I know a lot of people sell items online on their own website, eBay, Craigslist, Amazon and more.  I sell on all of these venues and have thousands of items to keep track of.  It took me a while (7 years) to finally come up with a system to keep track of everything.

In all of the years I have been selling, I have only misplaced one item.  It was a postcard of a carnation flower from 1903.  We had just finished moving all the inventory from one side of the warehouse to the other side and during the move I lost it.  It was MIA for almost 3 months.  Then one day, I opened up a box of books and found the postcard.  The guy who purchased it was very understanding when I told him that I couldn’t find it.  I kept his contact info and when I found it three months later, I shipped it to him at no charge.

Now, I have devised a way to keep track of all of the inventory no matter how small the items.  First, get a binder with pages that you can add and remove.   Here is the one I use.

I named mine Bin-Ventory and you will see why in a minute.

For small items one of the best storage bins I have found is Rubbermaid 18 Gallon tubs with lids.  These storage tubs are easy to move with handles on both sides, have lids to keep your inventory clean and are a small enough size that they can be moved around as needed without too much trouble.  I label all of my tubs or bins with a number with a piece of paper and tape.

Regular labels don’t seem to stick very well so a little packing tape makes it stick.

As I list items for sale I find a bin with some room in it and then write the item down in my “Bin-ventory” book on a page dedicated to that particular bin.

I currently have about 50 bins with inventory in them.  I never waste time opening bins and looking for items since all I have to do is look it up in my book.  I do have a few bins that have specific items in them like Bin 3 is jewelry and souvenir spoons while Bins 23 and 24 are postcards.

This system also works for items you are storing.  We have all of our holiday items in red bins out in our storage trailer.  I know that after Thanksgiving all of the red bins come in so I can decorate the house.  We also have bins for certain car parts, snowmobile parts, etc.  Having stuff stored in bins of the same size and type makes for a very neat system.  Also, having containers that are made of plastic and have lids makes them more waterproof than just a cardboard box.

Storage bins or tubs usually seem to be on sale in January around here so check your local Target, Walmart or home improvement store to save some money.

Your Daily 15 Minutes – This process isn’t going to take just 15 minutes to set up but a few simple 15 minute steps and you’ll be ruling your Neatology world.

Measure your storage shelves if you have them to see what kind of storage bin will fit.  If you must store your bins on the floor, only go about 4 high so you don’t have an avalanche and so you don’t hurt your back lifting the the box off the top of the pile.

The next time you are a local store check out the inventory of storage bins and take your shelf measurements and a measuring tape.  Stay away from the hard clear plastic containers since they may make it easier to see what is inside but they aren’t as durable as the solid colored containers. If you hit them on the shelf or drop them to the floor they may break.

Make labels on your computer or by hand and label all of the containers with numbers, letters or whatever makes the most sense to you.  You want your storage system to be easy so label everything your way.

Get a binder and put blank pages in it.  Start labeling the blank pages with the bin numbers.  After everything is labeled you can start to get your items put into bins and record them in your book.  The next time you go looking for an item just look in the book first.  You’ll be amazed at how much faster it is to find the pair of earrings you just sold when you know which box you put them in.

I welcome your comments and would love to hear how you stay neat and organized.

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