Best of Houzz 2018 – Client Satisfaction
Orderly Manner was rated at the highest level for client satisfaction by the Houzz community.
Awarded on January 14, 2018
Orderly Manner on the air!
Interview for Spotlight on Spring Hill
Darrell Williams from WAKM and Linda Harrison Spring Hill Chamber
WAKM’s “Spotlight on Spring Hill” airs on Monday mornings at 8:06 AM on AM 950
We have a variety of local guests from the Spring Hill/Thompson Station area
Columbia Daily Herald – Preparing for a Date with the Taxman
Thanks to the Columbia Daily Herald for the article, which was originally published here!
Filing taxes can be one of the most nerve-wracking duties of the year, leaving taxpayers scrambling to find needed documentation, figuring out deductions and making sure all information is filed by deadline.
With federal taxes due Tuesday, April 15, many local residents have already begun the process of filing in hopes of seeing a return, including those attending a program Saturday on organizing tax documents presented by personal organizer Tina Plichta at the Spring Hill Public Library.
Attendee Anna Aponte of Spring Hill said she retired in 2012, which means changes for how she files her taxes.
“Now I’m not sure how I need to prepare my taxes,” Aponte said. “My biggest concerns are about changes in tax laws, what deductions I can apply for and what I might have to pay.”
Rick Boylan said he typically does his family’s taxes on his own with the help of computer software.
“I can’t say I like doing taxes, but the times I have tried getting someone else to do them for me they were never able to find anything I wasn’t able to do on my own,” he said. “Investments are always a big concern for me because they can be complicated.”
Bonnie Bailey of Spring Hill said organization is one of her biggest obstacles when it comes to preparing for tax time.
“It’s hard just making sure we have all of our information,” she said. “We have a lot of business expenses.”
Whether doing taxes yourself or having a professional file them, Plichta said knowing what documents to keep and where to keep them can go a long way toward taking the stress out of tax time.
“It takes off some of the pressure if you have everything in its right place,” she said. “If you take time up front and do a little at a time, you can save money.”
Plictha recommends sorting items such as W-2s, donation slips, business expenses, medical bills and other documents into an easy to understand filing system. She said the use of spreadsheets, tax software or online budget websites can help track not only expenses but make it easier to organize tax documents.
“These are great tools because they track your spending,” she said. “The first step is just seeing where your money is going and then seeing where you can save.”
Plictha said many people do not know they can also count the mileage it takes to drive to and from volunteer activities as part of their tax return. She said taxpayers can get 14 cents per gallon back on miles driven for charity, 25 cents on the dollar back for transportation needed for medical or moving trips and 56.6 cents back for business mileage.
Plictha said she recommends using either an online tool, app or personal spreadsheet to help track donations, which can help taxpayers receive more back. She said Goodwill and other organizations offer online valuation guides to help donors.
“You may not realize the value of what you’ve donated, and that could be money coming back to you,” she said. “I just printed out a sheet listing the items or money I donated and where I donated it, and I brought that to the person who does my taxes.”
Additionally, Plichta said some medical expenses can be written off if the expenses exceed 10 percent of their family’s adjusted gross income.
“If you don’t track it, you can’t get it back,” she said. “It is hard to be at the end of the year and try to remember all the doctors visits you’ve had, all the surgeries or medicines you purchased. Being able to write off those things can help, especially when you have a lot of health issues in one year.”
Columbia Daily Herald: Living in an Orderly Manner – The Life of a Professional Organizer
Thanks to the Columbia Daily Herald for the article, originally posted here.
Tina Plichta always enjoyed organizing, but it wasn’t until she and her family moved to Spring Hill from Chicago in 2013 that she turned her skills into a career.
“I’ve always enjoyed organizing — it’s something that’s helped me in my life and I wanted to be able to help others,” she said.
Plichta was a stay at home mom until beginning her organizing service, Orderly Manner. She said she had often helped friends and family members organize.
“There’s more peace in our home because we’re not scrambling around and looking for things,” she said. “I know when I have things around me that are organized — I find I can think clearer.”
“There’s more peace in our home because we’re not scrambling around and looking for things,” she said. “I know when I have things around me that are organized — I find I can think clearer.”
Once Plitcha’s two sons were in school for most of the day, she established her business and built a customer base through networking and social media.
“Eventually it kind of comes around that people remember. They might not need that service right way,” she said. “I’ve been seeing people that I’ve met in the last year or so calling and asking for help.”
Plichta gives potential clients a free consultation.
“I ask them not to clean up, which is very hard for some people,” she said. Orderly Manner improves its customers’ state of mind, Plichta said.
“Some people are embarrassed to have someone come in and see how they’re living, but that’s why I do this. It’s because I want to help people, to make a difference in their lives so they don’t feel uncomfortable,” she said. “A person I worked with, she had so much in her home that she would actually go to her car to be alone and have some quiet time.”
After seeing the area clients want her to organize, Plichta develops a plan and discusses the price based the customer’s budget and availability.
“Some people just want to get started and then go alone from there,” she said. “And others say, ‘Okay, I just want this whole room done.’”
Plichta prefers to work with her customers, rather than by herself.
“It works better if I’m working with them because then I’m teaching as I go along,” she said. “I just kind of come alongside of them and give them help and suggestions.”
Plichta said she tailors her work to fit the needs of specific clients.
“If a senior maybe has some limitations, like reaching up high or bending down low, I can rearrange their house so its easier and not too strenuous for them,” she said.
She said people who need her help can be in the midst of a divorce, a move or taking in a sick family member.One of her customers in Franklin, who prefers to remain anonymous, is a cancer survivor.
“I have to limit my physical activity and the places I go. Which is hard because I’m a goer and a doer,” she said.
“I have to limit my physical activity and the places I go. Which is hard because I’m a goer and a doer,” she said.
Plichta has visited her home for one three-hour session for the past several months and has organized her home office, pantry and closets.
“It is without flaw,” her client said of Plichta’s work in her home.
The customer said she is a former teacher and principal, and that her mother grew up during the Depression.
“Honey, I have been a pack rat forever. Teachers don’t throw anything away,” she said. “I don’t have the genes to properly dispose of things.”
When Plichta starts work, she removes every object in the area from its container.
“It looks worse before it gets better,” she said Plichta donates things clients no longer need to Goodwill and takes food from reorganized kitchen to charities.
“It looks worse before it gets better,” she said Plichta donates things clients no longer need to Goodwill and takes food from reorganized kitchen to charities.
“We just take out bags and bags of stuff,” Plichta’s client said.
In addition to helping organize rooms or sections of residences, Plichta also offers plans for moving, meal planning and time management.
For her client in Franklin, Plichta created a bill payment schedule and a detailed list of her medications.
“There was a lot of mental anguish I was going through that she eliminated,” the customer said.
“It’s really about figuring out what you value and where you’re spending your time,” she said about the different aspects of Orderly Manner.
Plichta said her service makes life easier for her customers.
Plichta said her service makes life easier for her customers.
“It saves time and money. I find that my clients are spending money buying things they already have, they just didn’t know where it was,” she said.
Plichta said she wants people to know they don’t have to take on reorganizing projects by themselves.
“There’s help. There’s someone that can come alongside them and help them when they’re feeling overwhelmed or don’t know where to begin,” she said.
