I am thrilled that you are getting lots of great tips from #clevermoving Monday….it has been so much fun sharing the process with you. Obviously I am not going into great detail on every little decision….but I hope that it gives you an idea of some of the major steps to building a custom house. Today I wanted to share a few things that I do to keep organized. There are many things to keep track of…and it helps to be able to take things with you easily and make your new home “portable”.

First off, get a nice large tote. You want to be able to fit all your samples, binders, paint books, building plans, Tylenol ;) etc.….Something that isn’t too big…or too small. You will want it to fit in a shopping cart…and double as a purse some days. I used this large leather purse/tote from the very beginning and it has worked great. (Found it at TJMaxx)

Start a binder. Gather things that you may want with you at a moments notice. Here is a good place to start: sheet protectors, zipper case, calculator, small note pad, pen, fabric measuring tape, hold punch, tape. I keep everything in this binder….stone choices, flooring information, neighborhood plat map, contractor numbers….everything in one landing place so I always know where to find the information.

Ask for samples. I have samples of cabinets, flooring, carpet, paint, garage doors, wood, granite…you never know when you may find something for your new house and think “I wonder what that would look like with the cabinets?” Easy to see the flow of everything when you have samples. If they don’t have an extra sample, often times manufactures will send you some. Doesn’t hurt to ask.

Building plans. I have a full size copy of our plans…and I also shrunk a set down to fit a set in my binder. The plan is to carry this binder over into the new house so that the manufacture and colors and plans are all together to reference in the future.

Clean it out. When you have narrowed down some choices….be sure to clean out the tote so you don’t confuse what you have selected and what you haven’t.

What helps to keep you organized when you are in the middle of a big project?

Hope you had a fabulous weekend:) We are thick into graduation week here…so the end is in sight:) And summer fun can begin!!