Organizing Short-term information

My desk will often get cluttered because I've got paper containing information that I don't need right now, but I know I won't need forever. Consequently, I don't want to go to the trouble, or expense, of creating a formal file for it.

Here are some of papers that have short-term value in our household, many of which come from my kids:

Classroom lists

Syllabuses

Sports schedules

Special event flyers & invitations

PTSO Information

Vacation or business trip details

Short-term project information (like the brochure I wrote for my church)

These are often items that COULD be in my formal filing system, but since I refer to this information more frequently than other filed items, I prefer to keep it handy.

So here is one of the cheapest organizing tips I use: Buy a handful of colored pocket folders and use them to hold short-term information. Buy a bunch at the beginning of the school year when they are very inexpensive.

Then, take a sharpie marker and write an identifying word on the front.

I create one for each child that holds all the papers that get sent home from school. Sports teams get their own folder. Vacation information and reservations get put in another. And so on.

There are a few things I like about this organizing tip:

• The pockets hold small pieces of paper that might slip out of a regular file folder.
• They can be stacked flat in a drawer or stood up in a bookcase.
• They can fit in a decorative magazine holder. If you use this storage method, try and coordinate the colors.

Managing paper is an ongoing process at my house. I just love it when my husband asks for the basketball coach's phone number and I know just where it is!

In His Love,

Glynnis