DIY Celebration Card Organizer: Never Miss Another Special Occasion!

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Confession:  My sister’s birthday was Friday.  I didn’t send her a card.

It’s not that I didn’t want to send her a birthday card, it’s just with clients in town the last 2 weeks at work and the preparations for our Memorial Day get together, I just kind of…forgot.  And as much as I wish I could say that this is the first birthday I’ve forgotten this year, that would not be the case.  I guess you could say that birthdays and other celebrations have a way of sneaking up on me, even though they’re all firmly planted on the same dates on the calendar each year.  Year after year I vow to get better about remembering important dates and purchasing cards well in advance but it just doesn’t happen, or if I do buy the cards in advance, I lose them before it’s time to send them out.

So as I was in Walmart yesterday purchasing all of our last minute items for the Memorial Day get together, I decided to do something about it.  Sure, I may have missed her birthday, but it’s never too late to celebrate and send a card. As I wandered through the card aisle, I was immediately drawn to the huge section of Hallmark cards starting at 47 cents.  There were cards for all occasions – anniversary, new baby, get well and, most importantly, birthdays.  And while they were definitely at a great price, these cards were every bit as cute as the more expensive cards that I’d seen elsewhere.   In fact, the cards were so cute, I couldn’t help but stock up.  After all, we do go to a bunch of birthdays.   I happened to find the perfect card for my sister and was able to pick one up to my sister from the kids.  After all, she is Hazeline’s godmother. But my problem normally isn’t buying the cards, it’s holding on to them and sending them out on time.  So right after I picked up my cards, I headed over to the office supply aisle to find a way to organize my cards so they’d all be in the same place ready and waiting for the next holiday.  The result was a card organizing notebook, designed to keep cards organized by month and extras organized by celebration:
Do you have a problem remembering birthdays and other celebrations?  Try making this DIY Card Organizer!  My cards are already for this year’s celebrations, with extras tucked away for that last minute celebration!  I won’t be missing another birthday!

You will need:
1″ Notebook
16 Dividers
16 Pocket protectors
White paper

Step 1 – Print out labels for each month from January through December using your white cardstock.  Print additional labels for “Get Well”, “Anniversary”, “Birthday”, “Thinking of You” or any other categories you wish to have in your notebook.  If you need a guide, you can find mine here.  Insert the category tabs into the dividers.

Step 2 – Assemble your notebook by place a divider (January), followed by a pocket protector, followed by another divider (February), followed by a sheet protector, and so on.  Do this until you’ve completed all the months, plus your extra categories.

Step 3 – As soon as your notebook is assembled, place your cards in the page protector following the labeled month divider.  The page protectors will keep your cards protected from the elements and organized so you can find them at the beginning of each month.  Simply open your notebook to find your cards all prepared for the month and send them out!