Building a Household Notebook – Part 1

As a new school year is gearing up around here I have been on an organizing, rearranging, and purging spree. Must make room for new books, new schedules, and new phases. So I have revamped my Household Binder and I decided to show you what all is in mine. Maybe it will encourage you to make one. Maybe it will inspire you to revamp yours or to pull it back out. Or maybe you will just be even more convinced that I am one crazy over-organized woman and in need of serious help.
Today I am just going to give you an overview of the different sections in my binder and what it looks like. Then over the next few days I will break down most of the sections in detail for you to help you understand excatly how I use my binder.

 

Outside of my Binder

In the very front I have a handwritten routine we are currently using. I have stopped typing up routines and posting them on the fridge. And frankly that is because our live changes so quickly that I am constantly moving things around and tweeking the routine to make it better fit our lives at that time.

Right behind that I have a “Tasks” section. Here I write my daily to do items, things I must get done in the near future, and my meal plan for the upcoming week. This is where I scribble notes, take messages and remind myself of upcoming appointments. This is the “brain” of my week.

Then comes my “Kids’ Tasks”. This is just a list of projects that I would like the children to accomplish. I keep notes here so that during chore time or in the case that I need a chore due to disobedience I can choose one that needs to be done instead of just busy work.

The “Church” tab is next. In it I keep notes for my classes that I teach, upcoming woman’s events, and any outreach ideas that are forming in my head.

Inside of my new binder.

I have now added a “Blogging” tab to my binder as well. As this blog has grown it has required more organization and thought. So, now, when I have a post idea, a review item to try for, or a contact I would like to make those things are written in here.

When your husband is a “part-time” minister you find that most of the “behind the scene stuff” is done by someone and in our lives that is me. Add to that any household project we are working on and many times I am making phone calls, have tasks Joe would like done, or even ideas of things I would like to do for him and so I made a “Joe’s Stuff” section this time. If I call and get a price on something, I write it in here and then I can always find it!

I used to be an avid scrapbooker but with the addition of each new baby I found less and less time to keep up with it. So I have started just compiling lists of “firsts” and sayings and all such memories so that if I choose to go back and scarpbook when they are all older I will have the memories to include.

You know that tutorial you want to try, or that article you want to read but then can’t find it again when you have time? That is what I use this for.

Now that I am making most of my own cleaning products and soaps I have many more recipes that don’t really fit into my kitchen recipe box but I need to have easy access to them. Plus I have some I want to try before I post about them and such. They all go here.

So, Those are the sections of my Household Notebook for right now. Yes, I do change them at times as our lives change. I used to use a seperate notebook for school and for my household binder, but now I have moved to this larger pink zippered case so that my new school log/planner fits right inside it and they are always together. Which is so symbolic of how our schooling approach has changed over the past few years.

What do you use to keep your home running smoothly?

Updated –
Read Part 2 HERE