Confessions of a Binder Junkie.....

I am a Binder Junkie, I love to buy the latest, neatest, coolest, binders. The 2 main qualifications of my binder is their must be a clear pocket outside on front AND back, and pockets on the inside of both said parts. I tend to stash and dash, (file in under "to be filed"), I know this, I accept this, I embrace this. This gives me the liberty to dump things in a spot for later, for example, do a brain dump on paper, put it in the pocket, come back later, edit it and file it, or put my ideas in the spot they go. I get to just jot everything down to clear my mind, then "organize" it later if I still need the info, some of the stuff running around my brain is just junk, but it still needs to be dumped even if it ends up in the trash, that for me is a visual of DUMPING it.
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My favorite place to get Binders is Staples. They let me come in, sit on the floor and just explore, they even put carpet down for me to sit on. I also get a teachers discount because I am a Homeschool mom, isn't that cool!!!!
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Right now I have a couple of binders, I have to catagorize a few things, and keep them seperate in my mind, so they are seperate in binders. Most of my binders are the white, clear pocket on front & back, with pockets inside. Only thing about those is they are cardboard inside the vinyl, and if something heavy gets set on top of one, the cardboard bends and eventually breaks. The rings on the 3" binders are also those D rings, I just HATE those. I found some 3" O ring, totally plastic binders, yes at Staples, and they had all the pockets AND were only about $2-$3 more than the other kind. Now, yes I make my own laundry detergent and am researching making my own soaps and such, but I will pay a few bucks more for something that will last years longer so I can save even more down the road. Also, one reason I make my own when I can is so I have more $ to spend on quality, like my Olay Definity!!! Yep, I spend the $ for that, I had major sun spots on my face and nothing on the market would cover them, so I forked over the money saved from making my own and well, the ugly brown spots are gone, so gone in fact my husband commented on it. But I digress.....
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I have had so many types of binders, and so many types of forms and calendars and all kinds of junk in them, that by the time I got done cramming them full of the latest "got to have" system, I would not touch them, first of all they intimidated the fire out of me, second of all they were just to heavy. I keep a homeschool binder seperate from everything else just because I have to have so much information and printouts at hand to put it with my main binder would be to much.
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As much as I wold love to give everyone a tour of my binder, right now I just can't. My laptop is my camera, I have a huge garden that is right now hollering at me to come plant broccoli & tomatoes, and my binder is a work in progress at all times. What I have in mine may not be what you need in yours, plus there are so many others out there that have tours, and printouts, and all kinds of help, why re-invent the wheel, especially when my wheels tend to be the ones that a hamster jumps on.
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If you have a specific question please ask me and I will gladly answer, but keep in mind although I have CDO tendancies, I am a messie who has no idea what to do with those tendancies nor her stuff half the time. Also, I have somewhere along the way picked up anxiety attacks. I used to be able to pull out the entire contents of a closet, sort it as I pulled it, re-organize it, put it where it belonged in 2 hours total, that included taking the shop vac and detailing the whole thing. The last 2 times I have tried to just clean one side of a closet, I pulled it all out, sat in the middle of the pile and cried. I could not breath nor could I stop shaking. I still need to get some kind of closet organizer for the master bedroom, but this time I have hubby's help AND I am purchasing & building shelves and things for the closet piece by piece.
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As you can see I need to do a brain dump, I have so much running around right now.
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I found a really neat place a while back. http://www.tipnut.com/ and went there this moring, can't tell you why now, I found something on binders. Clicked on it and found several links to binders and forms and helps and yes, I started clicking. Now I have not hit all the links, but the ones I did hit were worth mentioning. One spot had forms that you could download for free and some that were for a minimal cost. Time was I would have resented paying for things like that, BUT, along the way I have made so many of my own forms and worksheets and planners that I now understand the time that goes into them. Also I have lost said forms and had to re-do them, or things changed and I had to edit them, and again that is more time spent not doing other things. Granted sometimes making a form is a brain dump for me, however that is still time that I could have (or should have) been doing the floor or dishes (or the dishes on the floor, heehee).
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The main spot is http://tipnut.com/make-a-household-organizer-notebook-buncha-links/
The link that is titled Full-sized Household Planner Printables has some forms that some of you from the TotalHomeOverhaul have been looking for. If you cannot find them email me or comment and I will send you the direct link to that form. The website is http://blog.yorkteachingstudio.com/store/ This is the one that has freebies and purchases. I was happy with some of them, and plan on grabbing some of the freebies.
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Okay enough for now, kitchen needs a quick 5 minute room rescue, I need to eat, and get outside and soak up some sunshine!!!!

Valerie Neal