidded boxes or bins. And don’t bother saving every free crayon you’ve collected from restaurant visits. Teachers say most kids just grab the top two or three anyway. - Craft supplies:
Keep a vinyl tablecloth with the art supplies. It’ll be on hand to protect the table or rug (skip disposable ones: not sturdy enough).
These tips aren’t earth shattering, but they are helpful. The accumulation of toys is the hardest thing to get under control, in my opinion. Forces beyond our control are at work. These forces, mostly Grandma and Grandpa, are unrelenting. Be vigilant in your removal of old and unused toys, and your toy clutter will stay manageable.
Popularity: 9% [?]
Keep your tax documents organized
When it comes to clutter, the federal government has all of us beat. The tax code alone is over 60,000 pages and continues to grow by leaps and bounds. I’m not going to even begin to tell you how to do your taxes. There are professionals who, fortunately for us and unfortunately for them, dedicate their lives to filing taxes.
If you are single and have little to report on your taxes other than a W-2, you can easily use e-File. Unfortunately, I don’t have that luxury. If you’re not in that category, you can purchase a program like Turbo Tax, in hard copy or by download, and take the time to do them yourself. Personally, I prefer to use an accountant.
Your tax documents currently should be trickling in from your employers and investments. My wife and I put our tax documents into a marked file folder with a checklist of everything we expect to receive. (Each of our W-2s, our home mortgage interest document, savings interest, etc.) Once we receive all of our documents, we makes photocopies of all of them. The photocopies can be a life saver, the way they were for us a couple years ago when our car was stolen with our tax documents inside of it.
These are just a few tips that may make your tax preparation a little less hectic. Try and get everything in order in a timely manner, and you may just get through another tax season with a little less anxiety.
Popularity: 9% [?]
Gift card clutter
With the holidays behind us and the popularity of gift cards increasing every year, make sure you don’t let them go unspent. According to the E-Commerce Times, about $8 billion worth of gift cards’ value will go unspent. Here are some tips so you don’t let your gift cards go to waste.
Keep them all together. If you have gift cards all over the place you’ll end up losing track of them. Keep them in one spot and look through them before you head out shopping.
eBay them. If you received a gift card to a retailer that you don’t particularly like, eBay is a good way to get rid of the card. Rather than being stuck with a card that you will never use, get some value out of it. (The value is usually around 80%)
Don’t buy just because you can. If you have a gift card, don’t make that an excuse to purchase something. If you don’t like Pottery Barn, don’t feel compelled to purchase $100 worth of their merchandise. Again, use eBay to get rid of it. Don’t clutter your home with gift-card guilt purchases.
Popularity: 7% [?]
Trim your wallet
When I decided to buy a smaller wallet (I went with the Slim Slimmy, by the way), my next step was cleaning out my old, oversized wallet.
When I first received the Slim Slimmy, I was skeptical that I would be able to keep everything I needed in such a scaled down space. With some very easy decisions, I was able to trim down what I carried and my pockets were immediately less cluttered. Here are the things I removed from my wallet:
Insurance cards: I was carrying around three insurance cards. Did I really need to have my vision and dental cards on me at all times? Not likely. I now only carry my main insurance card.
Blockbuster card: I never rent movies from there anymore (thank you, Netflix), so that was an easy choice.
Shopping cards: I had two grocery cards in my wallet. I removed both and added a smaller barcode to my key chain. I only shop at one of the grocery stores anyhow.
Buy 12 get the 13th free cards: Ok, I get my haircut at a discount joint up the street. Is it that much of a deal that I carry that card everywhere I go? It really isn’t even a good deal. I basically saved about 8% on my haircuts over a year and a half. Why was I carrying that thing in my wallet? I’m sure you carry around one of these cards for sandwiches, bagels, or coffee. Figure out the savings and it probably isn’t worth carrying around everywhere you go.
Pictures: I had a wedding picture and a picture of my daughter in my wallet. They both never saw the light of day, so it wasn’t worth transferring into my new wallet.
Memories: I had a ticket stub from a museum in Amsterdam and a visit to the Empire State Building from a high school trip. I’m not sure why I still had them, but they obviously didn’t make the transfer.
Just a quick scan of what I had in my wallet and the transition to a much smaller and sleeker wallet was made so much easier.
Popularity: 20% [?]
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