home organization binder

You may have never thought of a binder as an organizational tool, but using binders for magazine and newspaper clippings, To Do items, and upcoming events and tasks can help conquer those monstrous piles of paper.

home organization binder

Newspaper and Magazines

If you find that you have a lot of magazines or papers that are not getting read, think about cutting back on your subscriptions. Set a rule with yourself that if an unread newspaper or magazines is so old, you will toss it out.

1. Cut out or tear out the articles you want to reference or read later. If you truly will need the entire magazine or newspaper section, consider purchasing magazine holders that are made to fit in a 3-ring binder that hold the magazine by the spine.

2. Toss out the magazines and newspapers.

3. Sort articles into piles by topic. Set aside ones you need to act on (visit a website, make a call, write down information).

4. Put articles in plastic page protectors. You may want to glue article clippings that are smaller than a page on a piece of white paper, before putting in a page protector.

5. Choose appropriately sized binders that work for you. Binders of the same color will look neater on a shelf, but using different colors makes it easier to pick out the one you are looking for. Think about how often you'll be referring to these binders, when choosing to go with all the same color or color-coded.

6. Put page protectors in binders, using dividers or separate binders for each topic.

7. Label the spine of the binder.

8. Go through the binders at least once a year to let go of items you no longer want.

To Dos

If you find that your To Dos often involve letters, business cards, slips of paper, CDs and other things that won't fit on a To Do List, using a binder is a great choice for you.

1. Gather up your to do items.

2. Decide how to sort these items: Priority (A, B, C), area of your life (home, work, school,medical), type of task (calls, errands, research)

3. Divide items into clear plastic pocket dividers.

4. Label tabs on dividers.

5. Put in a binder that is suitable to be on or near your desk.

Upcoming Events and Tasks

In a binder you can set up a 43 folder (Tickler file) system that will help separate tasks down to the day.

1. Gather up invitations, bills, notes and anything else that is to be done in the future.

2. Sort items by the month they are due.

3. Take 31 pocketed dividers of the same color and label them 1 through 31.

4. Take 12 pocketed dividers of a different color and label them January through December.

5. Put the month pockets in the back of the binder with the current month first. (If it was February, the pockets would be in the following order: February through December, January.)

6. Put the numbered (dates) pockets in front of the months with today's date at the front (If today was February 10, the pockets would be in the following order: 10 through 31, 1 through 9.)

7. Put items in the appropriate month pocket. This month's items will go in the date (1-31) pockets according to the day they are due or the day you would like to start something.

8. Start each day by moving yesterdays date to the back of the date pockets, so today's date is first in the binder. At the beginning of each month, move the current month to the front of the month pockets and distribute the events and task info to the appropriate date pocket.

There are lots of other great ways to use binders to organize paper. Use these ideas to get you started. Get creative and make your own system. You will find binders help keep your office tidy are easily transportable to meetings and prevent the frustration of lost papers.

home organization binder