So we all have to pay bills each month and if you’re like me, you still get paper statements in the mail. My spouse pays the bills and then leaves the paperwork on my desk for me to file or shred. I had a cheap little home bill organizer from a discount store but it just wasn’t holding up. The paper pockets were starting to tear, receipts were slipping out, and the band to help it stay close was starting to bend the pockets. I thought, “I really need to re-organize this”.
One day while I was out school shopping I saw this cute mini binder and I got the idea to use this for my bill receipts. It’s 9 x 7 and the perfect size. I got this one from Wal-Mart for $3.88! You can also find these at the Target dollar spot for $3.00 in cute patterns as well.
I went down the office supply aisle to find some mini page protectors. Here are the ones I used and they were $2.49 for this 15 pack. These will be used to hold receipts for each month.
I wanted to have a divider for each month and I found this 8 pack with tabs at the Dollar Tree. I cut these down to fit my binder.
To cut these down, I placed one of the mini page protectors under the divider and lined the edges of the tab and page protector together. Then I just marked my length and width and trimmed it up to get the divider the size of the mini page protector. On the edge where my hole punches would be, I just trimmed a straight line down to make it easier. Then I marked/punched the holes.
I put the binder together with the month and a mini page protector behind it. After December, I made one extra divider and labeled it “Important”. Each month I keep a receipt or pay stub with important info. like the date, amount paid, and total for each bill. At the beginning of the new year, I take all the receipts out for each month and I shred them. The “Important” tab is for receipts/paperwork that I need to keep longer and those will be filed in my bigger filing system that’s stored away.
After I organized all my receipts, I took a piece of scrap elastic tape and measured around the binder leaving a little room so the binder wouldn’t bend when full. I sewed the piece together and slipped it over the side to hold it closed. Another great idea is to use one of those elastic headbands. You could get really creative and embellish yours or find one at a discount store. I think I may just go back and do that for my mine!
This is a simple receipt organization system and can be modified for any organizational system you need. I hope you enjoyed this little inexpensive diy project. Don’t forget, you can find me on Instagram @dimestoregypsygal! If you have any questions or comments feel free to msg. me.
Thanks for reading,
~The Dimestore Gypsy
The Dimestore Gypsy 