When it comes to organizing the monthly bills, my old system just wasn't working.  The old system was to toss the bills into a pile and assume that somehow, magically, they would all be paid at the proper time.  Even attempting to organize the pile in "date due" order didn't really help.  Mistakes were made.  Even nowadays, when most of my bill-paying is automated, I still have a few monthly bills, and the occasional "extra" bill that requires timely action on my part.

So it was time to get organized, and the Office Depot 31-Day Organizer really helped.  What is it?  Well, it's basically a wooden box with 32 slots numbered from 1 to 31, plus one extra slot.  Now, when bills come, they immediately get filed into one of the 32 slots.  You might choose to file them by their due date.  So, if a bill is due on the 24th, you'd put it in the 24th slot.  But I choose to back everything up by 5 days.  So a bill due on the 24th would actually be placed in the 19th slot.  This way, when the 19th of the month rolls around, I'll see something in that slot, and know that I need to take action.

Underneath the slotted section are a couple of extra drawers.  Handy for pens, stamps, etc.  You could even keep your checkbook in there. 

But the real purpose of this organizer are the slots.  So let's talk about them.  31 pieces of thin, flexible plastic slide into notches, to form the 32 slots.  The slots are approximately 5/16" wide.  This easily accommodates several bills, even with their return envelopes.  As the plastic dividers are somewhat flexible, if you need extra room in one slot, you can fairly easily overstuff the slot.  I've never had a situation where the slot wasn't wide enough to accommodate my needs. 

But if you have such a situation, there is a solution.  The plastic dividers are removable.  So you could, for instance, remove the one separating the 15th from the 16th, creating a "double-wide" 15/16 slot.  Or, maybe your bills tend to all require action at the end of the month.  You could remove the last two dividers and have a "triple-wide" slot.

The box has a depth of about 5 ½" inches.  Which means that most of your items must be placed up and down into the slots.  Standard, folded letters and most envelopes will fit in these slots.  Occasionally I've had to fold something in half to make it fit.  The box is approximately 7" tall, which is tall enough that the letters and envelopes stand up nicely, without bending over.

I mentioned that there's one extra slot.  This one is labeled with a dot, and comes on the right side of the box, after the 31st slot.  This is a great place to put bills that don't have a specific due date, or that you want to handle in some unique way.  I use this slot for bills that I wish to pay "near the end of the month" or "sometime after the New Year", something that I don't have an exact date in mind. 

The drawers are an extra bonus, and come lined with soft, velvety material, similar to a jewelry box.  There are separate sections so you can neatly sort your items. 

The box, itself, is pretty.  With a cherry finish, it would look nice in any office.  There are felt feet to keep it from scratching the surface of your desk.

Are there any negatives to this system?  Just one.  And it's minor.  The strip of wood with the numbers painted on it is removable.  In fact, you have to remove it, in order to access the plastic dividers, should you want to remove any of them.  But the strip doesn't go back into place very nicely.  In fact, it's constantly popping out of its holder.  Frequently, I reach for a bill, and in pulling the paper towards me, I dislodge the wooden strip.  Not a huge deal, just a slight annoyance. 

Other than that, this organizer has been perfect for me.  I keep this box well within site so I have no excuses why I didn't notice papers sitting in their designated slots, waiting for action.  No more late payments!  It's pretty, durable, and very useful.  Highly recommended if your current bill-paying method isn't working for you!

Recommended: Yes