how to organize a binder // back to school 2019

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Note: The products seen in this video were purchased in my local stationery store (Portugal). Of course, I cannot assure you'll find these exact items in these exact prices in your local stationery store, but they can serve as inspiration to find something similar.

Products mentioned:

- Kraft A4 2-ringed binder
- Oxford International Lined Notepad
- Leitz A4 Windowed Folder
- Kraft A4 File Folders for binders
- Esselte dividers w/ reinforced tabs

Make your calendar:

Binders have always been my favorite organization tool. They allow for endless customization options, can be reused across the years and its content can be reorganized according to your needs. So of course that I would be looking for a binder as the first purchase of 2019's back to school season.

In this back to school shopping trip I was looking for a binder setup with old-school vibes and that could act as an archiving solution for my notes at home. I was also looking for a budget friendly setup so I went for mid to low range supplies that were durable enough to withstand the semester without breaking the bank.

Taking that into account, I knew right away that plastic binders were out of question since they would be completely over budget, ranging from ten to 20 euros so I went for the classic cardstock slash cardboard version which is probably going to be more than enough since I won't be carrying this thing in a backpack to college. If you find a plastic binder that fits your budget, that's always the option that I alays recommend since it will last you a looong time, especially if you carry it around.

After the binder was picked, the biggest challenge was finding tabs that were resistant enough and fit the price point. Although the hard plastic ones are the best, they were incredibly expensive and the cheaper plastic solutions are those thin plastic dividers that easily bend and rip as well. I found a good in-between which were cardstock dividers with plastic reinforced tabs.

For more organization goodness I went searching for some old school looking folder inserts for the binder and found these archiving folders that can be easily hole punched and serve as a place to keep handouts, your syllabus or any initial information provided at the beginning of the semester that is useful to isolate and can be kept as a front page of the course's divider. Besides those folders, which cost 75 cents each, I also found a pack of cardstock archivers that serve to file major projects that can also be isolated from the rest of your notes. These can be useful for test practice, homework you have to turn in, assignments, reports and that type of work that is detrimental for your final grade.

Since Staples was majorly lacking in filler paper I went out of my way to another store and found this new notepad by Oxford that was perfect for the type of binder I was trying to achieve. They also had this same notebook in white so if the yellow toned pages are not for you, that's not a problem. Two great features about this notepad are that one, each page can be scanned using the markings in the corners and they work with their app Scribzee, and, two, despite being ruled pages you have markings at the top and bottom of each page that serve to guide you in case you want to draw vertical lines, which can be useful in some formats like the cornell method.

Regarding what to put in your binder during setup, I always recommend a one-page academic calendar which allows you to see what are the assignments, tests, midterms, quizes and exams you'll have at a glance.

Secondly, I think it's a good idea to keep your syllabi in your binder, divided per classes. First of all, it acts as a table of contents for the following notes and, secondly, it can be a precious tool to refer back to previous chapters or to simply understand how all of your lectures are connected around a bigger theme.

Of course that you can go all out with your binder and use other inserts and acessories but if I were you, I would keep it as simple as it gets. Maybe get a penloop if you are prone to misplace your pens or a side pocket to keep a class schedule or the map of your campus. The more crowded and full your binder is, the less likely you'll resort to it as a studying tool and that's the opposite of what we want to achieve with today's video.

► s u b s c r i b e

F T C : This video is sponsored by Skillshare.

Music by Epidemic Sound:

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