HELP! I was drowning in Paper!!!

I HATE clutter and disorganization, but a lot of time I feel like I am drowning in it.  This year I am heeding Flylady's advice that I can not organize clutter, I need to get RID of it. I am working hard on that.  My friend, Shirley of WildBlueBerryInk,  was a great motivator to me this week.  She posted a new blog about some home organization.  Not only does she post some awesome pics of her little chicklet, but she also has some awesome ideas!  She recommended Simplify101 and their organization binder!  It is free and LIGHTBULB!  Flylady has been toting the virtues of this kind of binder or home control journal for years and I have tried over and over, but I get bogged down in creating and perfecting my "routines" that I never get it off the ground.

It was thanks to this awesome post and I made a decision.  I was going to do this and not just once, but one for the home and one for MetryChick.  Working at home is never as easy as everyone assumes.  It is not all sunshine and giggles.  You have to be able to balance home and work, all in the same space and working around everyone else.  I also have a small house, so my workspace is at a premium.  I am forever going through paperwork, moving paperwork and all that kind of stuff.  Add to that the fact that I absolutely hate to file and you have a disaster.

So I started by printing out the manual and after reading it I made my own categories for my business.  What works for me!
 

My next step was to assemble my supplies.  Now, my first instinct was to run to OfficeSchmepot and pick up some really CUTE supplies and labels to make everything perfect, but in the past that has NOT worked well for me and I put off doing this until I had the perfect stuff.  For this I scavenged the house and stopped at Walpurple for a couple of things while I picked up meds.  No special trips.  The only special thing I did get was dividers with pockets since my invoices are 5.5x8. 

Then I gathered ALL of the miscellaneous tons of paperwork that are laying around the house for my business.  I had them in about 3 places.  That didn't work for me.   I used sticky notes to label spaces on the table for sorting piles.

Once I had the piles I started assembling my binder.  This allowed me to see what needed to fit into what folders, envelopes, and page protectors.  This is what I wound up with:

I really love it!  Not only does it look cool, but when I go between the studio and the desk it travels with me and I have everything to work with all in one place.  I have been using it and so far, so good.  I am leaving it flexible and treating it like a living object, so I can adjust if I need to.

Thank you Shirley for spurring me on with this project.  My business will thank you!