Women at work and their tips, challenges, advice, complaints, and experiences

One of the ways I try to keep things organized and accessible in my office space is by using three-ring binders for storing paperwork instead of filing items in a cabinet or drawer.  I use fewer of them these days since selling my old house and consolidating to a work area instead of having a full home office, but I still find them to be the perfect solution.  Then again, I'm one of those folks who could go bonkers in Staples just wandering the aisles and drooling on the organizational goodies.  *chuckle*

If you are dealing with a few stacks of paper, but not so much that you feel you truly need a filing cabinet, binders might work well for you too.  Since they come in everything from a 1" to a 5" binder and offer all sorts of accessories for storing business cards, photos, discs and the like, you could conceivably organize in hundreds of ways without running out of the fun stuff.

To get you thinking on how this might work for you, here are just a few of the binders I've created for both personal and professional reasons: 

• "Clips" binder: My clips binder is where I like to put the published versions of my work.  That makes them easy to find for editors who would like a copy of the laid-out article(s) I've mentioned to them.  If you are writer still building your clips file, you could use a medium-sized binder and put your draft copies in one section, with final clips in another section.  You could also include them for situations where a publisher didn't provide you with a print copy, such as online content (list the link to the site/page where the content was published).
• Client binder: If you are dealing with one client on a steady basis, you could create a binder just for them.  If you do smaller projects for a handful of clients, a larger binder with several sections (one per client) might be more up your alley.  This is a good place to put invoices, both paid and awaiting payment, so they are in one "at-hand" location.
• Submissions binder: This is where I like to put writers guidelines for publications I hope to send submissions to (in one section), as well as drafts of submissions that have been sent out.  This may also be a good place to keep submissions that are officially slated, but have not been printed just yet - that way you can move them to your clips binder when you get the final document.
• Financial binder: This can be personal or professional; if you're a small business owner, your tax preparer would probably love to see a nice neat binder with your accounts payable in one section and your accounts receivable in another, with receipts in a pocket folder or scanned to a disc in a pocket.  Also handy for the home, especially if you are a homeowner doing a remodel.  Put in a pocket folder and keep all of your home improvement receipts there til the end of the year.  (Fun for looking back on when you're feeling sentimental too; you can include before and after pictures!)
• Binders for family members: This comes in handy if you have children, especially in a divorce or blended family situation.  Keep receipts from Child Support Enforcement agencies, cancelled checks or receipts for activities, and other such items here, as well as report cards, homeschool lessons, or whatever suits your child's situation.  As a military family, we get handed a lot of paperwork when we move to a new location; I quickly learned that separating this out by whom it applies to (infants vs school-aged children) can help break it down and make it a little easier to keep track of.  That way I'm not looking for information about my daughter's ballet or Brownies schedules in my infant son's medical papers!

I'm sure you can come up with a million ways that you could adapt a binder system for your lifestyle and needs.  I love the idea of doing a binder for the house that includes a section for grocery planning, family activities, take-out menus and coupons, local and emergency contacts, and other such info.  Personally I just find binders easier to store - my work binders are on a shelf under my desk, my daughter's binder (chock full of homeschool paperwork) is stored with our home education materials - and since we do move more than some folks, VERY easy to pack in boxes or slip in carry-on baggage. 

Need more WFMW ideas?  Head on over to Rocks in my Dryer today!