Organization of a Sort

Last night when I was devising forms, I came up with a version of the 43 Folders which I hope will work for collecting all the things I would like to remember in a timely manner.

There are 28 folders in my version --

• 6 for days of the week (M-F and one called "Weekend")
• 12 labelled for the months of the year
• 4 (colored) -- one for each season
• 5 weekly ones -- one for the weeks of the month, and one colored one called Transition that spans the week when the months are changing.
• 1 called General that spans the whole academic year. I will put IEPs and portfolio checklists and things like that in there.
  

Here is what they look like:



How it works:

I put the present day, week and month in the front of the relevant pile -- so for example, Monday is the first folder of the 6 "Day" folders, Week Two is in the front of the "Week" folders, and "September" is in the front of the "Month" folders. The colored folders for seasons help me maneuver through more quickly, and I may put some sort of visual for the other folders to help me find them more quickly.

As I get through that day, week, or month, I put that folder in the back of the group.

I did this with index cards and the Sidetracked Home Executive chore system, once, and it seemed to work pretty well until I had the routine down well enough that I no longer really needed to consult the cards. But this system applied to our busy life and homeschool might help me keep better track of the local events, liturgical year and other seasonal things that seem to slip by too often right now.

I covered a printer paper box with contact paper to put them in. Since there was a lot of room in the box until the folders get bulkier, I put several reference-type books -- my Mother of Divine Grace Syllabi, my Catholic Mosaic, and a couple of high school guidance books -- in behind them.


My corner next to the kitchen is getting to look like every place where I spend a lot of time -- the paper and book piles and box-decor : ).

My homeschool forms bound into little comb bound books.


Aidan wanted to be part of it, so I let him cut up the backing of the contact paper.

I hope the system will be simple enough to actually work, and useful since I can drop things into the relevant file in a hurry and then browse through when I come to the new day, week or month.


Working Lunch!