There’s only a couple more weeks left in the year, so it’s a good time to start thinking about New Year’s resolutions. One particularly good resolution is getting organized. Being organized entails keeping track of appointments and deadlines, as well as dealing with paperwork and the like. If you want to get organized in the coming year, here are some tools you can use. Check them out!

1.)    A three-ring binders and some index tabs. These are extremely important supplies to have around if you want to get organized. You can store just about anything in a three-ring binder. For example, if you’re into cooking, you can keep your recipes in one. (This is much more convenient than writing them on those little index cards and storing them in a box.) If you’re into photography, you can organize your proofs in binder as well as slides. And, of course, binders are perfect for storing and organizing school work, correspondence, bills, and more. Index tabs can help you divide up your materials as necessary so you can flip to the right section to quickly find what you need. Be sure to have a good three-hole punch handy so you can prepare your materials for the binder(s).

2.)    A whiteboard. A high-quality whiteboard is a terrific organizational tool for just about any environment including the kitchen, home or professional office, classroom, and so on. While you can definitely use this type of device to communicate ideas with others, you can also use them to make lists and keep track of appointments (doctor, dentist, parent/teacher) and deadlines (bills, school assignments). Whiteboards come in all different sizes; there are even ones that are small enough to fit in tiny locations such as lockers. And if you really want to stay on top of things, there are whiteboards that have calendar grids printed on them. (These have the added benefit of being environmentally friendly. You won’t have a paper calendar to get rid of at the end of the year.) Just make sure you only use dry-erase markers on your board. Other types of markers can stain it.

3.)    A paper shredder. Another great tool to help you get organized is a paper shredder. This is especially true if you have a lot of old correspondence and bills piled up. It can be dangerous to just throw those things in the garbage or recycle them since they contain a lot of personal information. Becoming a victim of identity is no fun, so shredding is a great way to protect yourself and get organized. Then, as time goes on and more bills come in the mail and receipts pile up, just run them through the shredder. It will reduce the amount of clutter in your home and you get to enjoy peace of mind as well.

These are some of the tools you can use you help you get organized in the new year. By getting organized, you’ll save time, protect your identity, and be able to find those important items. Good luck and enjoy the new year!

About the Author:

Jeff McRitchie is the Director of Marketing for MyBinding.com. He regularly writes articles, reviews, and blog posts on topics related to bookbinding, laminating, paper shredding, and office equipment. More than 2,500 of his articles have been published in thousands of locations on the Internet. If you’re looking for information about three-ring binders his articles are a great place to start.