Staples, Paperclips, and Binder Clips (Includes Planner Paperclip Tip)

Today's post is about which method of paper binding works best in which situations. Seems simple enough, but selecting the optimal binding for your needs will save you time and keep you organized.

One of my friends hates staples. She doesn't like the way that they leave little holes in the paper.

Honestly, I tend to hate paper clips. They slide around and sometimes unintentionally grab other pieces of paper.

Despite my hate, I readily admit that, sometimes, a paper clip is the appropriate choice! (Who thought that sentence would ever end with an exclamation point?)

Stapling

Use staples for 5 or fewer sheets of paper (sometimes, I go up to 10, since I am such a rebel), if the papers are related and NOT going to be copied, used individually, or used as originals.

Some of the things that I currently have stapled together are two page recipes, a group of rules regarding the upcoming school fair booth (that can all be discarded after the fair), and several pages of correspondence about a car wreck that just need to be filed.

I wouldn't use a paper clip in the files (as it might grab something else) or for the recipes (where I certainly don't want to lose a page).

Paperclips

I mostly use paperclips only for non-filed items. This is because, in file folders, paperclips tend to "grab" other documents and hide them. (If it must go in the files and kept together, like our family's original birth certificates, I use a tiny binder clip, since it keeps things together more securely.)

I do use paperclips if I need to attach something very temporarily to a certain page in my planner.

I also use them for master copies of something that I am planning to copy. For example, if I substitute teach and will be doing a back-to-back handout, I'll paperclip the two originals together until I get to copy them.

TIP: If you write a big "O" with a yellow florescent highlighter on the original of anything, most copiers won't read the yellow. Teachers do this to make sure they don't actually hand out every copy, including their original, of tests. As a lawyer and business owner, I used yellow florescent highlighters to write the date that I received a document in the office. That way, I could still make clean copies, but always knew which document was the original and had a record of my receipt.

Binder Clips

I love binder clips. I use them, as mentioned above, when several original documents need to be bound without putting little holes in them.

I use them for keeping large projects together.

I use them for keeping coupons in groupings and in order by expiration date.

I use them for putting together several papers that I will need to bring with me to errands today.

When I teach, I use them for holding together turned in assignments.

TIP: Buy the cheap black ones, and use a white-out pen to write the class name (Sci, SS, Math), the grade level (7-A, 7-B, 8-B), the purpose (TASKS, To Grade, ERRANDS, To Copy), the project name (Sales, PR, Tanger Project), or any other identifying information.

One of my favorite uses of binder clips is to attach a post-it note permanently, if I can't or would rather not write a note directly on the page.

By the way, I have a container for paperclips and binder clips on my desk and a stapler, too.

Keeping them convenient makes them easier to use.

Etcetera.