Have you ever wondered what’s the best way to organize a bulletin board?

It’s not uncommon to find boards filled with clippings, notes, and other indistinguishable items.

A bulletin board was originally meant to…you guessed it, post bulletins.

Today, we use these boards to post notes to ourselves at home or the office, or to decorate a space. 

In this post, you’ll find some tips to help you organize a bulletin board that’s easy on the eyes.

The best part about this?

It doesn’t matter if the board is made out of cork, magnet, or any other material!

Just how do you organize a bulletin board so that it makes sense for you?

Here’s a few tips to keep in mind.

Give items breathing room.

Have you ever heard of the design term of white or negative space?

The term refers to the space surrounding an image or item.

Without the balance of negative space, things can look cluttered and cramped.

This can happen if you’re using a cork or magnetic board.

Whenever you’re posting something to a bulletin board, give items a bit of space on all sides.

This includes top, right, left, and bottom.

This will make it easier for your eyes to identify and process information.

Stick with a single layer.

Keep things simple by sticking with a single layer of materials on your board.

You want to be able to absorb information in one quick, brief glance, and a single layer lets you do this with ease.

You won’t have to worry about lifting pieces of papers up, repining or moving items around just to access an area of the board.

What if things are getting a bit cramped and you’re running out of space on the board?

It’s probably a good idea to do some decluttering and remove any unnecessary or expired items. 

Organize or arrange materials in sections.

Make it easy for you to find what you need by organizing a board into smaller sections or even quadrants.

You can style the sections in any way you please, horizontally, vertically, diagonally or any combination of your own design.

For example, you could divide your board into four equal square sections.

You could use one section to post errand-related materials, such as shopping lists and delivery slips.

You could use another for inspirational materials, such as cards and notes.

Yet another section could include informational materials, like your favorite take-out restaurant menus.

You can save the last for business or personal materials, such as notices and subscriptions to review.

Put timely items on the board.

An invitation to your cousin’s wedding, tickets to next weekend’s concert, and a laundry stub are good bulletin board candidates.

For the most part, you’ll want to keep your board updated with the latest, most important, and relevant information.

Everything else is just old news!

Of course, there’s nothing wrong with having items that are expired, overdue, or stale on your board.

Just make sure you are looking at items you want to look at, be it a pretty vacation postcard or a hand-written note from your best friend.

How about you? How are you going to update or make use of that bulletin board at work or home? Join the conversation and leave a comment below!