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Day 20: Create A Binder For Manuals
Have you purchased an item, like say, a lawn mower – and promptly lost the owner’s manual? Well, this tip will help you keep up with your manuals.
Here’s what you will need: A large three-ring binder and a hole punch.
When you buy an item and it comes with an owner’s manual, simply punch three holes near the spine of the manual and put it into the binder. Whenever you need the manual, simply flip through your binder – and bingo – there’s your manual.
Looking for a more ‘high-tech’ version of this tip? Create a folder on your computer and label it “Manuals”. Then, go online and download PDF versions of all of your manuals – and put the PDF files into that folder.
If the item you purchased came with warranty, slip that information into the binder as well.
(Be sure to go through the binder, every so often, and get rid of manuals you no longer need. Remember, the point here is to make life less cluttered, not more so.)
Do you an interesting organizational tip? Leave a comment and let us know. If you are a blogger, write a post about keeping things in order, and contact me. I’ll be more than happy to link to your post.
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So far, I use a folder in my documents filing box. When they outgrow it, perhaps I’ll look into the binder.
I do this, sort of. Right now the binder more or less has everything just shoved into it. But at least they are all in one place where I can find them. . .
I also staple the receipt to the back of the manual for easy reference.. and I’d sort them by date of expiration (1 year, 2 years, lifetime, etc).
Great idea! My version of this: I put each manual in a clear page protector–no holes in unfortunate places when I really need to read those instructions! Sheet protectors also have enough room to hold small parts (Allen wrenches, small cords.) I staple the receipt and warranty to the back of the manual. I keep three separate binders–one for household appliances (toaster, iron), one for electronics (tv, printer), and one for items that stay with the house (roof, air conditioner)
I’ve been doing the same thing for many years now, but I just slide them into a folder without punching holes in anything. I have a couple folders, but that’s fine. I know I can find what I need in a couple minutes. This is great advice to save people a lot of heartache, time, and money. Nice post.
this is a great way to organise things so you can see them. The clear ring binders with the pockets helps you reference the contents. We also use multi part dividers to index the binders in our house.