[caption id="attachment_1198" align="alignright" width="104" caption="The AZPortaVault - - the perfect storage for ALL your Vital Documents"][/caption]

Keeping in the groove for providing information pertinent to January’s being National Organization Month, I got to wondering… what IF a disaster were to occur BEFORE you had all your vital documents organized and stored in a manner that gave you quick access?  What WOULD a person do in trying to reconstruct all those destroyed or missing documents?  Since my passion is to provide you with the Vital Essentials of life, I thought this resource list would prove invaluable to you… during January’s National Organization Month,  and many years to come.

• Address Change – When you move, be sure to change your address with a few government agencies so that you’ll continue to receive mail and any government benefits at your new location.
• Bank Records – Financial tips and resources for disaster recovery.
  (.PDF | requires Adobe Acrobat Reader )
• Birth, Marriage, and Death Certificates – Get records based on the location of the birth, death, marriage, or divorce.
• Damaged Money – The Treasury Department will exchange mutilated or damaged U.S. currency.
• Document Restoration–Fire – The Library of Congress offers information on restoring fire-damaged documents and collections.
• Document Restoration–Flood – The National Archives offers information on how to care for your flood damaged photos, books, papers and more
• Drivers’ Licenses and Vehicle Registration – Find your state’s motor vehicle department to get or replace your driver’s license and register your car.
• Federal Civilian Personnel Records – Go to the National Archives for guidance on requesting personnel records for former federal civilian employees. Current federal workers can get personnel records from their Human Resources office.
• Green Card Replacement – Get instructions on how to replace a lost, stolen, or damaged permanent resident card (green card).
• Medical Information Form – The AZPortaVault contains forms where you can record medical conditions and other health information for use in an emergency situation.
• Medicare Card Replacement – How to replace a lost, stolen or damaged Medicare card
• Military Service Records – How to get copies of military service records, to prove military service or for genealogy research
• Passport – Lost or stolen passports should be reported immediately. Contact the nearest U.S. embassy or Consulate if your passport is lost or stolen overseas.
• Savings Bonds Recovery – Cash and replace lost, stolen, or destroyed bonds.
• School Records – Contact your former school, or the appropriate school district if the school has closed.
• Social Security Card Replacement – How to replace a lost or stolen Social Security card
• Tax Return – Request a copy of your federal tax return from the Internal Revenue Service

• End Procrastination!
• Priorities, my Friends.
• Accountability!
• Design a System for Maintenance.
• Letting Things Go.
• Organizing your time.
• Remember the PortaVault!

[caption id="attachment_1180" align="alignright" width="200" caption="It doesn't HAVE to be like this!"][/caption]

January is quickly drawing to a close, but I wanted to take a minute to bring your attention to the fact that this MONTH is National Organization Month and it would be a really smart course of action to wrap up all of your paperwork from 2010 within the next week or so in order to move throughout the new year with nothing on your plate but items relevant to this year.  A semblance of order gives your life much better balance.  I would like to encourage you once again to clear clutter, and give you not only the encouragement to manage this task, but offer some tips and techniques that will help you give a certain sense of finality to last year!

End Procrastination!

I think you will agree that procrastination is the number one reason we accumulate clutter!  I recently read somewhere that 92% of individuals procrastinate, with excuses that range from the length of time necessary to complete the task to how boring the process is, and that it takes time away from something more important. What I have found in life, however, is that in our humanity, we seem to find time to do the things we want to do.  What would it take for you to drop the excuses – just for a day, and create the sense of urgency that will help you make your way through the new year with a clean slate?

Priorities, my Friends.

Once you have made the decision that you will reduce or eliminate clutter, create some checklists that will not only bring a sense of order into the project, but also allows you to prioritize and establish deadlines for completion. You will feel empowered as you check the completed items from your list – and this empowerment will serve to drive you through the next task you may be disinclined to finish!

Accountability!

Keep in mind that the only thing preventing you from managing this project is… yep!  You!  Ghandi once remarked, “Seek the change you want to see.”  What he was trying to say is that at the end of the day, the changes you want can only be made by you.  If you have difficulty with being accountable for getting organized for the new year, see if your best friend will spend some time helping you, or seek a mentor or coach.  Keep the Nike motto in mind, and “Just do it!”

Design a System for Maintenance.

