Favourite organising tools #17 : binder rings

I had never heard of binder rings til I started stalking crafting blogs.

Especially blogs where the people made anything to do with paper, like mini books.

I love stationery…with a passion.

Eventually I cracked and asked a blog friend to buy and send some to me. Since for some crazy reason we don’t make them in South Africa.

I know, it’s terrible!

She sent me about 50 and I’ve made such good use of them I was more than half way through my stash in about a month. And I don’t even make stuff for other people.

Here’s a couple of things I did with my binder rings:

Organised Christmas cards

In South Africa people don’t really send a lot of Christmas cards so I mainly get from my overseas friends.

I only keep the ones either with pics of my friends’ kids or ones with meaningful messages.

In 2010 I had about 7 – 8 to keep and I was very pleased to use my binder rings to organise those.

Organised birthday cards

I kept all the cards from the babies’ birthday this year, punched them and used my binder rings to hold them all together.

Hooking up my calendar

The hook inside my wardrobe is way bigger than that tiny little punched hole in my calendar.

In the days before binder rings (I like to call them the dark days :)), I tied a piece of ribbon through the calendar and then on the hook.

A big schlep every month when I changed the pages.

But not any more. Look.

Do you also love binder rings?

What other uses can you think of for them? What are your favourite ways to use them?

PS Have you booked your place on Spring into Organising yet?

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...

Comments

  1. claire Barn says

    I love these little things, I will need to start looking out for them when I am next in a craft shop!
    A couple of questions though, what do you do with all your cards as they mount up? I had been keeping all the handmade ones I received, and have over the years kept lots of the kids birthday cards, but upon clearing out my rooms recently to make room for a new addition to the family, I came across the hundreds of cards which had been saved over the years, and, realising that I never looked at them year upon year, and they were taking up valuable space, I admit to getting rid of all but the handmade cards. I put all of those into a treasure box, but it is full already, and I hopefully have many more years of handmade cards coming my way!
    Also, you have a calendar in your wardrobe? Why?

    • Claire, I am obsessed – I need calendars all over. This one is to mark off bathroom-type things, eg when I dye my hair, etc 🙂

      As for the cards, I keep very, very little. I have one box (slightly larger than A4 size (about 15 cm high) with EVERYTHING paper-sentimental 🙂 When it gets full (years and years go by), then I declutter. I will have to do it end of the year as I haven’t done it for about 4 years.

  2. I love those rings too!

    You will be able to find them in craft shops. I used to sell them when i had a shop. Just look around. Or ask a shop to source them for you. I know Fabscraps had nice big ones.

    • Jackie, there isn’t even a shop like that near me, I don’t think?

      BUT I have since found that scrapadoodles has them and I think they are my new favourite shop 🙂

  3. I am so happy to have found your blog, you have so many great ideas and tips. Thank you for sharing with us.
    Do you have a you tube channel?

  4. I have them for crafty purposes, but I never looked at them with an “organizing eye”! Great ideas!!

    • Marcia Francois says

      And Chloe, I used some more tonight – I was organising my jewellery and I had too many necklaces for the amount of “official” necklace holders on my organiser so my binder rings created some more space – LOVE THEM!

  5. Marcia,
    Thank you so much for your wonderful blog!
    I stumbled across it some months ago through my love of organizing, more a desire to get than being. Since then I had a medical hiatus including life saving emergency surgery and am only now well enough to spend time catching up on my blog reading. I didn’t realize you were in South Africa (I’m in France)until I came to this post and I remember running a conference in CapeTown where we had great difficulty in getting hold of rings. Anyway enough blabbing… Thank you for your lovely, inspiring posts. They remind me to take my time to recover and that I should make sure my return to health does not mean a return to overwork but more embracing life in the full.

    Warmest hugs from France,
    Sara @TeenyTinyBean

  6. Am definitely going to look for binder rings this weekend. Have been thinking of making a little book for someone. Like what you did with the calendar.

Leave a Reply to Helen Cancel reply

*

WP2Social Auto Publish Powered By : XYZScripts.com