Re:Fresh Re:Design, I have an eye for your style!

Another sunny day before the storm, in Colorado Springs! the view from above, and below...

All photos and/or written content produced by Cheryl Marantino. All rights reserved and may not be reproduced or reprinted without express written permission of Cheryl Marantino, Re:Fresh Re:Design, review, refresh, results! A real estate staging, residential redesign and visual merchandising company, serving Colorado Springs, Colorado and surrounding areas in El Paso and Teller Counties.

Every year about this time the hubby starts asking me if I have everything related to my business in order, because he likes to get our taxes done as quickly as possible. We never do, because I always hold up the process! I slide in just under the wire, enough that our accountant can get us filed, but never early...

I don't have trouble showing up when and where I am supposed to be at an appointed time, but I really struggle with getting all of my papers in order for the tax man.

I'm going to surprise them both this (next) year! I sat at my desk, and filed and shredded and sorted and copied and hole-punched and filed some more ALL DAY.

A view of a clients home office before our staging magic!

You might think as a stager, who tells people to de-clutter for a living, that I would not have much clutter myself, but I am a "paper hoarder". I tear out articles I'm "going to read later", I hang onto magazines for "that recipe", ( I almost NEVER cook!) and I too often mix business with pleasure and the papers end up jumbled together on my desk!

Because I have moved so many times, and never in 50+ years lived anywhere more than 5 years, I don't have as much clutter as some, but what I have, can make ME crazy!

Everyone who has spent a day organizing and straightening and filing and tossing and cleaning and clearing knows the feeling I have right now.....Aaaaaaaahhhhhhh........

The weight is lifted, the clutter is gone, the order restored. It feels so wonderful! The clutter was confined to one room, and just one corner of the room, but when I finished I realized what a weight it had become. Always knowing I needed to "get to that project", wondering if there was an important paper buried in there, and never wanting to leave the door open, where I had to look at it!

My next several weeks are going to be busy ones, and this tiny break in the middle of the week, where I buckled down and finished the project is going to go a long way in making the hectic times ahead, easier to deal with!

It's early for a New Years resolution, but I feel so good about how the office looks now, I can't imagine not keeping things tidy! How about you? Are you ready to start 2009 clutter-free or at least clutter reduced? Let's talk, we offer free consultations!

All photos and/or written content produced by Cheryl Marantino. All rights reserved and may not be reproduced or reprinted without express written permission of Cheryl Marantino, Re:Fresh Re:Design, review, refresh, results! A real estate staging, residential redesign and visual merchandising company, serving Colorado Springs, Colorado and surrounding areas in El Paso and Teller Counties.

All photos and/or written content produced by Cheryl Marantino. All rights reserved and may not be reproduced or reprinted without express written permission of Cheryl Marantino, Re:Fresh Re:Design, review, refresh, results! Serving Colorado Springs, Colorado and surrounding areas in El Paso and Teller Counties.

I am RE-BLOGGING my OWN POST, because I just received some new and pertinent information in the mail pertaining to this subject, that I wanted to share, ALL NEW information is italicized:

The information below, was all included in the newsletter, as well as a few facts that I found startling:

8.4 million Americans were victimized by thieves stealing their identity in 2007, accounting for $49.3 BILLION dollars in losses, with the average amount per victim being well over $5,000. (Javelin Strategy & Research) Their research also indicates that victims are resolving theft cases with 15 less hours of work than in 2006.

Even with the possibilities of internet theft, lost and stolen wallets (and their contents) continue to be the major source of identity theft.

As we head into the busiest shopping time of the year, the chances of having your purse or wallet stolen increase, dramatically. Below are some "enhanced tips" on what to do, if this happens to you:

Of course, everyone knows to cancel credit cards right away, but how many people have the toll-free numbers to all of their credit cards stored somewhere for easy access? Digging through your files, to find the correct numbers will add stress you do not need at a time like that! Know what cards are in your wallet, and have a list of toll-free numbers for every credit card you carry, stored separate from your purse or wallet, for quick calls. Make this call within 15 minutes if possible!

Do not carry your Social Security card in your wallet, and purge any cards you do not use regularly.

A filed report, with the appropriate authorities for the jurisdiction you are in, will give your credit card company the date and time at which you were no longer making charges. This will be a starting point for an investigation, if one is necessary.

Contact ALL of the national credit reporting organizations, Experian, Equifax and TransUnion immediately for placement of a fraud alert on your Social Security Number and name. An alert will halt the approval of new credit cards that might be applied for in your name, online or over the phone. When things are cleared up, you may choose to remove the alert, since the alert will require phone contact with you for any credit approval in the future. For example, you are out shopping, you decide to accept an offer of a credit card in a dept. store on the spot. The alert requires phone contact with you before approval.

Equifax 1-800 525-6285
Experian 1-800-301-7195
Trans Union 1-800-680-7289
Social Security Administration 1-800-269-0271 (Fraud Hotline)

U.S. Department of State 1-877-487-2778 for missing passport

Notify your local DMV. You will need a birth certificate or passport to prove identity to get a replacement drivers license

www.idtheft.gov is an excellent resource for additional information

Years ago, some students stole a credit card from my husbands wallet at work. They also wrote down the number of a card he was carrying, that we never used. We so rarely used either card, he never noticed the missing one, and of course there was nothing to notice about the other one. When a bill arrived for concert tickets, clothing from a jr. shop, meals at a restaurant, jewelry from a shop at the mall, on cards we rarely, if ever, used, we became suspicious. The problem was he still had the card in his possession. Looking for that card revealed that the other was missing. It took a little bit of investigating to figure out what happened, the students confessed, debts were paid, we got our records cleared.

So the last tip is: Be aware! Your wallet or purse does not have to be stolen to have your identity stolen!

Identities are sold on the internet for approximately $100.

Corina, Julia, Laurie, Kirsten, Christie, Lucy, Mary, Livia, Ellen, Madeline, Lisa, Christine, Dori and Jane!Out of the picture, is me, Cheryl, TAKING the picture!

The attendees of the first ever Colorado Springs Round Table Event, sponsored by RESA, Active Rain SIF, IRIS, and ASHSR nationally, and Furniture Rental and Sales, locally.

Thanks to Ron and Debi Young, owners of Furniture Rental and Sales for sponsoring our meeting and providing our door prizes!

Thanks to Corina for being our official photographer, and special thanks to Julia for being our recorder. a difficult job, that she did very well! Last but not least, thank you to Kirsten for TRYING to keep us on track as our timer! She was successful because we finished a little ahead of time, allowing for some more visiting!

Thank you to ALL of the ladies who attended, participated and connected with new friends, reconnected with old friends* and shared a WEALTH of information with each other, just like it was supposed to work!

* Two stagers attended that realized they had been college roommates, years ago!