My Life in a Binder

Nothing sucks me into a blog post or a Pinterest pin like ORGANIZATION!  I'm always thinking I need to be MORE organized.  I LOVE office supplies, calendars and anything that gives the hope of being more efficient.  I am super intrigued by how other people stay organized and keep life running smoothly so I thought I might share what I've finally figured out works for me. 

I live my life out of a binder.  For about a year, I tried living through my iPhone calendar but it ended up driving me crazy and I finally gave into the fact that I'm a PAPER person....duh!!!  So a few months ago I organized my entire life...family, kids, etc., into what the family now calls THE BINDER.  I'm fickle so the actual binder changes often but for now...

here she is:

Here's what's inside:

  Front and center is a bag for all of my favorite supplies:

cute little ribbon paper clips to mark the day on the calendar, fun stickers for important dates and my favorite writing utensils...mechanical pencils, flair pens and sharpies.  I swear there is a 12 year old girl trapped inside me dying to get out!

After years of PaperDoll, I finally figured out a way to keep my daily work schedule organized.  Along with a detailed email filing system, I live by the first 5 sections of The Binder:

1.  The To Do List

2.  Proofs (orders that requested proofs)

3.  Ready (orders that have been approved and are ready for me to work on)

4.  Replies (orders that I've sent proofs or questions on and haven't heard back)

5.  Waiting (orders that contain items that I don't make in-house that I'm waiting on)

The To Do List:

Without a list, I can't function.  I don't know what it is but if it's not written down....it's not getting done.  I LIVE for crossing stuff off of my list!!!  I add stuff to the list all day long but my favorite is CROSSING stuff off!  The TO DO LIST has work stuff and personal stuff combined but he last 2 sections of  The Binder are less PaperDoll and more for family stuff.

6.  The Calendar

I'm so glad I gave up the digital calendar.  I work much better when I can open my calendar and see it all written out.  I really like the full size pages I found at Staples in the Martha Stewart section.  They have lots of room for writing and at the bottom of each day there is a great section that I use to write "what's for dinner."  I use that cute little paper clip to mark the day.  It's the little things that make me happy.  The cute stickers for special occasions are fun too!

To keep The Binder from getting too full, I take the pages out as the days pass.  I don't like having useless pages crowding my binder.

I'm the bill payer in the family and I've always hated the pile of bills on my desk so I figured out a system that works for me.  I always pay the bills on a specific day so I just got a zipper bag and I place it in the calendar next to the bill paying day.  I keep all the bills there and once I pay them I move the zipper bag over to the next bill paying day.  It's worked out great for me and I always know where the bills are.

7. Notes

I take The Binder with me almost everywhere.  If I ever have an idea or I'm working on a project, I have a Notes section in the back for jotting stuff down.  It helps keep me sane. 

So there you have it.  Much too much information about my life in a binder.  I'm sure you've tuned out by now but if there are any organization freaks out there still reading, I hope this has inspired you to get organized!!!

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