My New Mantra

Have I mentioned that my degree is in English Language & Literature? Well, it is. Needless to say, I don't know much about accounting. I've been reading a lot of basic accounting books (a lot? Okay, I'm slogging through my second.) trying to make sure I do this right. I've never set up a business or been at all involved in payroll or accounting before. I'm trying to figure out how to set stuff up for the IRS. 

So I was sitting at my kitchen table reading about how you should never, ever screw up your tax payments and I was getting a little bit scared. Let's face it, the IRS does not have a warm, fuzzy reputation. Then I decided that I don't want to be scared. No, I don't feel absolutely comfortable with tax information right now but that doesn't mean that I can't become comfortable. I can learn this. I'm a smart lady. 

Whew, deep breaths. I can learn how to do this. Does anyone have book recommendations about starting a small business? I'm specifically interested in making sure my tax forms are all in line.

Happy Memorial Day

I usually try to post something about starting a home-based business or recycling in this blog, but today I'm simply going to say this:

To all those who serve our country, thank you. I am spending a fantastic weekend doing whatever I want with my sweet family, which is a great luxury. Thank you for your service, thank you for your sacrifice, and thanks to your family for their sacrifices as well. 

And a special thank you to Ted, Jeremy and Grandpa Tex.

Recycling Facts

Did you know . . .

• Recycling 1 ton of paper saves 17 mature trees, 7,000 gallons of water, 3 cubic yards of landfill space, 2 barrels of oil, and 4,100 kilowatt-hours of electricity — enough energy to power the average American home for five months. Five months!
  
• Recycling paper instead of making it from new material generates 74 percent less air pollution and uses 50 percent less water.
  
• Approximately 1.5 million tons of construction products are made each year from paper, including insulation, gypsum wallboard, roofing paper, flooring, padding and sound-absorbing materials.
  
• Recycled paper can also be made into paper towels, notebook paper, envelopes, copy paper and other paper products, as well as boxes, hydro-mulch, molded packaging, compost, and even kitty litter.

Thanks to Oberlin College for the information!

Did I Reach My Goal?

I know, you've all been waiting on pins and needles to see if I managed to get my home-based business license by Wednesday, like I'd hoped. The short answer is no. Okay, you can quit reading now. But if you, like me, check blogs to take a break from your small children, I'll elaborate on why.

Pleasant Grove city has a nice website. It's not very intuitive for me, but I think that's because once upon a time I worked for Community Development in another city and I keep expecting the sites to be the same. All in all, it's a pretty nice site. You can't fill out your home-based business application online, but you can print it out and fill it out at your leisure. This is nice for me because my only leisure time is after the kids go to bed and city offices aren't open then. 

I was surprised by all the things I'll need before I can get approved. They all make sense--I just had no idea what I was getting into. I somehow just thought I'd pay a couple of small fees and fill out one or two forms and I'd be good to go. Ah, how naive. The biggest surprise so far has been the fire self inspection. I was also surprised to learn that I'll need my landlord's written permission. This makes total sense--whoever owns the property I'm renting deserves to know exactly what's going on. I guess I was surprised because I won't have any customers or deliveries with my business--it's entirely off-site service and won't impact the property at all. But I can see how other home-based businesses might concern some landlords.

I've got all my paperwork filled out and am just waiting for written permission from my landlord and then I'll submit my application. I'm getting a little antsy waiting, but that's because I'm a control freak. I mean, my letter requesting permission just got to the property manager yesterday. Things are moving along smoothly. 

What, You Wanted an Update?

Hello, is anyone out there? Probably not, but I'll maintain this blog for the sake of that one, lone person who might read it occasionally. (Thanks, Dad.) Not much has happened lately. There was a little glitch getting the DBA up and running, but the Utah Department of Commerce was able to sort it out quickly, for which I thank them. The next goal is to get my home-based business license from the city. I hope to have that by the 15th. Check back soon to see how I did . . .

Another Way to Recycle Paper

Happy Cinco de Mayo! If you'd like to multitask recycling and celebrating this great holiday, make a pinata. You'll need paper mache, a balloon, and something to decorate it with (crepe paper is traditional, but glitter and glue or paint or a picture of someone you don't like will all work, too). You can find three different paper mache recipes here. If I were you, I'd use the no-cook recipe.

Not that I think you'll make this same mistake, but I know from experience that if you blow up a latex glove because you don't have any balloons, you need to let your pinata have five fingers. If you use enough paper mache to plaster down the fingers, your pinata will be too thick to break. Even if  you lay it on the concrete and go at it with a metal bat. The pinata in question is probably still sitting, intact, in a landfill. Three layers of paper mache will be plenty!