Is there a secret to organizing? What is the ultimate fail-safe product that will keep all your papers from conspiring to create endless piles? Are there magical processes to keeping your desktop clear, preventing the mail from littering your kitchen counter, or remembering where you placed those season hockey tickets?

The secret to organizing is not a secret at all. It is truly about finding a solution that is customized to each individual’s needs. Although the dilemmas may be the same, the solutions may be as different as each person.

Out of Chaos wanted to share with you success stories from some of our readers.

Jennifer’s Secret: Binders

“A friend of mine suggested I keep all my invoices in a binder instead of file folders. Filing somehow has a way of stacking up and it takes me a while to get to it. The binder made it so much easier. I can sit and watch TV while I match and staple my receipts onto my statements. I can also take the binder with me if I’m sitting at the beach.

So, now I’ve decided to make a binder for all the menu flyers I receive. I have one plastic pocket with a tab for each category; pizza, Thai, Indian, sushi, etc. I can then find them easier instead of sifting through my junk drawer to find a particular menu. It works like a charm! My junk drawer now only contains junk, not brochures as well.”

Darren’s Secret to Controlling Email Chaos

“I am in the habit of keeping my email’s Inbox, Sent Items and Deleted Items as free of clutter as possible. I delete all of the repetitious email messages that form part of an email chain, only keeping the most recent or relevant message.

Then, at the end of each day, I check my Sent box, file the few important items, and delete the rest. I then empty my Deleted mailbox before shutting down. My email certainly seems a lot less overwhelming this way.”

If you have a secret to organizing that works for you, please share it with us.

Image by Tayeb MEZAHDIA from Pixabay