After many months of constantly being out on jobs (I'm not complaning) I have taken the next week off to finally get everything organized and I mean organized.

I currently have a mass of papers in front of me including past bookings, instruction sheets, notes, books etc they're bloody everywhere!!

I have also made myself a new roll on case so I've put all my prizes, games, tricks, handouts etc into boxes and filled two large boxes where it will all go is beyond me as my new box doesn't have elastic sides.

I was wondering if anyone would be willing to offer a very disorganized person some advice on getting organized and staying that way?

I would be very grateful to anyone who could offer a bit of advice before I am trapped behind bits of paper and Vern The Bird.

For me getting organized is everything, staying organized is hard. For me, I just need to always remember to put everything away where it belongs when I'm finished with it Also always make the things you use most the most assessable, that way you don't have to wreck everything up when you get it.

I have storage bins labeled different things. I have them labeled by the effect (transposition, appearance,etc.), you could also have them by venue too. I have also separated tricks I don't perform (due to malfunction, not comfortable with it, doesn't fit my style, etc.) from tricks I often do perform.

Go digital on as much stuff as you can.

Those notes and past bookings??? It's time to put them onto the PC.

I have found that I often jot down notes about my magic, then later I have no clue what they are about. So I started just using the Notepad program on my laptop to jot down notes...that way I can save them under any category that I want.

The filing system that is automatically built into a PC is invaluable for this type of stuff.

For instance, I am working on a kids show, and I have a folder on my desktop of my laptop that says "Magic."

In it, there is another folder titled "Kids Show."

In it, there is everything that I have been working on for the kids show. I have my script, the effects that I will be using, and a list of things that I still need to purchase. I also made a "Packing List" of all the things that I would always need to bring with me for the show that I'm planning.

Because it's all on the PC, it's incredibly easy to change/remove/add different things if need be. Once I get the show done and start trying to market it, I'll have a folder with my bookings and such in there as well.

For my magic books and instructions and such, I keep the books on a bookshelf with other books, and all of the instructions that are just sheets of paper are all in a storage bin under my bed. The DVDs are all on the shelf with my DVDs, on their own shelf of course.

Good luck.

I like this idea..................