All of a sudden you
notice a growth, and it’s not pretty.
Mounds of catalogs and
untidy papers begin creeping up around your bed, on countertops and
piled on anything horizontal. Welcome to catalog chaos.
Whether you make gift
baskets for fun or profit, you are bound to receive catalogs at
trade shows and by mail. You bring them willingly into your home,
vowing to review every page "when you have time."
But when you create
gift baskets, one hour passes like 10 minutes, and time will never
again be on your side. Are you going to keep your catalogs in piles,
stacked so high that it falls the moment it’s touched, or is there a
better way to organize this beast?
One of the best pieces
of equipment ever created, and not with catalog containment in mind,
are lidded plastic storage containers available at most department
and discount stores. Sellers laud them as perfect for sweaters, toys
and general home use.
For the gift basket
professional, these containers are great because most models have
welled insets where hanging folders easily move back and forth on
side slots.
The filing system that
works well for designers is one that separates food catalogs from
those for gifts and enhancements, with both systems in A-to-Z order.
Each hanging folder holds about five catalogs, and each folder
is given a number.
For example, 20
catalogs with company names starting with the letter "A" might
require four hanging folders containing five catalogs each. The
first catalog will be tabbed "A1," the second is "A2," and so on.
One caveat to novice
filers: if a company’s name is "The Cork and Fork," the catalog is
filed under "Cork," not "The."
Separating foods from
gifts and supplies helps you to find catalogs quicker than if you
waded through the entire system. It's best not to wade through
food catalogs when searching for ribbon. If a company sells a little of
everything, it’s up to you to choose where to place the catalog.
Whether prepared by
hand or computer, a complete catalog list is added to the
first folder (in front of "A1"). Write the corresponding folder and
number to the right of each catalog name. For example, a catalog for
Ultimate Biscotti placed in the third of four "U" folders will be
logged as "Ultimate Biscotti...U3." You will find the catalog
immediately instead of searching through every "U" folder.
If you prefer a system
that categorizes each company by name, have enough cash and space to
organize each catalog in its own folder.
Plastic storage
containers stack atop each other and are easily placed in a room’s
corner until you need them. A traditional four-drawer file cabinet
is also worth the investment if you’d rather buy that instead of
containers. Cabinets don’t stack as well, but it’s another option.
If
you organize now, you’ll find your source materials quickly and have
less worry about where to store those darn catalogs when unexpected
guests arrive. Happy filing.
