Get It Together: Organize Your Records So Your Family Won't Have To by Melanie Cullen
345072
My mother died suddenly and left her estate in a total mess. I was left shocked, grief-stricken and alone in struggling to make sense of what needed to be done. I wouldn't wish that ordeal on anyone let alone on those I love. This workbook and companion organizer is the perfect solution. Nothing will be left to guesswork if I am incapacitated or dead. It is thorough yet simply organized and written from a compassionate perspective. It is a gift of love to provide this kind of direction to those who must make decisions on your behalf.
988453
Laura Wittmann gave me some really easy, useable tips for organizing.  I usually get overwhelmed with my clutter by thinking I need to have the perfect system to get going.  "If only I had this..." or "If I just had one more closet..."  Well, this book said all I needed to know in one or two paragraphs on each of the 101 Tips.  I love the PROCESS steps.  I appreciate the simple suggestions.  I love the examples and pictures.  The book is great, and as one reviewer suggested, I'm going to leave it out on the counter for my family to read!
2249368
i was able to read a preview copy. lots of great suggestions to organize your life. there is a podcast available on iTunes as well. check it out!
102027
This calendar is great for families that want to stay organized.  It has lines for you to write family members names on & then you can write their activities under the date.  Perfect for organizing school activities, sports, appointments etc.  You can look at your week/month & know exactly where you need to be.
4107814
This book is a must read for any person helping a parent organize their financials, passwords and all of the information you will need when they aren't able to do it on their own. It is an easy to follow, step-by-step process to get organized. If you want to be prepared when your parent is not able to give you the information themselves this is the book to use! The workbook is set up in a format where you can complete it with your parent and then you can be an effective PO. I highly recommend this book!
4270545
I am a 37 year old wife and mother with ADD. Organization is definitely not my strong point, and my disorganization has pretty much taken over my life. Lisa Woodruff explains through her book, why I have such problems with organization, and how I can work with my brain and thought processes rather than against them. The tools discussed in this book have the potential to be life changing if implemented. I highly recommend this book to those individuals with ADHD or ADD, who find organization a daunting and overwhelming task. While this book is geared towards women, I feel like it would be helpful to anyone needing help organizing his or her home.
4532907
I am an organizational guru. Everything in my house has a place and everything is in its place. So, when I was contacted by Peggy to review her organizing book, I lept at the chance. I love to read what techniques other people use, because if you love to organize, especially like me, you can always pick up a tip or two if you keep your eyes open - if not for yourself, then to help someone else.

Secrets of Organization is a well thought out book that has a load of wonderful ideas. Peggy saw a problem (the first BIG step) in her life and developed a system that works well for her and can help many other people add a little organization to their life. I thought her techniques were spot on and actually resembled some of my own - so that was a plus in my book!

The book is organized (of course!) into chapters that make finding problem solutions very easy.  I absolutely loved a paragraph from her introduction and I would like to share it here:

"One of the best kept secrets of all time is that the laziest people you know are the ones who get the greatest amount of work done in the shortest time, who host the most successful parties, and who have the best behaved pets. Don't believe me? It's true. Lazy people don't want to spend hour after hour looking for their keys, cleaning their homes, picking up after their kids, or wandering around the mall looking for that perfect present. They want to get everything done in the quickest time possible so that they have lots of time left for what they really want to do. This (unless you're a true workaholic) is probably not vacuuming, mowing the grass, or cleaning the toilet."

I have to admit, that after reading that paragraph, I sat and thought for a while. I wanted to figure out if that was why I am so organized. The jury is still out!

I also enjoyed this next paragraph, as it accurately describes me and my way of organizing. I have chores set up for each day of the week and when I read this next quote, I chuckled because it is exactly what I was thinking when I set up my own routine!

"Our grandmothers did their chores on the same day each week. They might have washed clothes on a Monday, ironed on a Tuesday, baked on a Wednesday, and shopped on a Thursday."

And while my chore list may differ from that of my grandmothers, it is an excellent beginning to start organizing your own routine. As Peggy laments, it is all about establishing routines. I completely agree with the author on this. Why? Because I have routines and they work. When you have a routine, there is no time wasted thinking about what needs to be done, you already know!

If you are looking for a quick read and hoping to gleam a few good organizational skills along the way, this is definitely a good book.

