X-ACTO Sharpen

ready...set sharpen... organize for tax time

campaign lead ~ Chelsea Day

cover images by LeeAnn Hinken

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Shelby Barone

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Tonia Larson

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Carolyn West

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Angie Knutson

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Crystal Owens

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Rachel Rockwell

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LeeAnn Hinken

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Jennifer Jamar

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ontents Laura Coutts

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Ginger Bowie

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Kristyn Merkley

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Kelli Mullins

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Sharpening up for Tax Season

Shelby Barone, Glitterful Felt Stories blog My desk has been majorly un-organized lately, so I spent the day working on organizing it. I had to get rid of the clutter and get some new supplies.

One tool that we needed badly in our house was a new pencil sharpener. It’s hard to believe that after homeschooling my daughter for the past seven months that we have survived without one.

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Tax Time Organization & Home Office Tonia Larson, The Gunny Sack blog

It helps to have supplies handy when I’m working on my taxes as well as when I’m blogging and a cup of coffee helps to keep me going! I have a stapler, scissors, hole punch, staple remover, Sharpies, highlighters, pens and pencils in a couple of mason jars. We use a TON of pencils in our house! I like using pencils for making lists, marking receipts and I even write blog post outlines at times.

I just purchased a new Spira X-ACTO pencil sharpener the last time I was at Walmart! This sharpener has already gotten a big workout! I sharpened 25 pencils on Friday to bring to my son’s class and I’m impressed at how easy it is to use.

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It’s Tax Time – Making it Easier with X-ACTO Carolyn West, This Talk Ain’t Cheap blog

This year I actually earned some money through blogging. Don’t go crazy or anything… it was some nice pocket change but it wasn’t enough to change our lifestyle any. I was lucky it compensated for the the expense of hosting my blog and traveling to conferences.

The great thing about earning an income as a freelancer or independent contractor is that when you sit down at tax time, there are a string of deductions you can take to soften the blow. It’s amazing how expensive the cost of doing business really is. Even if that business only generates a small income.

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Our New X-ACTO Pencil Sharpener Does Double Duty!

Angie Knutson, My Four Monkeys blog

Crunching numbers and keeping things organized can be overwhelming. As a blogger who freelances and works with several different blogger networks, I always have several 1099s to keep track of, and being organized is key. Pencils and pencil sharpeners are two tools that should definitely be on your tax preparation ‘must have’ list, along with some sort of filing system for 1099s and receipts. We have had several pencil sharpeners over the years. As homeschoolers, we are pretty hard on pencil sharpeners. Any pencil sharpener we buy needs to do double duty as a home office item and a school item. We turn to the X-ACTO brand for durable pencil sharpeners, and have used their schoolhouse style manual pencil sharpeners as well as electric ones.

before

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Home Office Organization

Crystal Owens, A Pumpkin and a Princess blog Today I would like to show you my home office. Unfortunately I don’t have a spare room to convert into an office/craft room, forcing me to get creative with our space. We are currently in the process of making an office/craft space in our master bedroom but I have yet to find a desk that fits my needs. In the meantime I’ve set up a nice little office space in the kitchen that helps keep my whole family organized. This is where I read emails, blog, fill out paper work, and craft.

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Tax Time Desk Makeover!

Rachel Rockwell, Bubbly Nature Creations blog

I decided this year would be a little different. Instead of my usual desk mess on top of tax prep mess–I got organized!!!

Of course just getting organized wouldn’t do…I had to pretty up my space! This space serves our family as a blog space, homeschool center and my hubby’s work desk too! Add tax prep to the mix and if we aren’t careful the mess will overtake us all!!! (I am not kidding lol!)

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To find out more about XACTO follow these links!!!

X-ACTO Website Elmer’s on Twitter X-ACTO on Facebook

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the bloggers

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Get Sharp For Tax Season With X-ACTO LeeAnn Hinken, The Life of Rylie blog

It’s that time of year again! The time when we gather up all of our W-2s, 1099s, and other tax forms and sit down to file our taxes. You would think that since I’m an accountant that I would do our family’s taxes, right? Wrong! My husband actually does ours with the help of tax software. That doesn’t mean that I don’t have work to do, though. Since I did make a little bit of money off of this blog last year, I have to get my records straight and gather up all of that information for Brian to enter into our tax filing.

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Tax Time With X-ACTO Pencil Sharpeners Jennifer Jamar, Life with Levi blog

Yes, I’m human and my desk is a bit of a mess. I take care of all the bills, so until I find time to sit down and go through them, they pile up next to my laptop. Don’t worry, I totally have a filing system set up once they’re opened and paid – they just take a temporary detour on the way there. I like to think of it as an envelope vacation.

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Preparing For Tax Time

Laura Coutts, A Helicopter Mom blog For the first time in 8 years, I’m now stressing about tax time.

Toward the end of last year I started selling ads on my blog and working on paid campaigns, so I once again have an income to report. I didn’t do a great job of documenting everything in the beginning, so I’m scrambling now to get everything organized.

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Tutorial {organizing your home office} Ginger Bowie, Ginger Snap Crafts blog

Annnnd if you read my blog you also know we have five kiddos, too. So our 4 bedroom/2 bath home is full! Every room is filled to the top with kiddos, toys and all their fun stuff which doesn’t leave much room for anything else, especially office work. Buuuut just because we are short on space doesn’t mean we can’t be organized! (Actually it probably means I’ve got to be a little more organized!) :) Annnnd tax season is upon us! So I’ve really got to be on top of that! Thought it would be fun to show you some tips on how I keep everything organized and easy to find. So when tax season rolls around I’m ready!

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Organizing and Tax Time

Kristyn Merkley, Lil’ Luna blog It’s Tax Season! Are you done? Have you even started? The hubby and I are always a little anxious each year to do taxes hoping that we will get back at least a few pennies.

Now that I’ve started to make some more money through the blog (you can learn more about that HERE), I’ve had to do all sorts of things to keep track of the money coming in, and the money going out. To do that, I’ve tried to be more ORGANIZED, which is easier said than done.

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Organize Those Taxes {Elmer’s X-ACTO} Kelli Mullins, Lolly Jane blog

Let’s take a peek at how I do my taxes.

But first, let me preface by admitting that I am a minimization freak. I think I am allergic to paper piles and clutter. It’s true. I have a good system that works for me, starting with when the mail arrives.

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Spira Electric Sharpener Where art meets pencil point. The Spira features a large, easy to empty shavings receptacle. With the press of a button, the “trap door” opens at the base of the sharpener for shavings disposal. Safety first – the sharpener blade is not accessfunction! The new Spira electric pencil sharpener is a great addition to your home and office décor. This attractive sharpener uses an X-ACTO helical steel cutter to give you a sharp, smooth feel to fingers. Available in three colors: black, white and red.

X-ACTO electric pencil sharpeners are crafted from the highest quality materials, producing the reliability and performance you come to expect from X-ACTO. Our electric sharpeners feature carbon steel sharpened blades and sturdy construction.

X-ACTO sharpeners can handle a variety of different pencils: • • •

Composite pencils Hard wood pencils We also have electric sharpeners for crayons!

Our electric pencil sharpeners also feature heavy duty, quiet running motors and non-skid feet, guaranteeing a precise, clean cut that won’t cause a disturbance around the office or classroom. The X-ACTO line of electric pencil sharpeners features several different models, including battery operated pencil sharpeners, to meet all your needs.

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