In the process of de-cluttering and organizing – create a system that will help you maintain a clean and organized environment.  If you don’t like filing cabinets, perhaps you can agree to organize some attractive boxes on a shelving unit that allows you to simply drop and go, with some sense of order – allowing only the things you need to be working with for each task or project to be in your workspace.  Learn to toss unwanted mail, newspapers, ads, circulars, etc. as soon as it comes into your home

Letting Things Go.

There is often no good reasoning behind why we hang onto things that no longer serve us.  I believe the motivation goes much deeper than not wanting to take time to discard items.  Make a firm commitment to yourself that as you begin your organization  project you will be willing to discard anything that is over two months old, or that you feel you will not use in the next two months.  I have found that rather than keeping tons of periodicals, I spend a few quick minutes in the table of contents deciding if there is at least one article of value – if not the magazine goes to my dentist’s office. Now is a good time to take all those business cards and scraps of paper with contact information written on them and put them in an address book or database.  If you are so inclined to still use the old fashioned Rolodex – give those babies a better home than just lying around zapping your energy!

Organizing your time.

Recognize the things that steal your time – give them a name and control them!  Organization is about facing and seeking to at least modify actions that do not best serve you.  It is not about creating perfection, but knowing how you get in your own way, and planning how you are going to diminish the frequency with which that happens.  Using day planners, calendars and checklists help you identify how you spend your time and help you create routines that help you manage your time in general, but also to block in enough time to maintain the sense of order and organization you have created.

Remember the PortaVault!

The tools with which you arm yourself will make a lot of difference in how well you can quickly get through at least one level of creating re-energizing organization in your environment.  The PortaVault will prove to be your best friend as you gather and organize your vital documents… all in one happy place, ready for retrieval when needed.  Keep in mind, when it comes to these vital documents… If you had only FIVE MINUTES to evacuate your residence would you be able to get out in time along with all your Vital Documents?

Jan Vitale… bringing you the Vital Essentials of life… Vital Enterprises, LLC

[caption id="attachment_1172" align="alignright" width="125" caption="I think I need some organizational skills! Awrggg"][/caption]

I shared a few days ago that January is National Organization MONTH, so I wanted to keep that thought alive for a bit and offer a few key points that will help you maintain organizational skills within your business environment. Picture if you will a business person, hair stretching in all directions, clothes all rumpled, racing around a desk with clutter a mile high. There is no mistaking the look on their face… awrggg!  It doesn’t have to be this way.

There is no doubt that the lack of organization can cause much frustration in your life… mistakes, losing critical information, misunderstanding, wasted time, and a plethora of other unpleasantries. Being organized takes designing a system that is a happy marriage between you and your environment, implementing that system, and then having the discipline to maintain it.

Simple little changes can reap huge rewards, for example

1. Knowing how long it takes you to complete certain tasks allows you to realistically block out time to do them, and not over commit yourself to a state of overwhelm.
2. Learning to prioritize the most important tasks in each day helps prevent getting caught in a state of panic that you have not met a commitment, and frantically trying to decide what to do next, and how you are going to perform a miracle.
3. Creating a filing system that makes it easy both to file and retrieve documents will eliminate clutter and save those frightening moments wondering where you placed something you need immediately.

Managing and Prioritizing Tasks

I would venture to say that of these three considerations, managing your tasks will give you the greatest reward. They are something you do on a regular basis and when you manage them well you can gain more time, freedom and sense of well-being than you can begin to imagine. Strategically deciding when you will complete each task makes it easier to stay focused, having the right resources to work with when it is time to complete a project, and prevents you from allowing someone to distract you from your priorities.

Maintaining an Efficient Filing System

Setting up an efficient filing system takes a lot of thought and some time to implement; however, maintaining it should be easy, with just a little discipline. I can well imagine your parents imparting this thought, “Everything HAS a place and everything should be IN its place!  That applies to paperwork and supplies just as it did to toys and clothes. Do yourself a huge favor… invest in whatever tools, equipment or supplies necessary to organize your filing system. Time ultimately translates to money, so when you can save time looking for a lost document, your time is better served generating revenue!

[caption id="attachment_1173" align="alignleft" width="100" caption="Vital Document Storage"][/caption]

When it comes to your vital business documents, I might want to suggest you discover the amazing capacity of the PortaVault. The product was originally designed to meet the needs of families in as a disaster preparedness product, providing one place where all critical items can be stored, in a water-protective unit, that can be quickly retrieved in case of emergencies. I am finding it just as valuable for business papers, digital information storage, safety deposit box keys, etc.  The work is already done in the design, providing divided protector sheets for vital documents such as professional licenses, tax identification verification, partnership agreements, and any other legal papers that would create more than angst if you were to lose them in a natural disaster.

