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Blog: Surfing the Paper Wave
 Six Products I Like
In my ongoing quest to manage paper for myself and my clients, I have come to rely on half a dozen tried-and-true products. I list them here in no particular order:
1. Removable file folder labels. These use the same adhesive as "sticky notes." They save headaches when you're setting up a long-term file system, because you can move them from one folder to another. (Ever think you had your alphabetical files sequenced correctly, and then found you had missed one?) I use a brand that contains labels in plain white plus labels bordered in red, blue, yellow and green. The colors are useful for identifying file categories that belong together, e.g., recipes, tax documents for a certain year, or health records by individual.
2. Sheet protectors. If you've never seen these, they are clear plastic 8 ½ x 11 inch sleeves with an opening at the top where you insert sheets of paper. They often come hole-punched for a three ring binder. I use these two ways: 1) to protect frequently used documents such as the school phone number list, and 2) to cluster like items together. For example, I set up a binder of computer manuals for a client using one sheet protector for each piece of software or equipment. The sheet protector for the client's printer has the manual, the software disk, and the card with the serial and model numbers on it, all in clear view.
3. Stick-on tabs. These let you turn any sheet of paper, cardboard or plastic into a binder divider sheet, by sticking the tab to the edge. In that client's computer binder, the printer sleeve has a stick-on tab labeled "Printer," to make flipping to the right section easy.
4. Label maker. Gone are the days of the cumbersome labeler where you had to turn the dial to the right letter and crimp. Today's labelers resemble a small typewriter. You type in the characters you want, and you have choices about font size, underlining, tape length and other features. My family claims I am label-maker-crazy! I use it to label files, children's school articles, leftovers in the refrigerator, shelves in the pantry and linen closet, and the list goes on. I even placed a label on my car's steering wheel to remind our teenage drivers what grade of gas to buy. It's such a small thing, but a professionally lettered label adds immediate respectability to anything it's affixed to.
5. Vinyl two-pocket folders. I use these for Active Files (see my 02Dec07 post) that see heavy, almost daily use: Things to Do, Contacts & Schedules, Bills & Business, Read & Review, To Be Filed. My personal set has been in use for over two years. When I used paper pocket folders, they rarely lasted six months.
6. Clear contact paper. A fellow organizer referred to this as "the poor man's laminating machine." Among other things, I have used it to preserve paper membership cards, children's art work, and the cover of a client's daily devotional magazine, which used to fall apart from her frequent thumbing.
Have you found a product to help you manage paper that you simply can't live without? Let us know about it here!
posted on: 3/2/2008 10:30:00 AM by Suzanne Kuhn
category: Paper
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Surfing the Paper Wave
by Suzanne Kuhn
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About Suzanne:
Suzanne Kuhn is the owner of ACE ORGANIZING, offering affordable, customized, energizing organizing solutions to homes, schools and small businesses in the five-county Philadelphia area and central New Jersey. Although an organizing generalist, (she'll organize anything!) Suzanne has a growing specialty in paper and electronic filing systems and financial organizing. To receive her FREE booklet, 50 TOP TIME MANAGAGEMENT TIPS, email her at [email protected]
Suzanne's Website:
http://www.onlineorganizing.com/BlogList.asp?sort=organizer&schedule=41&name=Suzanne_Kuhn
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