Binder Bliss

“LIFE HAPPENS, GIRLY”.

What!? What, kind of saying is that?!

I guess, we’ll just have to file this one under; Crazy things my mom says…

By nature I’m very organized & a goal oriented person. However lately, I’ve been feeling overwhelmed, discouraged, & disorganized. As a result, I’ve been seeing all sorts of “clutter” popping up everywhere. Not just the physical kind (though I have plenty of that too), but suddenly there’s mental clutter, “to do” clutter, unfinished clutter, & the list of clutter keeps growing.

How did this happen? Was my mom right (gasp!)? Better yet, how do we make this stop!?

That my friends is the ultimate question.

The answer is slightly different for everyone, but having everything that’s important to us “in hand” when we need it, makes life a little bit easier. Today I’ll share my way of keeping my sanity & re-grouping when things get out of wack.

I call it BinderBliss. The hubs however, calls it, “a functioning addiction to office supplies”. Whatever you want to call it/them, they are handy, easy-peasy to use, & a powerful tool when life wants to “happen”.

Over the years as our life & needs have changed, my “binders” have expanded, evolved, divided, & changed as well. My main focuses at this time are; Time, Business, & Spirit. Later (in another issue), we’ll go over how compartmentalizing tasks into our priorities is easier done than said & is a God send for those of us who constantly feel that our daily lives are a blur.

Since this is our first binder together, I’d like to start with what I call, “The Three23Life Binder”. Shameless plug I know, but we offer lots-o-printables here, & one of my biggest pet peeves is having loose workbooks, planners, infographics, etc., from my favorite sites without a home or way to easily access them when I’m ready to implement their goodies.

The Three23Life Binder will be super easy to put together & you may even have all the supplies on hand. My favorite binders are the plain cardboard ones that coordinate with the room they’ll live in.

FOR YOUR BINDER, YOU’LL NEED

• A 1”-2” three-ring binder (the kind we used in school)
• A package of 8 tab subject dividers
• A pen or label maker to label your tabs & the binding of your binder

ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS:

• Label your binder
• Insert & Label your 8 tabs

Below you’ll find a playful collision of all kinds of fun stuff we’ll be doing & talkin’ ‘bout here at Three23Life, you can use these as your labels or use them as a jumping off point to come up with your own categories.

• Adventure – Travel & Outdoor Activities
• Care & Keeping of Me – Beauty, Fitness, etc.
• Prim & Proper – Entertaining & Hostessing
• Home – Decorating & Gardening
• Bon Appetite – Cooking, Restaurants, Anything Food
• Be a Good Human – Environmental, RAok, Highlighting others
• Time & Organization – To-Dos, Efficiency Hacks, etc.
• Crafts & DIY – How-Tos, Ideas, Tutorials, etc.

Now that you’ve got the basics and a place to stow all your goodies, all you have left to do is toss it all together & get to havin’ fun with it!