At the end of the day it is a given, good organizational skills come naturally to some people, others must work to achieve them… striving to find a balance between responsibility and flexibility. Good organizational skills are nothing more than being aware of your commitments and developing good habits around meeting them, with the end result being a balance work load, appointments met on time, increase problem-solving abilities and an increased professional image. I trust this will leave you considering just one thing you might do today to better your organizational skills.

Jan Vitale, bringing you the essentials – vital to a life well-lived!

January is National Organization Month, and a good time for all of us to spend a little time sorting through the tons of paperwork that found the way into our homes the preceding year, establish a make-sense filing/organization system for the new year, and hopefully, end up with less work to do throughout the year – - more time for fun things!

[caption id="attachment_1159" align="alignleft" width="125" caption="Organization: Time, Area, Vital Document Storage..."][/caption]

Have heart if you feel terribly disorganized!  It is a critical skill for all of us to learn, and the caveat here, my friends is that we must LEARN IT!  Keep in mind, living with other family members that not everyone thinks the same way, learns the same way, or has the same sense of organization.  Don’t try to establish a “system” that works for you and expect your children or other family members to find it effective for them.  Encourage their own growth in this skill set by having them create and maintain their own.

If you have children with learning disabilities, ADD, etc. who may have a more difficult time remembering where things are or what to do next – you are developing a life long skill that will make their life much less complicated.  Helping be “prepared” allows the child to be less stressed and more confident.

If you have aging family members who are experiencing reduced memory function, the same thinking applies; knowing where things are, and having them always be in the same place removes stress and worry, and removes a certain amount of lost confidence as the memory wanes.

Organizing comes with three key elements:  time management, area maintenance, and vital document storage.

1. Time management includes the use of calendars and planners and having a consistent time to utilize them and a constant place for keeping/storing them.  A calendar on the face of a refrigerator works well, as do the dry erase styles to hang on bedroom walls.  Events, projects, appointments, birthdays and anniversaries are good to keep “at a glance” for most people.

Checklists work well for many people.  They can be in the form of single printed pages or in small divided notebooks where everything can be written in one place.  The flexibility of the notebook allows for creating lists, identifying the most important things to be done, breaking large projects down into more manageable tasks and learning to prioritize. This one tool will prevent procrastination, fear, overwhelm and low self esteem.

1. Area management is learning to organize surroundings; having a specific place for everything important in that particular environment.  Certain supplies should be kept in containers as close to where the work will be done as possible.  Folders, filing bins, or other organizational containers that fit the storage space in your home are one of the best investments you can make for every family member, regardless the age or mental capacity.  Having everything labeled is key to managing the system once established.

Children can, and should be, taught early about managing the organization of their personal space, such as their bedroom.  Allow sufficient time, morning and night, to put things in their proper place.  Keep in mind the child should be allow to choose that “proper place” so that they always know where the item should be placed and can later be found.

Elderly family members should be allowed the same respect of their “space.” Whether they reside in your home, or you visit from time to time… if you are assisting with some organization on their behalf, ask them where they would like to see the items placed, so they will know where to look at a later date – a place that makes sense to their way of thinking!  Unless there is a serious issue with being ambulatory or other health concerns, don’t get into the habit of doing everything for them; keeping them active and personally responsible can be very good for maintaining their health, both physically and mentally.  Don’t overdo!

Be mindful that it takes time to create, implement and maintain organizational strategies, but it is well worth the effort!  Not only will you have more energy with less clutter, the experience of always knowing where, when, etc. serves to reduce stress and boost confidence – not to mention having a whole lot more time for other pleasures in life.

1. Vital document storage is just that… vital!  Not only is it important to have ready access to important papers, not knowing when an emergency calls for any particular one, but if there is a disaster calling to quickly vacate the home, it is essential these items be in one easy-to-grab location.  These are the documents that are frequently difficult or impossible to recreate and in the case of emergencies, time is of the essence – the critical documents must be readily available.

Many events throughout the school lives of children require documentation of birth, inoculations, graduation, etc.  There is no need for the frustration, or loss of time in securing these vital documents when a simple storage system can keep everything in one place, and easy to retrieve.

Managing the vital documents for a family requires strong organization, but can be minimized with an appropriate system.  Certificates for births, weddings, and baptisms; identification records such as social security, visa and photo identification; health histories, warranty manuals, divorce decrees, adoption papers; insurance information and asset ownership… the list goes on.  In most homes, these papers are stored in various and sundry places, depending on what was going on in life at the time and where they were most conveniently placed.  Not good!

