Household notebooks
 

I want to have one, now that our family is 6-people big and there are so many things to keep track of! I was reading this today http://notebook.organizedhome.com/di...ehold-notebook. Sounds great~

do any of you do this?

Re: Household notebooks
 

I did something similar for a couple of years. I based my planner on the Control Journal concept by Fly Lady. I loved it. The best suggestion that I used was to make daily schedules that fit into clear plastic page protectors. Using a dry erase pen you can cross the items off your list and then wipe it clean when the day is done. I think I'll go read your link more thoroughly to glean new ideas to help me tweak my system.

Re: Household notebooks
 

I have something similar that I affectionately refer to as "my brain". This is what mine "looks" like:

Before any tabs are my daily or weekly planning pages. Whichever I happen to be using ATM. I have to switch these up routinely when I start getting bored with them. :O

First tab is "Calendar". These aren't "here and now" calendars. These are for dates beyond my current planner pages. I have a page each with yearly calendars for 2010, 2011 and 2012. I have monthly calendars for each month of 2010 and 2011. I throw away the monthly page after I transfer the events to my planner page AND recurring events to the next year's monthly calendar page.

Then, I have a tab for "Faith". Bible reading schedules, articles I want to read, quotes that I want to look back at, etc.

Finance. Checking journal. Bank statements (I scan Jan-June and July-Dec statements when I've accumulated a set, store them on a memory card and shred the statements then, so I never have more than 5 months of statements in the binder at once.) I also have receipts in this section for warranted items that I may need in the future. I glance at them when I scan statements to see what can be discarded.

Home: Holiday planning pages. Cleaning pages will go here when/if I drop out of the HBChallenges.

H/S. H/S planning stuff and ideas get parked here periodically.

Meals. Meal planning forms. Grocery shopping list forms. Recipes that I want to try out before transferring to a card to put into my recipe binder.

Medical: Medical records. Lab results. Insurance information. Medication dosing charts (tylenol, motrin, etc.)

Reference: Address and phone numbers. Birthday list. Account/reward numbers.

Re: Household notebooks
 

I have a home management binder. I :heart it.

I have it filled with inspirational pictures. Each section is tabbed, with a pic that makes sense with the section.

I have my daily schedule, cleaning schedules, meal plans, shopping lists, a list of what is needed to make each meal, my usual recipies so I don't have to flips through different books all the time, contacts, inspirational articles.

I also have all the schdules and charts on my comp so I can edit and reprint if needed. Or for my shopping list, I have it down with everything I need right down to smallest ingredient. So then on shopping day, I just delete all the things I have on hand.

Re: Household notebooks
 

I have one that I really love and I've posted several posts on my blog about it. I haven't finished that "series" yet, but you're welcome to check it out: http://oneweirdmama.wordpress.com/ta...ment-notebook/ Scroll to the bottom to start at the first post.

Re: Household notebooks
 

coming back to this...

Re: Household notebooks
 

I need to do this too, I think. :yes Donnayoung.org has a lot of printables and ideas for making pages for a binder too. :) Thanks for all the other links to look at!

Re: Household notebooks
 

http://www.aholyexperience.com/2008/...g-journal.html

Here is the idea that has really spoken to me. I can be rather flighty and I also have perfectionist tendencies, so this has worked out really well for me so far. :)

Re: Household notebooks
 

wow..there is so much to read, and so many choices from these great links!

Re: Household notebooks
 

subbing

Re: Household notebooks
 

I have just done the Organised Christmas 6 weeks to an organised Christmas. (Related site to the Organised Home one you mentioned TrinMama.) I loved it.

I am making up a Household Notebook in the new year. I have started some bits and pieces, but I am really going to work on it after Christmas (I am slowly digging myself out of the hole in which *ahem* 30-odd years of disorganisation has buried me!)

I will slowly check out these other sites, too, and pick up the tips that work to build it for me. Thanks for all the links!