I was given a copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion.
First appeared on my blog, My Life. One Story at a Time.
2896565
I liked how this record book was easy to organize and included an area to document parent contact. It is large enough to include all necessary notation.
967147
I've used Mead brand pocket calendars for years and I love how they keep me organized and less forgetful.  I have 2 kids, a dog, a husband and myself to keep track of and although I love my phone, I don't like digital organizers.  I prefer to write down my appointments in a calendar the old fashioned way and this book keeps me organized.  I look at my calendar every night to make sure I don't have something scheduled the next day and stay on task.  Without this calendar in my purse, I would be lost.  I don't have to fumble with appointment cards or reminders because I have everything already written down and organized in my calendar.  And I'm prepared for the year, so for example, when I make my kids 6 month dental cleaning, I have that month ready and waiting for me to write down the appointment time.  It's so great to be organized and not have to remember every detail because I know I have them available at my fingertips in my Mead pocket calendar.
1856452
This book is meant to be used. From its handy tabs to its sturdy spiral binding, the form definitely follows the function.

And the function is one that many people are finding they need. This book is for those left behind. It is for the son or daughter who, in the midst of raising their own family, find that they must now pick up the pieces left behind by a parent. For the sister, brother or even the parent who must deal with all the paperwork, notifications, and tying off of final threads that go along with our modern lives.

Look around at your own home office or file system. What would happen if you were suddenly gone? Would anyone know where to find your credit card statements? Did you know that heirs are liable for credit card bills? What about life insurance? Who is responsible for filing the final tax return for the deceased? What if the deceased was a veteran? Then there's social security, and dealing with all the deceased bills and paperwork.

In our modern busy busy world, families rarely take the time to sit down and talk about the important details of their lives. Money is still a taboo topic around many dining room tables. This book takes you step by step through the questions above, and many more. Much of the problem lies in not even knowing which questions to ask. Here are lists of them, each under a handy tab, from Residence to Financial to Legal. The book also comes with scripts for dealing with insurance and other complex topics, as well as sample letters used to contact different entities.

Kat Reed speaks from experience. She helped her nearly deaf father through these details after the death of her mother. These are the questions that need answering, for many at a time when they are least likely to be able to focus on these details. Perfect for anyone dealing with a death and those that support them.

Note: I gave a copy of this to my aunt when my uncle died very suddenly. I think it was a balm for her soul.
2588276
Evernote is a cool breakdown by Paget of a better way to organize your accounts. It makes the task easier and works well for business owners, especially those who work from home, including stay-at-home moms who need this software. It's also great for students. I recommend this book to anyone seeking a better way to organize and synchronize your work.
1331418
Im not sure whether Im an anachronism, intractable, just OCD, or all of them. I have all sorts of aids to facilitate electronic recordkeeping. Full size scanners, portable scanners, receipt scanners and file generators, commodious on-site storage capability. I use on-line banking and bill paying. I still keep paper records of EVERYTHING, going back to the first payroll stub from my first real job in the 60s. Yeah, I have a problem and I also have these dividers that help me keep everything neat and orderly.

The 8 tab set is actually a 32 divider package with a separate table of contents that can be designed and printed with templates available online at the Avery website, although based on past visits to the site, Id just as well write out the table for my personal use and rely on wite out (see first paragraph for justification of my obduracy) if I have to revise down the road. In a professional application, I know I would have to try to summon whatever patience I have left and deal with the unfriendliness accessing the correct template on the webpages.

The dividers are designed to work equally as well for portrait or landscape orientation. Some users may find the limits on expandability within a tab group to be an issue as well as the absence of a separate table of contents page for each tab group but as noted, not a concern for my intended use.
3858432
I bought this book for my wife, who is forever trying to organize all our family information.  She loved it!!  It has great tools and tips and is easy to use.  A good gift for a working mom.
4745536
Marla has taken a non-organizational approach to organization that even those that are terribly disorganized can follow.  She helps explain her "system" in every day language that any one can follow - male or female - since we all have problems with clutter.
Starting in the kitchen where the heart of the home is, works wonders for nearly everyone and provides an immediate feeling of success.  Once success is seen and felt, most people find it easier to move on in her "baby steps" and work their way out of their clutter.
Those that don't have daily web access will find this book useful in setting up a system of taking care of their "nest" and making it a place that they want to be and in the process probably learn a lot about themselves.
1482960
I bought this book because I have a 1 1/2 year old son and I thought it would be a good idea to have everything organized in case something happens to me.  After going through this book, I realized that whomever has the task of executing my wishes will be able to do so with ease. I am already an organized person but this book made me organize my paperwork even better.

This is a must have book!
162282
This book makes you look at your life as well as your clutter. The reason I chose four stars is because some of the personal de-cluttering doesn't cover situations for people with teens, people parenting parents or people with chronic illnesses which all are common place today.  This book is simple,easy to follow and to do.  I hope she writes a book for teens and college kids to help them organize their spaces and schedules.
267424
This book is a great, easy read to help you get on the road to collecting and organizing all your important financial, estate, medical and end of life documents. I appreciate that everything was explained in simple terms and for the things I still didn't understand, there was a glossary of terms at the end to help explain it further. This is so important and this book makes to so much easier to tackle.