In the past week or so there has been a lot of talk about the stability of the banks in our country and the security of our assets.  I received a newsletter from the President and CEO of ING Direct, Arkadi Kuhlmann, that contained the following information which I would like to share with you.

"So, you've put some money away and you're just letting it sit there and grow.  Or maybe you've stashed away some valuables in a safe deposit box.  If you haven't touched either in three to five years, you may never touch them again.  It's all because of state laws - called escheatment or unclaimed property laws - that require banks and brokerages to turn over unclaimed property, including un-cashed payroll checks, stock, bank deposit and more, to the State.  Property is classified as "unclaimed" when a Customer doesn't contact the bank where his/her money is held over an extended period of time and there has been no activity.

The State goverment is then supposed to identify and contact the rightful owners, and reunite them with their property; however, each State has a "who's who" list of people who "couldn't be found" and whose property has been seized."

Here's what you can do to avoid this:

- Login to any on line account at least once a year.

- For each bank account, make a balance inquiry, small deposit or withdraweal at least
once a year.

- Cash or deposit checks when you get them.

- Use gift cards, traveler's checks and gift certificates promptly.

- Visit your safe deposit box at least once a year.

- Notify any holder of funds of an address change or a new name.

- Make a list of all your account information including retirement plans, insurance policies, trust payments, and brokerage or other accounts, and give a copy to a trusted family member or friend.

Remember, if you ignore your assets, they could disappear.  You certainly don't want that to happen.

If you would like more information on this or any other organizing topic, please feel free to contact A BETTER SPACE.   I will be glad to help.

Summer time is generally vacation time.  It's time to take those photographs and create a  collection of the memories of that great summer vacation or day trip. 

Therefore, I thought it would be appropriate to give you some suggestions on how to display those photographs after you have developed your favorites.  Here are some Quick Tips For A Better Space:

Always keep in mind that visual clutter occurs when your photographs are in different frames and scattered randomly throughout a room. When displaying your photos:

I have recently had several of my existing clients advise that they are moving.  One of my clients is downsizing from a home to an apartment, one is moving from an apartment into another apartment in another town and the latest is moving from one house to another.

My advise to anyone who is planning on moving is to go through everything in the home to make sure that what they have is what they want to take with them.  I guarantee in every instance, you will find that there are many items that have just sat around the entire time you have lived at that current location and chances are those items will remain in boxes when you move.  Why spend the time and money to move those items?  Just get rid of them. 

If they are in good condition, someone else can make use of them.  Either give them away to family or friends, donate them to a local charity, freecycle them by going onto freecycle.org or place an ad for sale of the item on Craigs List or some other local listing.  Another option is to have a garage sale before you place your home on the market for sale.  (See my previous blogs about how to conduct a Garage Sale). 

The bottom line is that you want to make the move as smooth a transition as possible and you can do that by only packing up and taking what you truly need.

Using the services of a professional organizer to help you make those decisions and help to organize the packing will save you lot's of time and aggravation when you move to your new home.  Moving companies love when I organize the packing with my clients because they always know where something should go.  It saves time and therefore saves money because they can move your items into the home fast and, therefore, you don't have to spend as much for their time.  

I recommend using my services to help you before and after the move.  When you get to the new location, using my services to organize the placement of items in the home can save your lots of time and aggravation as well.  You want to get your home settled quickly so you can function easily and enjoy it.

If you have any questions or concerns about an upcoming move, please feel free to contact me.  I will be more than happy to help you make your place A BETTER SPACE.

Have a great week!

Last Wednesday I was at a networking meeting and out of no where, I went into extreme spasm in my neck.  It was so bad I could not drive home from the meeting and had to leave my car in the parking lot and get a ride home from a friend.  I felt helpless.

Needless to say, the rest of the week I spent focusing on eliminating the spasms in my neck and taking time to recouperate.  As a result, I had to take a week off of work and not do too much around the house.  I could not drive so I could not run errands.  I was not able to keep up with the housework and not able to keep my home "organized".  

I have a hard time not being able to do what I normally do when things happen to cause me to lay low for a while.  Not my style.

I am anxious to return to work this week and resume my normal activities.

I know that most people believe that since I am a professional organizer, my life is always "organized".  However, this goes to show that we can all have times in our life when something comes along, unexpected, that throws us off course.

The important thing to remember is that you need not give up, but rather, work to get back to where you were before and resume those every day tasks.

Of course, being organized to begin with will help you to resume your normal schedule quicker.  Just pick up where you left off and accept that sometimes, we cannot control what happens in life.  Just learn to roll with the punches and be determined to get back to "normal" as soon as possible.

Remember, organizing is not a one-time-and-you're-done kind of job.  It's an ongoing process so get back on that horse and get going!

If you have any questions or issues relating to any type of organizing, please contact me and I will be glad to help make your place A BETTER SPACE.

Have a great week!