Today, we have our dear friend Brandi back, with an really awesome tutorial on how to create a binder to manage a busy family. This would be an amazing help for not only larger families, but even smaller families that need to streamline their day-to-day more efficiently. This would also be a good project for a WAHM or WAHD looking to keep more on top of the balance between work and family!
I gave up on New Year’s resolutions a
long time ago because I just don’t enjoy setting myself up for
failure. Instead of making resolutions for the New Year, I like to
set goals for myself. I’m not sure why, but my success rate is
higher if I think of it in less formal terms. Anyway…I’ve decided
that 2012 is my year to get more organized!
I knew I needed a method to my madness
and the sooner the better! So…off I went to Pinterest (of course!)
and that’s where I stumbled across the idea for a “Home
Management Binder” that involved cute printable lists and a binder.
Since I am a total sucker for lists, I was sold!!!
I got most of my inspiration from
this
blog post. Her binder is SO pretty and much more extensive than mine,
but I’m trying to start simple!
You will need:
- A binder
-
Sheet protectors
- Tab divider inserts
- LISTS!!!!!
- Writing utensils
(***You could use a laminator and a
three hole punch as well as a label maker if you like…I’m just
making use of what I had on hand, SO…)
First things first, you will need to
decide what categories will work best for you. I went with Calendar,
Cleaning/Schedules, Meal Planning, Finances and Miscellaneous. I am
positive that these will change after I’ve used my binder a bit
more; these headings just made the most sense to me at the time. Once
you have your sections outlined the REAL fun can begin! I literally
spent hours looking at all the different printables available online.
There are a TON of them so it’s easy to find something that fits
you. I chose to use printables from multiple sites instead of having
a uniform look because some printables worked better for my needs
than others. I’d really love to make my own someday because even
the ones I chose don’t completely work for me, but that’s a whole
other project I could get lost in!
The first thing in my binder is a blank
monthly calendar because I like to have an overview of what’s going
on. I found a complete set for 2012
here
and printed out the entire year just to save me the hassle of doing
it later. I like to pencil in the important dates as it makes for
easy changes later. I also added a blank weekly calendar and a weekly
routine list to this section for my regular weekly planning because
as I said, I like to know what’s going on in one quick glance. I
found my weekly routine and ‘Peek at the Week’ printables on the
iheartorganizing
blog. She has a TON of awesome free printables as well as an Etsy
shop for custom lists!
Next up is my Cleaning/Schedules tab.
In retrospect, schedules should have been its own section, but I’ll
make it work for now. This section is by far my most used and
favorite section as it is home to my daily and weekly schedules for
overall time management and housecleaning. I got a super cute daily
and weekly checklist from
this
blog, as well as a general inventory log and a bill payment checklist
for use later on in the binder. Instead of printing out a new daily
sheet every single day, I decided to use a dry erase marker right on
the sheet protector! So far it’s working well for me; I can just
erase everything and start my checklist over the next day!
This section is also home to my 2012
Declutter
calendar.
My goal is to get organized in EVERY aspect of my life this year and
I really love this approach because you only tackle ONE organizing
task per day! I tend to get overwhelmed easily and when that happens
I usually freeze up and nothing gets done. So, this makes what seems
like an impossible task much more simple and attainable for me!
OK! Next section is Meal Planning. We
struggle big-time with this and I’m determined to do better! I HATE
not having things on hand to throw together a meal and being forced
to the store daily or every other day to get groceries. In this
section, you can find my
weekly
meal planner and
recipe
references list as well as an
inventory
log for keeping track of pantry items. The meal
planner is especially neat because it downloads with a cover and back
page so you could also choose to have it printed and bound into a
book! SO cute!
In the Finances section you will find a
monthly budget worksheet and a financial checklist for keeping track
of bills paid. Pretty self explanatory stuff and there’s definitely
nothing fun about this section so we’ll just move right along!
I went with a generic Miscellaneous for
my final section because there are always things you want to keep
track of that don’t fit neatly into any other category. Right now
this section consists of a
home
projects list, a
car
maintenance log and a Cub Scouts calendar.
I made up my own binder cover in
Microsoft Word, put all my pages and dividers inside and I was DONE!
Well, maybe not entirely. I’m already thinking I’ll add a folder
for each of the boys for things like school excuses, vaccine records,
etc. AND I definitely need a pencil pouch to keep my markers and such
in one place, but regardless, I am happy to be the proud owner of a
spiffy Home Management Binder! And yes…I AM a geek for being so
excited about it! I’m still breaking it in but I already LOVE it!
Come on….you KNOW you want to make
one too!
Here’s to a more organized 2012!!!
Brandi lives in West Virginia with her two boys, and her awesome hubby.
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Brooke Heavey
