Are you a piler or a filer?

You may have not got a glimpse yet, but Staples has gone fashionista. M by Staples is a new line of designer stationary and organizational materials - meant to train our brains into order.

The concept? Perhaps boring beige folders will not entice us to actually file our papers. But polka dotted ones? Or journals in hot pink patent leather? Maybe so. The message is, if we like the products we use to keep our lives in order, we may actually use them.

I did not come up with this concept myself - I was invited last night to an organizational seminar led by Donna Smallin (an organizational expert and author of more than a half dozen books on organizing your life). The tips she gave made so much sense, I just may follow them. (And it has nothing to do with my being woo’d with aforementioned pink patent leather desk accessories).

Donna explains you can free up space by archiving old projects in tax files in cardboard, stackable boxes

Are you a “piler” or a “filer”? Donna explains that for pilers, you can still organize your space, in particularly with stylish, heavy-duty folders, such as those in the M by Staples collection.

Springtime is the perfect time for organizing! Donna explains, “It’s important to choose organizing tools you love because the more you like it, the more likely you will use it.” Donna recommends carrying the right business essentials, and never underestimate the value of matching accessories — they can actually serve to reduce visual distraction while being pleasing to the eye.

She went on to quote Maya Angelou saying, “People will forget what you said. They will forget what you did. But they will never forget how you made them feel.” Donna suggests always to keep note cards handy, whether it’s elegant stationery with embossed monogram or a patterned note card like these from the M by Staples Stationery collection. I make a note to get me said stationary. Preferably in pink.