Simple organizing for parents

Get in a bind
If your kitchen is a three-ring circus, tame it with three-ring binders. Outfitted with clear plastic inserts in a variety of formats, binders are ideal for storing:

• appliance and other product manuals, warranties and serial numbers;

• business cards and brochures for service providers, contractors and tradespersons;

• decorating and gardening logs (record paint numbers and chips, fabric swatches, plant varieties, etc.);

• kids' school notices, newsletters, calendars and other paperwork;

• favourite recipes, cleaning and homecare tips, your street's garbage collection schedule and other maintenance info used by the whole family;

• bills, receipts, and budget, tax and other home-finance information (use one plastic sleeve for envelopes, stamps and chequebook for one-stop bill-paying);

• tissue paper, small gift bags and greeting cards, along with an up-to-date address list; and

• emergency amusements for children, such as stickers, activity books, paper and markers.