Ideas for Color Coding

Color Coding an Office

• Use different color file folders to represent different types of items filed. For example, red folders might be for bills or expenses, green folders for income and blue folders for inventory or ordering merchandise. If necessary information is kept in portable binders, color coding the binders to represent different aspects of the business can also prove helpful. When scheduling appointments and meetings, use different color pens to write in the appointments. Don't forget to include a "key" or "legend" for the calendar, so everyone knows that when they see purple, for example, it means a mandatory meeting, but light blue ink is for new client appointments with the manager.

Color Coding School Stuff

• As students progress through their education, separate notebooks and binders for each class become more important. Selecting a given color for each class can help keep the student from forgetting homework or notebooks at home, such as using a green binder, notebook and folder for science classes and a red binder, notebook and folder for math. It may be helpful to color code the binder, notebooks and other items for each class to match the colors on the textbook covers. Color pens can be used to write school assignment due dates, important events, test dates and other information for each class in a calendar or schedule book. Match the color of the pens to the color for each class to avoid confusion.

Color Coding for Safety

• In the home or office, color coding can help in safety precautions as well. Purchasing different color cutting boards for meat, fish, poultry and produce can reduce the risk of cross-contamination or the spread of bacteria when cooking or preparing food in the kitchen. To protect loved ones from accidental exposure to allergens, use color coded labels for each person on items they cannot safely consume. In an office or business, safety precautions can include color coding to help staff quickly differentiate between safe and unsafe items if containers are similar, such as work involving potentially dangerous substances. Color coded identification badges can help security identify those who are permitted and prohibited from given areas.

Home Organization

• When organizing a home, containers and bins that are opaque make it difficult to remember what went where. This is a problem when you go looking for a desired item later. Use color bins or run a strip of color tape around a bin to help distinguish each bin. For example, bins containing old photos may have a bright blue strip of tape around it, while the bin with the yellow tape contains summer clothes. Recipe cards come in different colors as well. As an alternative, apply an adhesive color tab to each card or color the corners with a marker to color code them. Use one color for breakfast, one for lunch, dinner, desserts and so forth, or categorize the recipes by ingredients, such as green for vegetarian, brown for meat, yellow for poultry or pink for sweets.