Martha Stewart Wall Organizer

I have always been an office supplies girl.

I was the one begging my mom to let me pick out my new backpack and notebooks as soon as school ended in June. I would make labels for all my notebooks and have everything set up in my backpack months before school started. Yes, I was a little nerd...and no things haven't changed much since then.

When I saw the Martha Stewart Wall Organizer in Staples I knew it was love at first sight. I had so many ideas of what I could use it for and waited until moving into my new bedroom to set up this masterpiece.

This little organizer has brought so much organizational joy into my desk area! I have two sections in this baby.  "TO DO" and "TO FILE"

I took about two weeks to figure out what my labels would be- I wanted them to be simple but I wasn't sure what they should be. I waited to see what I needed to clear off my desk and put into them and came up with simple categories.

I made the labels with my Brother labelmaker and put a piece of washi tape on the bins before sticking the label on top to give it a bit more color and allow the labels to stand out.

TO DO is anything that needs to be completed. This is where I put bills to be paid, surveys to complete, and information that I need to physically do something with. I wanted to keep all current tasks nearby for completion.

TO FILE is self-explanatory, it is any papers that need to be filed. I throw receipts in here as I bring them home throughout the week, bills that have been paid but need to be placed in my filing system, and anything else of the sort.

It's a simple, easy system that I can manage on a day to day basis. It keeps paperwork handy but off my precious desk space.

The Martha Stewart organizer is great because there are so many different ways you can use it. I have a small pinboard that I also usually have pinned behind my desk. I like to keep things like recent photos, save the dates, and other important papers I want to see in front of me on it. For the purpose of this blog I put it on the floor so you can see how it works.

The wall organizer itself is just a simple piece of plastic that gets placed on your wall. It has places for the front part to clip into place. This way you can hang the organizers in multiple places in your house and just switch out the fronts as needed.

The wall organizer itself has a level built in and it also comes with hardware to hook it onto the wall, but I've found that the command strips that have velcro on them work just as well and keep the organizers on the wall without a problem!

Here is what the back of the pinboard looks like- you can see how it hooks right into the back.

So there you have it...my Marth Stewart Wall Organizers! This post was not sponsored by Martha Stewart and all of these products were purchased with my own money, it is simply just a product that I love!

To Do List Notebook and Organization Binder Update

I am here today with my updated organization binder and my new to-do list system. I know last week I briefly discussed making a new system for my to-do list. I needed to change something because I was constantly finding post it notes with things written down, and having to rewrite my list over and over again- enter, my to-do list notebook!

This baby was purchased at Staples and is part of the Martha Stewart collection. I absolutely love these notebooks (I already own two of the larger ones) and think that the color and pattern of this one is just adorable.

This notebook has several lists inside already, the first is my work to-do list.

(I have blurred out any sensitive information throughout this post to keep the privacy of my students and myself)

The next list is my personal to-do list

Then on the third page I have my Blog Topics list where I list things that are happening in the next month or so that I can blog about. I also would place any topics that are suggested or requested by readers on this page.

In addition to the above pages, I also have a page that outlines my blog posts for the next few weeks. It is not a definite list of topics, but I like to keep an idea of what topics I want to cover and how many "free" days I have to blog about personal things such as my weekend recap, or an exciting event that has happened. I like to plug in my organizational topics and other posts that I know I want to do first, and then add in the filler so there is a variety.

In addition to my new to-do list, I wanted to review how my organizational binder is helping me and what sections I've been using and what sections I haven't.

My tabs are labeled as follows: Calendar, Lists, Bill Payment, Budget, Spending, Saving, Style, Workouts, Gifts and Inventory.

I never use the calendar tab. Ever. I have my planner which I carry with me 24/7 so I really don't need a tab for a calendar in this binder. I am still unsure what I will put in that section but I am still thinking about it. I will let you know when I figure it out.

In my lists section, I have a huge list of projects I want to complete...

A list of scrapbooks to complete...

A plan for my dance quilt and URI quilt...

and some future home ideas...

Next, I have a bill payment check-sheet where I keep track of all the bills I have to pay and check them off after I have scheduled the payment for them. I keep track of what bills are scheduled, what ones need to be scheduled and my current balance on my credit cards on the post it notes. I update these about every 1-2 weeks to make sure I'm keeping an accurate account of what is going on with my finances.

In my budget section I keep a sheet that details all of the categories i foresee myself spending money. I make an estimation about how much I can spend in each category and then at the end of the month I fill out the actual column and calculate if I was over or under my budget goal. Keeping track like this makes me spend a lot less than I did before that is for sure!

I also keep track of every purchase I make in the spending section of my binder. It really helps me make sure I am staying on track

In the saving section I keep track of all the money I make in my paychecks and also in other ways, through rebates, swagbucks, ebay, etc...

I keep track of my coupon savings...

and keep my savings balance up to date...

Finally in the gifts section- I keep track of gift ideas for friends and family..

What I've already purchased for them..

Extra gifts I have around I could always use...

Stocking stuffer ideas...

And lists of what has been given to me so I know how much to spend on people...

The other sections of my blog aren't used quite as often, and style and workouts are mostly just for me to keep reference articles and papers in. The inventory hasn't been updated in awhile but it is where I keep track of things such as my DVDs and books.

and that's it! That's what my new to-do list notebook looks like and what my organization binder is doing these days. Let me know how you keep these things organized!