Category: Uncategorized

  • Organizing Your Exit

    My cousin, Kevin, just received a new heart yesterday. He had been on the wait list for a heart donor for almost a year after having a massive heart attack. A selfless and courageous 23-year-old man (whom we don’t know) was tragically killed and donated his heart. This wonderful blessing for my cousin amid tragic circumstances for another family has led me to think about little talked about aspect of organizing: Organizing Your Exit.

    We are all going to die. No one likes to hear it, but the truth remains. We have little control over when we will exit, but what we can control is what happens to us after we die. If you have a spouse or kids or nieces or nephews or brothers or sisters, your exit could have not only an emotional impact, but a financial one, so being organized will help them tremendously. Plus, deciding what you want done with your body will take the burden of difficult decisions off your family and you may even be able to save a life, as in the case of the young man who donated his organs to my cousin.

    Here are some things you should have in writing:

    • A will
    • Advanced Directives – instructions given by individuals specifying what actions should be taken for their health in the event that they are no longer able to make decisions due to illness or incapacity.
    • Medical Power of Attorney – a legal document that designates an individual to make medical decisions for you in the event that you’re unable to do so.
    • A list of all your financial accounts and insurance policies with account numbers.
    • Your wishes for wakes, funeral services, memorials, cremations, burials.

    This may not be a glamorous organizing project, but it is a responsible and important one! Please take the time to get your ducks in a row.

    On a personal note, please consider becoming an organ donor!

  • Gifts

    As you have all probably experienced over the past month, gift giving can be a challenge if you are not organized. You may buy gifts on sale throughout the year and then not be able to find them when you need them or you forget to give the person the gift (I have received MANY gifts from my Mom YEARS after they were intended). Pre-buying gifts is only a good idea IF:

    • You are organized enough to remember that you bought it
    • You have a central location for all pre-bought gifts so you can find things easily
    • The gift could serve another purpose or be given to a different person

    I left a client’s house the other day and passed a Blockbuster store that was going out of business. I had a few extra minutes and decided to take a lap around to see what was on super-clearance. I ended up buying $20 worth of cool microwavable popcorn buckets and tons of movie candy that would have cost about $50-60 retail. This was a good purchase because I could make a little ‘movie night’ basket for a hostess gift, for the upcoming silent auction for my son’s school, or for a fun birthday present. Last night I received the email about the upcoming silent auction for my sons’ school (I am class mom) and we needed to let the coordinator know what our class would be donating by some date two weeks from now. I was able to immediately email back the theme of our classroom’s basket and in less than 3 minutes print out flyers to hand to the other kids in class to give everyone plenty of time to add their donations to the pot. That felt pretty cool!

  • New Year’s Resolutions

    We all have New year’s Resolutions, and mine is to start blogging a couple of times per week. My guess is that many of you think that since I am an organizer that I ALWAYS have it together. NOT TRUE! I am the working mother of two kids (1 and 3 years old) and just like many of you look like a duck paddling like crazy to stay above water. I am entering the most challenging quarter of the year…..tax season. With an accountant husband, I basically become a single parent for the next 3.5 months.

    So, I am going to blog about my successes and stumbles and what I learned from each in the hopes that it will help some of you too! Remember: Organizing is an evolutionary process. As your life changes, your systems often need to change with it.