I have found that I prefer to find information in one place. Organized, but in the same area. That’s why I only use Facebook Messenger for messaging people (rather than hopping around on various social medias anymore) and also why I use binders instead of notebooks. Notebooks were the hardest to purge while I was first minimalizing. I had so many growing up, full of plays and poems and letters and journal entries and lists (tons of lists). All the topics going back and forth all over the place. I had to rip pages out to file them elsewhere and toss the rest of the mess.
Thus, I decided a year or two ago that I was going to make the switch from notebooks to binders because you can rearrange pages easily and I found them to be the perfect tool for me to start collecting essential information for intentional living (the very reason for this blog).
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I will admit that I started using OneNote last year and it works just as well- but isn’t quite as fun as a physical binder.
So, let’s talk about inspiration binders specifically and why you need one!
I created an inspiration binder when I was a teenager because 1) I saved too many pins on Pinterest without “doing them” or going back to see them again and 2) I wanted a place to collect information.
You’ll need
- A binder
- Section dividers
- Colored paper
- A printer
I personally love that there are so many fun designs for binders online (there are some neat options on Amazon) but you can always just pick up a simple one at your local Walmart too!
Start by writing a list of sections you’ll want. I had things like “cleaning, community events, music, important documents to have, languages, cooking…” These sections are basically Pinterest boards that you are going to be extremely picky about adding to. The goal is not to stuff this binder with information, but rather to learn about what you need to know as an adult and also how to enjoy life as your own unique little self. It’s not going to be boring and dry, it’s going to teach you how to be self-reliant (though you will always need the Lord!) through research and more confident as you will have a lot of answers ready before you need them. Answers to things that I, as a fellow young adult right now, already wish I had known ahead of time. And while I can’t teach you everything on my blog, I want to specialize in giving you keys to researching everything you’ll need to know from those who do have answers. And all of those answers should go right into the binder to help you later.
You will need to ask yourself things like, “What scares me the most about adulthood right now?” or even, “What would make me a more confident adult?”
Are you afraid to look ignorant? Ask as many questions as you can while you’re young. I haven’t been judged (to my face) yet, haha!
Are you overwhelmed by the unknown or lots of little details? Don’t wait until you need to know to learn something. Don’t wait until there is pressure. Every time you add new information you either create new or strengthen old pathways in your brain. Learning is so good for you!
Now it’s up to you. Will you start by writing a list of sections or pick one topic and find an article about it to read right now?
The first article I added to my binder was about handguns. A lot of my friends knew about guns and I had no idea what the different parts of a gun were called and it made me a bit insecure when it came to conversations. So my dad told me to just look it up and print out an article. So I did. And I learned that I can learn almost anything. Never take your access to so much knowledge for granted!
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