Getting Organized with Staples

Disclosure: I was sent a complimentary box of Staples office products for review. No other compensation was provided and all organizing ideas are entirely my own.

If it wasn’t for the box of office supplies Staples recently sent me, I’m pretty sure I would still be sorely behind and unorganized. Suddenly, I have gone from a few things to do here and there to full-fledged CEO kind of busy. I wasn’t prepared for that and when I’m unprepared, I get a little crazy. I’m sure my husband can vouch for that. I just came off not one, but TWO blogging conferences that had my head spinning with plans and ideas. If every there was a time for me to sit down and organize myself (and my thoughts) it’s now.

I know you probably have just as much on your plate as I have. Between the kids’ schedules, the husband’s schedule, my blog posts, my events, school board stuff and working in seeing a friend here and there… whew… I’m way to busy and really had to find a way to keep it all under control.

I’ve used several different online apps to keep myself organized, but honestly… I feel much better with a good old fashioned notebook and pen. I took the really cool supplies I got from Staples and decided to get myself organized once and for all.

I think I have an office supply addiction. I just love them. I love everything about them. I love notebooks, pens, fancy folders and cute binder clips and push pins. Lucky for me, I also have TWO Staples stores close to me, so I know I can always get something colorful and fun.These are the supplies I’ll be working with.

So, where to start? A great big binder is always a good place. I need a section for This Talk Ain’t Cheap, a section for SoCal Lady Bloggers and it’s probably a good idea if I have a section called HOME. I tend to jumble everything I need to do together… you know, when I do my “to do” list for the day, it includes grocery shopping AND write a blog post. Stupid. I need to S.E.P.A.R.A.T.E. my work life from my home life. It’s getting too muddled and nothing gets accomplished.

So I took a big, sturdy Staples binder and created separate tabs for each category I needed to focus on. I decided to make it all super simple (right?) and my at-home work binder mirrored my take-with-me purse binder. Smaller, but meant more for note-taking when I’m out in the world. So… big binder at home, small binder that goes with me everywhere.

So, binders sectioned and prepped… but now what? Now, you find the tools to help KEEP you organized.

When it comes to blogging (or any business, really) you have a few things you absolutely must have.

• Calendar - whether it be a daily, weekly, or monthly, you need some way to keep track of your schedule and where you need to be on any given day.
• Editorial Calendar - For writers, this is such a helpful tool in determining what you are writing about and when you will be publishing posts.
• Blank pages for lots and lots of note taking. I usually jot down a few sentences on paper to get me going with a blog post when I’m not at home and an idea comes to me. I’m not always right at my computer and at my age, I basically have no short term memory left.
• Business Card Sleeve - I get handed business cards all the time and I tend to never have them where I need them. I love those plastic business card sleeves that you can find at Staples and insert them into your binders. It makes it easy to rotate the ones I want to keep and the ones I use often.
• Binder Pockets - these are the inserts that let you pile in paperwork that always ends up floating around your purse. Receipts, flyers, etc.

Okay, now you have a few tools to get you going. Now, I want to give you a few links for some awesome printables to help you move even further along.

The Simple Home Calendar Printables

Blogelina.com Blogging Printables

Homeschool Creations Blogging Printables

Great! Now that you are well on your way to an organized life (don’t you just love sarcasm?), I thought I’d show you my organized desk. Yes… an organized desk means an organized life. Well, sort of. I do find that when I have an organized place to work from, I get more accomplished.

So, these are the Staples products I used:

Staples Better Binder 1″ with removable file rings (275 sheet capacity)

Staples arc customizable notebook system (8.5″ x 5.5″)
Staples arc poly pocket dividers
Staples arc poly tab dividers
Staples arc page flags
Staples arc task pads

Staples Heavyweight fashion file folders

Sustainable Earth Stapler
Sustainable Earth Calculator
Sustainable Earth sugarcane-based copy paper

Colored push pins
Colored binder clips

Avant Pen - and check out the new Spring colors! Ooohhhh… pretty.

I can’t even begin to tell you how much better I feel now that I finally have things organized. I am a little in love with my arc binder - it has now become my right hand. Okay, I told you I love office supplies. And guess what? YOU can be just as organized. Because Staples is all kinds of awesome, they are letting me give one of my readers the same big box of office products that they gave me. Excited? I know… me too.

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I was provided with a selection of Staples office supplies for review. All opinions and photos are my own, as are my organizing tips.