Getting Organized by Guest Kate Endle

I just recently devised the perfect solution for my massive collection of reference/inspiration materials. I had thousands of magazine clippings, note cards, catalog pages, and random bits of ephemera that I had been saving for over thirty years. I had them saved in boxes, taped into sketchbooks, squirreled away in the nooks and crannies of my home. This was very unsatisfying and not very efficient when it came time to pull an image for reference or inspiration. Now, I realize my solution will not end up in the Greatest Organizational Solutions of All Time Hall of Fame for originality, but it really works for my needs.

Here's my system: I glue and tape everything onto cardstock in binders. Each binder has a plastic sleeve in the back that holds the things that are not ready to be glued down. But, before it goes there, it goes into a catch all bin. The catch all bin holds the torn sheets, the magazines I haven't read, greeting cards, etc, etc,etc. Also, the thing I really love about my system is the actual binders themselves. They're cardboard (not plastic), they're a pleasing shade of forest green, and they didn't cost me a fortune. I found them at PaperZone on sale for under $10 a piece and I bought ten of them. To have this task completed feels great! I come from a family of master organizers. We are also a clan of collectors. So, when I have a collection organized to my liking I feel like giving myself a gold star. I just organized my paper scraps, too. Yay for me!