Organizing Tip of the Day

I often get asked how I manage to do it all.  How I have time to stamp every day and prepare and host a stamping class every month and keep up with everything else in my personal life....  husband, mom of 2 boys, working full-time, household, etc.  My response is... if you love what you do, you find the time to fit it in.

For me the key to getting it all done is being organized.  What helps me is my "Stamping Fact Book".    I created my fact book shown below using the Levenger Circa System or you can use the Staples Arc System.  Basically it's a binder with removable pages and rings.  I will take you through a tour of my fact book and you will see why it is so great.

This is my go to book for everything I need.  I keep a running list of my Stampin' Up! supplies that I need so when I place an order, I know exactly what I need to order to replenish supplies.  The book is broken up by tabs:  Classes, Business, Projects, Customers...

This is a sample of what I have under my "Classes" tab.  This is where I sketch and paste pictures of what I plan to do in my monthly classes.  I plan each class at least a month or two ahead of time.  This allows me to plan ahead and order any cardstock, DSP or embellishments that I need for the class projects.  I print out many samples from other talented demonstrators to get inspired.  I usually take their ideas and put my own spin on them. 

After each class is done, I pull out the sheets from that class and put them away in a folder.  This is so I can still review later if I need to, but pulling out the used pages keeps my book from getting too thick or bulky.  Below are some sample pages from my "Classes" tab that shows how I prep...

Below is a sample of the sheet I keep in the front of the book before all the tabs.  This is where I jot down what I need to order or items I want to try from the new catalog.  This helps me not to forget what I need for my upcoming classes or what I supplies I need to replenish.  After I place the order, I highlight the item so I know it's been ordered.

The rest of the tabs are mostly my notes/ideas.  The "Business" tab has my notes about my blog, business ideas, ideas on promotions, tutorials for my bog, ideas on how to grow my Stampin' Up! business, etc.  My "Customer" tab has a spreadsheet that lists all my customers and their contact information -- phone, e-mail, address, birthday, etc.  Lastly the "Project" tab has notes about projects I have going on with customers.  I often get asked to make favors for parties or invitations... this is where I keep those notes.  I am currently working on a memory book for a Ba Mitvah... I will post photos when I am done with the project.

Pretty much everything I do with Stampin' Up! is in this fact book.  I bring it with me to my Demo meetings and take notes or write down my ideas as they come to me.  Having everything in one place is great...  it sits on my craft table and it's my main source of information.

I hope my Stamping Fact Book inspires you to get organized!!