An embarrassing chunk of my life has been dedicated to tearing through piles of mess in my room, trying to find that one thing that I forgot about. 

I was also constantly scheduling different things at the same time, causing many hurt feelings and missing appointments. Eventually, I just accepted that disorganization was a part of me that I could never change. 

Years later, I became engrossed in YouTube videos and regularly watched several channels. All of the people on these channels seemed so “put together” and planned. I longed for that kind of organization once again. That longing inspired me to search the internet for a solution. After scouring the web, I found the answer to my problems: The Life Binder. This exceptional organizational tool has helped me get my life in check and reduce my stress levels tenfold. 

Step 1: Buy your supplies 
Oddly enough, one of the most important things I did when making my life binder involved choosing a cute, patterned binder. It’s something you’re going to be looking at for a long time, so it might as well be high quality. You’ll also want to grab some tab dividers, especially if you will use your life binder to plan many different areas of your life. In order to save paper, I bought plastic paper protectors and dry erase markers. This will allow you to reuse the same print-outs by simply erasing the dry erase marker when you’re done. I would recommend buying the skinny dry erase markers because they’re easier to write with. 

Step 2: Find your printables 
This is the most vital step in making your life binder. There are hundreds of free printable organizing sheets available online, ranging from cleaning schedules to weekly meal planning. As a college student, I don’t have much use for pages having to do with home making. However, there are dozens of printables that will help you organize parts of your life that you didn’t even think of. 

Here is a list of the most important pages I have in my life binder: 

· To-Do list 

· Weekly cleaning schedule 

· Birthdays and anniversaries to remember 

· What to buy: wants, needs, and sizes 

· Weekly workout schedule 

· Books to read and movies to watch 

· Blog ideas 

· Website password log 

· Checkbook register 

· Syllabus for each of my classes 

· My requirements to graduate 

I found several of these print outs from the following websites: http://printables.yourway.net/ and http://www.organizinghomelife.com/archives/4275. I’m constantly adding pages to my life binder as needs arise. I also have a regular, small planner that I carry with me to lay out my weeks and months.

 Step 3: Organize your binder 

This is where you can start using your tabs to sort all of the organizational sheets you just printed out. I sort mine into School, Cleaning, To-Do, and Miscellaneous. Keep a little pad of sticky notes and a pen in your binder for any quick note-taking you might have to do. 

Step 4: Keep up with your binder 
Your binder will seem exciting at first, and you’ll hardly be able to keep away from it. However, as time goes on, if you’re anything like me, you will start to lose interest and slack on your organizing. It’s important to keep yourself on track by encouraging and rewarding yourself for maintaining your new, organized lifestyle. By following all of these steps you’ll be on the right track to be well-prepared for everything in your life.