I don’t like filing.  There’s no other way to say it.  The file drawer looks wonderful at the beginning of the year, but by the middle of the year, the files get messy & when you’re in a hurry, it’s hard to find the things that you’re looking for.  When they become disorganized & you can’t find things, tempers become short & pressure builds.  I’ve been known to have more than one panic attack because of these disorganized files.  There had to be a better way.

I’ve always liked binders.  I think I got hooked on them when I was in college.  Each class had it’s own color coded binder with all of the relevant subcategories.  Because of these binders, I never had an assignment that I couldn’t find, I always found my notes for upcoming tests & I always knew where my reference material was.  It was organized & I felt comfortable with it.  This is how the ‘light bulb’ came on.  I would organize my household files into binders.

This is what one drawer of my files looked like & it was driving me nuts!

It’s a good time to do this because of all of the back to school sales.  I bought a bunch of 1″ binders in different colors. Blue, yellow, green, purple & white.

Then I got some dividers & 2 100 count sheet protectors.  I managed to use one pack of sheet protectors & part of the second… so far.

          

I’ve always organized my bills into two parts.  The first 6 months & the second.  I made 2 binders for monthly bills.

I added our bill schedule into it’s appropriate binder.

           

The front pocket of the monthly bill binder contains address labels for the bills that don’t come with envelopes, return address labels & stamps.

The next section has the table of contents and a pocket divider that holds the current bills.

On to the banking binder!  Green for money… ahem.  Inside, each category has it’s own section.

            

And I am now keeping the check books in the back of the binder.  Easy to find & to get to.

           

The tax binder is done the same as the rest of the binders.  Hopefully, I will be able to find everything that I need when tax season rolls around.

The medical binder holds insurance information & forms, as well as any paid medical bills.

There is a binder for insurance, and one for our vehicles:

           

The Home Projects Binder is divided by rooms or areas outside.  There is a calendar in the binder for each month, with the intended projects written in.  Unfortunately, life happens, and the projects don’t always get done.  When that happens, the project just gets moved to another day.

      

The main thing that needed worked on was the Laundry room.  The washer & dryer both managed to quit at the same time.  This was my opportunity to change what has been an eyesore into something that I don’t mind looking at.  I’ve had my inspiration photos for months.  Then I went to Michaels & found an inspiration piece that changed the color that I had originally chosen.  The item just happened to be the blue door knobs that I showed in my last post!  The new paint color is Glidden Pool Party.

  

Also, in each section is a check list of what needs done.  This is the Laundry Room’s list.  There’s a lot to do, but it will be well worth it.

My binder system is done!  It’s working wonderfully for me.  (knock wood, I haven’t had a panic attack since I started it)

And there’s actually room in the back of the drawer!

Happy Creating everyone!

I’ll be joining:

Create With Joy for Inspire Me Monday ~ Week 242