I received a lovely compliment on my blog from Brandie Kajino of Organize & Simplify today. And from there, my day took a new turn. And as I think is the case with many creative people (even only SOMEWHAT creative people, such as myself) they are easily moved off task by the thought of something more fun, visually appealing or less mundane than say, paying bills or organizing paperwork.

Brandie’s thoughtful comment inspired me to take a stroll around her lovely blog filled with organizing tips and ideas. And from there, after reading one of her posts, I started thinking about my own tendency to shop for the fun organizing products first (to inspire me, of course) and then figure out how to organize “later”. Usually that results in lovely, empty organizational systems I didn’t really need. Not good.

Well, the truth is, while parts of my house & life are actually somewhat organized, everything is not as tidy as it should be. In fact, one of my big problem areas revolves around paper. Case in point, I have lost my daughter’s sixteenth birthday card and her birthday is tomorrow. I bought the card three months ago and it was perfect for her. I knew I could potentially lose it or forget about it, so I put it in my pajama drawer. HUH? Yep. You heard me. I do not have a tickler file. I do have a greeting card box, but since I didn’t want her to find it, I didn’t put the card there. I put it in my drawer, well, or so I thought. Two hours of searching later, I still can’t find it. I am sure I thought of a wonderful spot for it, I just can’t remember where that place is.

I am convinced. I need a tickler file.

And that brings me to another excuse to shop for lovely products! I won’t buy any, yet, I promise. But in case you are in the same boat, here is some inspiration for all of us. I could see myself enjoying filing if I had these pretties to look at!

Or, how about creating a card binder? I love binders. Lots of pretty binders, all lined up on a shelf…a visual delight! :-) Makes you feel organized just to see them. As if you really had them filled with cards & papers, and not sitting there empty. Ok. I get it. Organize first. Products second.

Products & photos from See Jane Work.