Access to the vital documents of aging family members is most definitely a sensitive topic.  There is a fine line between respect for privacy and being smart about where to find financial and legal documents that would have a significant bearing on end of life choices and decisions.  There may be times when liquidating an asset may be critical to paying medical or daily living expenses – that knowledge is important.  There may be changes in Wills and Trusts and information about who was the professional party that managed those changes, and there may be taxes and insurance to be paid on assets to prevent their loss.  Having to go through a loved one’s vital papers at a time of concern, expediency or even grieving is not a pleasant consideration to add to the existing emotional burden.

To reiterate, there are three key elements to good organization – time management, area maintenance, and vital document storage.  Each of these are simple, if not easy to develop and implement, and with a little self-discipline, quite easy to maintain.  An entire industry has stepped up in support of this need; organizational tools of every nature abound – all it takes is your desire, attention and action to make it happen!

[caption id="attachment_1158" align="alignright" width="100" caption="Are you prepared? The best organizational tool for Vital Document Storage!"][/caption]

As an insurance agent for well over 30 years, I have seen every nature of “catastrophe” occur which could have been prevented had these three elements been managed, and in my pursuit to provide a response to the need, I sought out what I felt was a portable system for storing vital documents.  This storage must be easy to organize, easy to implement, easy to maintain, and portable!  I found that product and am proud now to represent the company – PortaVault.  If you are serious about finding a better way to manage your vital documents, this is an affordable system that leaves nothing to doubt, is a perfect gift for newlyweds, aging family members, and above all, when considering the increasing number of natural disasters the world seems to be experiencing… it is portable!

Today is the 13^th of October, 2010 – the International Day for Disaster Reduction stemming from a campaign having the theme, “Making Cities Resilient: My City is Getting Ready!” coordinated by the United Nations National Strategy for Disaster Reduction.  And we thought it was a big deal to having September as National Disaster Preparedness Month!    The International Day serves to highlight success and stimulate creativity in achieving higher levels of disaster preparedness.  According to the PIA Daily News Press  the Philippines joins many other countries in this day of recognition.  If the world at large is taking this matter seriously, does it not make sense that we ask ourselves what part we need to play in preparing our families for disasters?

My intent is always to educate and inform you – bringing resources before you is a significant part of that.  Since the UN spear-headed this event, it also provides a number of links to everything it does to support disaster preparedness that should prove valuable to you as you participate more in disaster preparedness, such as Emergency Relief – Tools and Services, UNESCO’s Natural Disaster Reduction, and the World Food Programme’s Disaster to Development, and many more. 

In the news today you will see that Armenia is participating in the celebration; that China, Nigeria and Afghanistan are assessing their own programs, and finding them lacking – making a firm commitment to make serious modifications in their response to the seriousness of disaster preparedness within their countries.  The underlying focus:  save lives, reduce risks, and preserve health.  ReliefWeb provides coverage, on this day set aside to recognize disaster preparedness, to the many losses experienced in the Caribbean.  According to this article, “Each new disaster leaves in its path overpowering evidence of how poor planning and investment decisions contribute to vulnerability and increase the risk of future disasters.”  What  a powerful statement that we as a family, a community, a nation and a world, must be assertive and unrelenting in early response to potential disasters – not wiping up the aftermath that comes at a much greater cost in resources and lives.

Yes… in Africa and Iowa – in New Zealand and the Dominica… news headlines shout “International Day for Disaster Reduction!” Reuters AlertNet  reports with a focus on flood prevention in Pakistan, Myanmar and India, reflecting that “Every Euro we spend on disaster risk reduction does not only save lives but also helps us save five Euros which we would have to spend for emergency relief later on.”

How exactly is this day being celebrated?  I am sure there are a large number of lunches and conventions, but you will also find that trees are being planted in Lebanon , drawing contests are “drawing” attention to the children who need to understand the value of disaster preparedness, and the press, of course is supporting in a myriad of ways with compelling headlines!

What will you do to celebrate this International day?  What are the disaster plans you have for your family?  If you want more information how you may start – at home, please visit my website.  There you will find the PortaVault, a portable storage unit for all your vital documents, checklists and a plethora of resources, to which I add frequently.  You don’t have to do this alone – Vital Enterprises can be the one place you can count on to provide you the latest news and best resources for disaster preparedness… you see – I celebrate this need all year long!