Month: October 2016

Never able to find that piece of paper you need?

October 31, 2016

Organising your office or, household admin is never the most interesting task to do but is necessary to avoid losing time or even money.

  • How much time do you spend looking for a key piece of paper, envelope, bill?
  • How often have you missed the deadline for a payment or replying to an invitation?
  • Have you ever overpaid for something purely because you’ve forgotten the renewal date?

If any of the above sounds familiar then you need to start to organise your paperwork-life, it doesn’t take long (even if you have a house rather than a desk-full) as you do not need to hold on to as much as you think you might.

I purchased a new file from Paperchase which holds all the important documents and is not a huge file so doesn’t take up a lot of room and you can add additional tabs if required. The standard labels are for the most obvious things but, everyone is different and has varying needs.

It is tempting to keep every piece of paper which looks vaguely important or has account details on or you feel you may need it ‘just in case’ but you definitely don’t.  There are certain dates you need certain copies of paperwork for (personally, look here for HMRC) and in business it is 5 years after the tax year – most companies recommend 7 years to be sure.

Most things can now be kept digitally with online accounts – electricity, gas, however, it would be wise to always keep backups so I would recommend always keeping your most current copies of any bills in case of errors – need I comment here about checking each of them through thoroughly, mistakes are made! So, why not make a start today…..

  1. Find a space, a big space! Dining room table, kitchen worktop, living room floor
  2. Have a diary or calendar to hand, the one you use the most phone or old-school paper
  3. Get everything out! All the paperwork, unopened post, files you may already have
  4. Start some piles, work, personal, house, sentimental and have a bin at the end
  5. Go through methodically, throwing away any rubbish – empty envelopes etc – yes it sounds obvious but there is no need to keep rubbish
  6. Divide into your chosen piles, only keeping the most recent 2 personal bills after checking them and last year of household bills
  7. Make a note of dates for insurance renewals, contract dates with a reminder 2 weeks before to review and obtain quotes
  8. Once the big pile to sort has been sorted, start labelling and putting away into suitable folders
  9. Find a place to store the folders, where you can update and access as required, everyone is different – kitchen cupboards, office, under seat storage….you choose!

Now you have everything in place, keep on top of the pieces of paper.  As post arrives, open it, deal with it and remember to check your reminders to keep on top of your paperwork.  Then, you will always know where that piece of paper you were looking for is.

Feel like you can relate to this and need some organisation help, get in touch via phone – 07772 773992 or e-mail – sarah@starfishorganisers.com If I am unable to help, I can find someone who can.

We provide an initial free consultation via phone or Skype or, visit for an hour for £25 + mileage which is redeemable against your first booking.

My ideal home is on Pinterest, if only I could create it in real life – and not a Pinterest fail!

October 15, 2016

The P for procrastination, Pinterest.  Not heard of it? It’s the app to look at whilst you make yourself a cup of tea for 10 minutes, then the next thing you realise, your tea has gone cold and at least an hour has gone by…….. but, you’ve found your ideal home, every room in your home, planned every birthday, Christmas and halloween (even though you’ve never celebrated halloween in your life!)

Now, for home stuff when searching (if your home is anything like mine) you need to add “small” in the description as being mainly American you need a ranch or house in one of those cheesy family films to have rooms the size of the whole of my downstairs!  I started with a “house” board and now I have one for every room the only problem is actually getting stuff done.  It was different when having a tiny human as we had 9 months, a deadline and a plan for the room which gives you a bit more motivation to get the room how you would like it.

In normal circumstances you have the ideas and pass the room or job every day and just think you should really get that done, without a timeline, push, help, things don’t always get done, plans are not followed through and tasks are not completed.  This is where a personal organiser can help.  If you were building a house or a large extension you would have a planner or project manager to ensure tasks are completed and the job finished to your satisfaction, an organiser does this but on a small scale to work with you to ensure your home is finished to the standard you would expect – and make it your home!

We can declutter, tidy, put your possessions in order and find homes for things so you can find them again but we can also organise tradespeople to finish tasks, put up pictures and finish those small annoying jobs which you walk past everyday.  It may even be that you no longer notice them and have forgotten that the door handle will fall off it you pull it too much or until a visitor comes you realise you have to explain how to turn flush the loo properly.

Make a cuppa and grab a pen and pad, walk around from room to room and make notes in each of what tasks need finishing or doing full stop, what annoys you when you are sat in the bath or when you’re making the spare room up for guests write it down.  Alternatively, if it’s something that will take 5 minutes, do it straight away.  Once you’ve got your list, give a personal organiser a call to talk through.  We can give you an idea of costs and timelines to make your house your home and your sanctuary.

Feel like you can relate to this and need some organisation, get in touch via phone – 07772 773992 or e-mail – sarah@starfishorganisers.com If I am unable to help, I can find someone who can.

We provide an initial free consultation via phone or Skype or, visit for an hour for £25 + mileage which is redeemable against your first booking.