Planning Tip:Staying Organized

Event planning is a big part of my 9-5 job. I've planned everything from large dinner parties to formal receptions to press conferences and a ton of meetings.

If there is one thing I've learned from all this event planning, its that staying organized is key. My solution?
A simple 3 ring binder with plenty of clear page protectors and lots of dividers. Total cost under $20. Keeping myself sane and on top of my planning game? Priceless.
The key to staying organized with a simple 3 ring binder is making good use of tabs and sheet protectors.
Depending on how big the event I am planning is, I might have binders with 5 tabs and 50 pages, or I might have 3 binders with 40 tabs and hundreds of pages.
When I started planning our wedding, I knew that my binder was going to be centered around 2 key parts of the wedding: The Ceremony and Reception. So I made those the main tabs, and then started breaking these sections down further and adding more tabs. This keeps things tidy and easy to find. As my planning continues, I continue to add tabs and merge tabs together as needed.
Of course, no planning binder would be complete with other the following 2 essential tabs: Guest List and BUDGET.

In my binder I print out articles, pictures...I keep reciepts and lists of everything I purchase.
I've learned over the years to never throw anything related to planning away until after the event is over and all vendors are paid.
Once the event is over, I take my binder and remove anything that I no longer need.
What strategy are you using to stay organized?