I am literally drowning in marking...and questions. Between 6 English/Writing courses and Progress Report deadlines, I have enough stacks of assessment pieces to build the next leaning tower. I have nightmares that all those stacks are going to come crashing down, like some vindictive paper tsunami, and annihilate all semblance of organization I have established in my mind. I'll never be able to distinguish which assignments belong in which pile and i'll have nothing to put on my students reports. How do teachers cope? I desperately need a system. Thoughts?

Here are just a few questions waging war on my over-stimulated brain.  Hopefully, if I can verbalize them, it'll turn on a lightbulb:

1. What is an effective system for keeping my course materials together, that does not involve a three-hole-punch?
2. How do I keep track of assessment pieces, log the results, and return them, without constantly lugging sheafs of paper around everywhere I go, thus running the very likely risk of misplacing one or two? Do all my marking at school. 
3. How do I keep track of work in progress, that I collect, at various stages? Wall-mounted folder holder thingys (Dean, i'm picturing yours with envy). Should I be collecting it or should I expect students to be able to keep track of it? What is my contingency plan if a student fails to bring their work to class and therefore cannot participate in the activity?
4. How do I effectively, and easily, keep track of participation marks?
5. What is an appropriate way to give credit for informal, daily freewriting? How do I get students to reflect on their writing in a meaningful (and interesting) way?