Organizing

Tax Return and Economic Stimulus Payments

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In February the government approved the economic stimulus payment plan. Anyone with income of $3000 or more may be eligible to receive the payments.

Most Social Security recipients who normally do not file a tax return will have to file one for 2007 in order to get the economic stimulus payment. If you or someone you know is in this situation you need to check out the following website: http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=179211,00.html.

The above site gives the eligibility requirements and what you have to do to file taxes for 2007. If the tax return is filed by April 15, then the stimulus payment is suppose to be sent out sometime in May.

There are only 5 weeks left to file your tax return. Now is the time to work on it.

Today’s quote:

“The point to remember is that what the government gives it must first take away.” ~John S. Coleman, address, Detroit Chamber of Commerce, 1956

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Menu Planning makes the week go smoother.

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Do you plan your dinner menu in the late afternoon of that day? Do you wish the dinner hour would be a lot less hectic? One way to make meal preparation go a lot smoother is to plan out a menu for each day of the week ahead of time. I don’t always do it each week and when I don’t, I end up scrambling at 5:00 PM wondering what I will be making for dinner.

With a plan written for the week I know what to take out of the freezer the night before. If I need anything from the store I can pick it up during my weekly shopping or if I am out running other errands.

I print out a weekly calendar using Calendar Creator by Softkey. Apparently this program is now owned by Broderbund, http://www.broderbund.com/.

I did find a similar weekly printout for free at: http://www.printablecalendar.ca/. This site also has a lot more calendars, etc. offered for a paid subscription.

It is easy to make your own template for each week or just write it out on a piece of paper and put it on the front of your refrigerator so you see it each morning.

I just made out my menu plan. I look forward to smoother meal preparation this week.

“It takes as much energy to wish as it does to plan.” -Eleanor Roosevelt

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Plan for Daylight Savings and Smoke Detectors

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This Sunday is Daylight Savings Time. We turn the clocks forward to gain the extra hour at night time. After the long cold evenings of winter it will be nice to take a walk after dinner and watch the sunset.

When you turn the clocks forward before going to bed on Saturday night you will lose that extra hour for sleeping in the morning. Some people don’t mind this while others dislike it. If you are interested in finding out more about Daylight Savings Time then check out this website. http://webexhibits.org/daylightsaving/index.html

If you have a battery operated smoke detector then this is a good time to change the batteries. Putting in new batteries when we change the clock in Spring and in Fall insures you have fresh ones that should work. If you don’t have a smoke detector then now is a great time to get one or more depending on your home. They save lives! For more information on smoke detectors check out this site. http://www.usfa.dhs.gov/citizens/all_citizens/home_fire_prev/alarms/

Janice

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March brings: gardening, baseball, snow?

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Although the calendar says March, here in St. Louis and other parts of the Midwest we have 10 inches of snow outside. It is hard to think about gardening when the ground is blanketed with white.

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Spring will come whether we are ready for it or not. The official first day of Spring (Vernal equinox) is only 2 1/2 weeks away (March 20).

Even though the last frost date is different for each time zone it is now the time to prepare for gardening. If you can’t do much outside because of cold or snow, you can plant those seeds or order your plants, fertilizer, etc., so you have them when the weather is right.

Old Man Winter can even hit the southern parts of the country in March. My son lives in Dallas where they were hit with a snowstorm last night. There was enough snow to build a snowman. Check it out at http://tcaball.com/.

Janice

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Welcome to my Organize By The Month Blog

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Hi everyone. This is my first post of many to come. I am starting this blog to help people get organized using the calendar and time of year. I have been late sending out birthday cards and scrambling the last minute before holidays to get it all done. I’m sure many of you have done the same thing.

Planning ahead and reminders can help prevent having to send belated cards or apologizing for not getting done something you said you would.

I will be writing a newsletter on the 1st and 15th of each month to help remind you of what is coming up in the next two weeks or so. Please check out the first newsletter by clicking on the Newsletter tab above.

I invite you to read my Welcome page and About page to give you more background on what this blog is all about and a little about me.

I appreciate any comments or suggestions on what you would like to see in this blog.

Janice

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