Nat

Re: Household notebooks
 

I have a binder that I have used... I have been slacking so much this semester when I probably could have used it the most :doh I have dividers for months and put a calander in each month. A pocket pack for a calculator, pens, and scissors. I had sections for vaccination/health (where I had a signed waiver for each of my children JIC we needed it), tips from HSLDA about your rights and if a social worker shows up at the door, etc. with the HSLDA number JIC we need to call... stuff like that. It does help some..but I also tend towards flighty and perfectionist..so go figure:scratch subbing to come back to this... I would like to do a good 'spring cleaning' with things once this semester is over.

Re: Household notebooks
 

I want to come back to this, because what I've using works, but doesn't sound nearly as much fun.

Re: Household notebooks
 

I'm finally getting around to putting mine together. I think I'll be making up some of my own pages, since for some things, I'm not finding pages online that I like. I think it will take me all day in between the other things I have to do.

Re: Household notebooks
 

I have one that needs revamping :cup

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hope you'll share pics or at least a little description of what you end up doing!

Re: Household notebooks
 

I will share when I get it at least semi-done today. :yes

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I *really* need to work on mine too. :shifty

Re: Household notebooks
 

oh man. this is taking me forever to create and customize some forms. I made three of my own forms, and now I'm working on combining the best of two grocery lists, and customizing it. Super pain, but I think it will be perfect for me when I'm done. I'm going to make a huge master grocery list, and then one that is shorter for the things I buy pretty much every week. The huge one I'll keep for stocking up and filling my pantry when things are getting low.

Re: Household notebooks
 

Me too :yes It mostly "works" but it's full and I'm sure it could be pared down to more useful information. I'm all about paper-decluttering today (shredding 2009 paperwork is on my to-do list for today) so if I can cut down on the bulk it'll be easier to see what other things need attention. I have a few forms that I don't use anymore & a couple can be combined into a single list, just to make life simpler :yes

Re: Household notebooks
 

How many sections do you have? That might be a struggle for me to narrow down...my brain gets so scattered all over the place. I'll need to find a way to remember that I can include certain things in certain places and they don't *really* need their own divider for one piece of paper. :giggle

Re: Household notebooks
 

I actually started to write out the whole run-down of my binder when I first saw this thread but I figured it would be too boring :giggle But I'll write it out now...

But first, an idea for the single-sheet issue: Things that I use as references are put in a page protector & are all together in the front, and lists that are slow to fill up (like our plans for bigger purchases, or gift ideas for our family) are printed on colored cardstock so they're easy to find w/o needing an entire section :yes

* * * * * * (Yeah, see, I knew this would be long! :lol)

3" D-RING BINDER CONTENTS:
I leave this open on my counter at all times so it's got a "left side" and a "right side"

LEFT SIDE
Front pocket: things that are frequently changed, in my case, Joanns sale flyers & weekly church bulletin (folded in half so they're side by side)
Page protector: 2pg list of "Virtuous Woman" quotes/paraphrases for me to read when I need some encouragement
Page protector: Phone list
Current log-sheet for homeschool
A single-subject notebook sits on top on this side & it has my running to-do list. This is also a great place for me to jot down notes or random thoughts.

