DIY BILL-BOARDS
So this weekend I decided we needed a new system of organizing our mail situation. Our former system was haphazardly stacking everything on the table or the counter, in no real order, and moving the pile back and forth between the two whenever it was in the way. We have tried different types of organizers, but what it boils down to is that I am lazy. Unless something is super simple, I will probably eventually stop using it. Or if it doesn’t keep things in plain sight, I will forget about them. When I found these clipboards I knew that was the system for me, because it was about as simple as it gets. I could only foresee one problem, and that was the possibility of my wife and I forgetting which board was which and mixing things up again. We would need boards for three categories: things that need attention right away, things waiting to be dealt with later, and mail ready to go to the mailbox. I decided just painting big numbers on each board was the way to go.
There are probably better ways to make a stencil and paint numbers on something, but I was trying to do this quick and dirty (and for free), and with whatever I had around me at the time.
Step one was picking a font and printing large numbers. I liked the idea of large numbers, that would be party visible even when the mail was hanging on the boards. I think I liked the numbers because the idea reminded me of something industrial that was painted without much too care, like the numbers painted on the columns in parking garages or on factory doors. After I printed my three numbers, I carefully cut them out.
I knew that since I was just using paper from my printer, it would curl up and blow around when I sprayed it, so I used a light coat rubber cement on the back around the edges of the number to hold it down. The rubber cement was good because it would stay tacky and let me easily peel off the paper after I was done.
I put the numbers where I wanted them, and then masked off the rest of the board.
These are the finished boards, time will tell how well they work. So far I am pretty optimistic. Number 3 is going to go somewhere near the door, so I remember to grab the mail on the way out.
very cool idea, im always trying to think of ways to get more organized. im just too lazy though.
Terrific work! This is the type of information that should be shared around the web. Shame on the search engines for not positioning this post higher!
Thanks to you both. Its funny how such a little amount of organization can make such a large difference. I am excited to get a small corner of my life a little bit less disorganized. Thanks again.