Tuesday, July 20, 2010

office supplies...the paper spinoff

I was so excited to hear how many of you share in my obsession with paper. I got many facebook messages, emails, and even a few text messages about your love of office supplies and paper. It made me happy and made me feel like I was not alone. :-)

Food for thought? Why are so many people infatuated with all these wonderful goodies? I really can't pin point it. I'm trying....

Maybe there is something about an unmarred sheet of paper that exudes something about a fresh start, or the prospect of new beginnings or the endless possibilities about what could become of that one single piece of paper.

You can write a love letter, you can make an airplane or play MASH. You can organize your tasks or make bucket list or just tell some on you've gone to the store.

When you think about it, all of life's important things are made from paper. Your marriage certificate, your money, the deed to your house and the paycheck you take home. The stuff on a roll in the bathroom, the note you got from your sons teacher explaining that he bit someone today, or the 8th bill from the doctors office from when your son was in the hospital when he WAS NEVER THERE! <----that one makes me angry.

So here are some of my favorite ways I am currently using paper to organize my little family. I thought I would share since I got so many people who are also obsessed with paper.



A sampling of my favorite notebooks. They all have/had purposes at one time or another. Among my favorites is the one in the one in the back right with the heart that reads, "take a hike" in the middle of the heart. It's my bucket list.

The brown/black little guy in the middle is probably my favorite. It is my book journal. Since January of 2005 I have been writing down all the books I have read since then, and I rate them. Who knows why I do this.



It's also special because my dear friend, Anita brought this back for me from Africa. That's also one of my favorite pens too. The pencil topper of two hippos has been on there forever.



My good friend Mandy and I have a thing about hippos. They used to be pretty hard to find, but now I see them everywhere. Also, I thought what these hippos were doing was kinda PG-13. Hee hee.



My boys have their own notebooks too. Although I haven't been good about it lately, especially with #2, the idea is to write down funny things they say, do or just fun milestones. Also on the right is my beautiful perpetual calendar, which is such a great idea!



This is a recent purchase! I got this little acrylic file holder to hold all the important things I have on the boys. Things from school, the doctor, etc... all go in there. Easy to get to and fun to look at. I didn't want the plastic to scratch my furniture, so I put little felt feet on the bottom and it's all good!



This was my previous home organizer. It seems I change systems yearly. And the year usually starts with all the calendars and such that come out that begin with July/August. Which is now. YAY!



Calendar and a notepad. Worked great, but I was tired of things always falling out. I always had some other piece of paper that was in there and it was just all getting jumbled. So I moved on...



To this! A binder....perfect!



Now I have a place to securely keep my calendar and other pieces of paper that find their way to me. A couple of tabs and some college ruled loose leaf and I am all set! Much better.



A few new pencils and markers because......well.....just because. FUN!

And where will I put all this lovely stuff you might ask? Well let me show you...



In my new desk! Isn't she a beaut! We are finally and slowly starting to turn our formal living room from make-shift play room into a proper living space and this was one of the purchases.



Here's the inside! The rest of the room is now empty with the exception of a small box of toys. Maybe I should do a blog post of the transformation of the room as it goes? My camera's lens isn't nearly wide enough to get the whole room, but maybe I could try my iphone! I could sure use some help!

Ok, enough about paper and school supplies. I think I made my point. :-)

Thanks for reading!

Later gators!

C.

7 comments:

  1. Your desk is beautiful! Love it!

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  2. What great ideas! You're so clever. :)

    Hey, can I have those bicycle bookends? Mmmkay, thanks.

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  3. Thanks Renya. Haha!

    Kate, no. But I know where you can get some too! :-)

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  4. Cody,
    Oh.em.gee. I wanted to comment so badly on the last post, but blogger was acting wonky......anyway, I think the school supply love affair is definitely because we are teachers. I mean, you have to LOVE them to be a teacher. :D Also, I am the same way with notebooks, binders, calendars, organizers, the list goes on. I also LOVE that desk! That looks like a lot of fun to organize! And please show the room transformation! Where do you put all the boys' junk/toys? I am already running into this at one year old.....

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  5. You are such a teacher. I love it! That desk is awesome. I love how you can "shut it."

    xo Marcie

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  6. Hi, Cody!

    I haven't read lately, but I loved the post about paper goods. I agree - a lovely notebook and good organization make life go much more smoothly.

    Love,
    Anita

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  7. I love your desk! Where did you find it?

    Also, I am a huge fan of MomAgenda (www.momagenda.com). The organizer/calendar starts at the end of July and runs 18 months, which allows you to make appointments throughout the school year and appointments in advance for things that you only do once or twice a year (like physicals, dentist appointments, etc.) I really love mine. Just wanted to share it with you as an option for next year... :)

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