Happy New Year! 2013-2014: Discbound Notebooks

Happy New Year, friends!

It's 2013-2014 and I'm refreshed, recharged and ready to tackle another year. I've worked on several organizational materials to set myself up for a successful year....but FIRST...

I'm using a new organizational system this year! I discovered Martha Stewart's discbound notebooks this summer and bought in big time. 

**A quick disclaimer: I'm writing about these just because I like them! Plain and simple. No financial interests or gained benefits here. :)

Okay, here's a top view:

The best way to describe them is as a "notebook/binder hybrid". Flat like a notebook and built like a binder.  It's a totally customizable system. You can buy different parts and create your own binder to fit your own needs.

On the inside front cover is a big pocket & a few smaller pockets (mine has an article to read from our principal & some sticky notes):

A row of discs holds everything together. The binder comes with small discs, which can hold ~60 sheets, so I bought the expansion discs, which will hold up to 150 sheets:

Martha's line also includes pre-punched accessory pages (e.g. calendars, taskpads) that fit in as needed. I went ahead and bought the special hole-puncher so I could make my own pages.

Punch, punch

The pages are punched like this:

And then you just push the pages right into place! 

 That's it, easy:

You can buy dividers and place them to make sections as needed. I labeled mine with my label maker. 

Another nice feature is the pen holder (look below the tabs):

I made my own calendar & inserted a small sheet between the current month as a task pad. For now, it's just a yellow, 1/2 sheet of paper. Eventually, my plan is to design something a little nicer. But, hey it works just fine for now!

I've included my caseload spreadsheets,

parent contact forms, activity idea section, & my calendar.

I will admit, the startup was a little pricey. The hole punch was the biggest investment ($40), but I'm convinced it will be a long-term solution to my organizational needs. It's the system you can just keep using over and over!

You can find the Martha Stewart discbound notebooks exclusively at Staples:

Here's the link to the notebooks: Book.

And the tabs: Divide.

And some other accessories: Accessorize.

And the hole punch: Punch.

So there you have it! My organizational solution for the 2013-2014 school year and beyond.

Hope you're off to a good start at school! 

Happy New Year,

Mrs. Ludwig