What is it with educators and binders?  I swear to god, some idiot either gives us one, or makes us keep up with them.

I hate binders.

Seriously.

Nothing is worse than having to pull something out of a binder, use it and then have to put it back in.

My system:  folders

Seriously, folders are much easier.  When I had a real job, worked real hours, and made real money, everything was kept in a file cabinet.  I loved my last cube.  I had a nice square cube, with a really nice horizontal file cabinet.  Everything went in it.  My purse, my files, everything.  When I went to a meeting, I pulled out the hanging folder that contained that project with all the materials that went with it.  When I came back, I just dropped it all into the cabinet. 

I just went into a huge hissy fit over the binder we are required to keep this year.  We are up for cycle 3 for the Texas Educators Grant and we have to document everything we do to death.  They've given us a binder, dividers and tabs for it.  <ARGH!!!!>

My solution?  A file box.  They make lots of different sizes.  So I have hanging folder for each portion of the things we have to document -- like the task force I'm in.  Then I use separate folders for things individual items I have to keep up with.  When I come back from a meeting, I toss the stuff in the box and periodically file it (I never have time to file).   I even toss the binder in the box just in case someone wants it some day and when it comes time to turn in the binder, I'm putting a big rubber band around the files and putting them in the binder and turning it in that way.

It appalled our department chair until she saw it and then she agreed it was better than a binder.

And when people give me a binder in the future, I'm just going to do the same thing.