Getting Organized :: Binders!

This summer I am doing my best to take steps to get more organized...in every area of our lives. Except cleaning. Still waiting on a house elf for that one. Some of the changes I'm making are huge, some are tiny, but in the end, they are all helping to make our lives feel a little less chaotic. I want to share my ideas with you over the summer, in the hopes that you will find inspiration for organizing, or perhaps share some organizing ideas with me in the comments section!


You may have noticed from some of my previous organizing posts, but I am OBSESSED with binders.  They can serve so many purposes when it comes to staying organized.  Here's a list of ways I utilize binders in our house:

Recipe Binder ~ I wrote an entire post about my recipe binder a while back, and I still love it dearly.
Sewing & Crocheting ~ I use a pretty binder I found at Target to keep my sewing & crocheting patterns organized.  I have sections for projects I've done, projects I'm working on, and projects I can't wait to try.  The binder is 90% sewing & crocheting, but I've thrown a few other miscellanious ideas & tutorials into it as well.
Kids' Schoolwork ~ I use binders to collect the kids' schoolwork that I want to save.  I don't save every single thing they do at school, but special stories they wrote, big spelling tests, awards, cool art projects, etc.  It's just a sampling of their school-year.  I store the binders on a shelf in the basement closet for when they are older.  So far I've been able to fit 2 school years into one binder (1.5 inch). 
Legos ~ I bought a HUGE binder to organize the kids' HUGE collection of Lego Instruction booklets.  Read all about it here.
Teaching Resources ~ I taught preschool for years, and over time I've collected lots of lesson plans, templates, clip art, forms, etc.  I am starting to use binders to organize all of this stuff for when I go back to teaching in the future.
Instruction Manuals ~ I use another HUGE binder to organize all of our various owners manuals for all of the appliances in our home.  I divide up into sections (kitchen, kids stuff, outside equipment, etc).  This is super helpful when something breaks and we need to reference the manual.
Home Organization ~ I use this binder every single day, and it keeps our family moving in an organized manner.  Read more about it here.  I highly recommend making a binder like this if you are feeling like your life is kind of chaotic.

And here's a couple binders that are on my wishlist:  Life.doc and Valuables.doc

Do you use binders to keep organized?  Please share your ideas!