RIGHT SIDE
My own personal version of Motivated Moms pages. I liked the format but wanted to customize it, so I did :shifty These are 3-hole punched & I have a new page for each day. It's got daily chores, a homeschool checklist & a daily calendar section. (If anyone wants to see this, I'd be happy to email it - just PM me :) )
Cardstock sheet "Things to Buy" - this just has a heading on it & I hand-write the list (These are big-price items for planning major spending)
TABBED SECTION 1: "Health & Wellness"
* NFP charts
* Medical records: Each person has a sheet of cardstock where I document their visits to drs/dentists and any notes I need to remember about it. When it gets full I type it & print it & make a new blank one. Also, vax sheets for each of the kids & a list of what we do/don't do.
TABBED SECTION 2: "Finances"
* Current budget
* Page protector holds church offering envelopes & bills that haven't been paid yet
* Old budgets & debt list
TABBED SECTION 3: "Education"
* Homeschool records (my copies of things I've sent to the school)
* Activity ideas, printed from online or torn from magazines
TABBED SECTION 4: "Feeding our Family"
* Loose: recipes to try, printed or torn from magazines
* Cardstock list of snacks
* Cardstock list of favorite meals, broken down by main ingredient (meat type vs. vegetarian vs. sides)
TABBED SECTION 5: "Gifts & Holidays"
* Loose: greeting cards I've bought for upcoming events
* Cardstock list of family birthdays/anniversaries, by month
* 3-hole punched: crafts to make as gifts, printed or torn from magazines
Back pocket: Cardstock "Wish List" for writing down gift ideas for me, DH & the kids

Re: Household notebooks
 

I didn't see this linked yet...

FLYLady has a great page about building a home notebook (control journal in her language). Not all of it will be helpful, of course, but there is a lot of good info in it.

http://flylady.net/pages/cjmain.asp

Re: Household notebooks
 

Katie-- I just have a 1.5" binder...now I'm worried it'll be too small! :nails

Happygrl--I was actually just browsing through there today! Thanks!


edit: I am so tired. I have 4 pages that I'm happy with. Now I have to start on some thank-you's that are over-due to people at dh's office. :doh But, if anyone wants to see the pages I did, pm me and I'll email them to you. I'm happy to share. :yes

Re: Household notebooks
 

My original notebook was only 1.5 or 2" but when I added the daily sheets, I needed more b/c a month of those is about 1/2" all on its own!

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ooooooh, so you keep a whole month of daily sheets in there at a time. :think I was thinking of a week's worth. Actually, I didn't even think of it at all before this minute. I'm sure a week will be just fine for me for now, with a monthly calendar, too. That's the beauty of making our own planners. :yes

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Yes, my spreadsheet is broken down into four weeks (I don't clean everything every week ;) ) so I just print them all at once. Less hassle too, as I only have to remember to print it once a month :tu

I also have a planner (it's a cheap student planner from WalMart actually :giggle) that I write all our appts/events in. I'm in charge of everything around here, so I don't need a big calendar for everyone to see, at least at this point. It shows a week at a time, but that lives on my desk.

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I haven't even started the cleaning calendar/schedule part...I might just print the same thing I have from Haley each week with the home blessing challenges. :shrug3

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I really want to do a Home Notebook but I am way to scatter brained to sort through all the ideas. I am also a very visual person and I am wondering if anyone would be willing to take a picture of their book? Maybe some of the pages and how you organized it? Also what sections would you say are most important to start with? I am thinking of building one a few sections at a time. I am very unorganized when it comes to papers, bills, school work, ect. It is just all over the place. I really want to work on this problem this year. I am hoping this thread will motivate me!

Re: Household notebooks
 

mom2chrisnluke - i had bookmarked the first blog entry for reference in making my home notebook... the others i just found doing a search - tons out there and also lots of sites with printables.

http://growinginpeace.wordpress.com/...eeping-binder/

http://homekeepingheart.xanga.com/49...ping-notebook/

http://suchtreasures.com/2006/06/29/...hold-notebook/

Re: Household notebooks
 

I think a good first-step is deciding what you really need to access on a frequent basis. Bills that have been paid can go to the depths of my filing cabinet, for example, but I need a "favorite meals" list so it's easier for me to meal-plan each week.

Just start in one area & build up from there :tu

Re: Household notebooks
 

I am super scatter-brained, too. It's been all I can do today to just focus on the 4-6 pages I worked on today for my planner. I feel looney now and will probably actually turn OFF the computer soon, for the night. That is something I never do.

Anyway, I'll take a picture tomorrow. But I am starting with these most important things that I always wish I had more organized:
**contact #s, both emergency and frequently used, which will just be in the front for easy reference;
**important dates for our family (birthdays and anniversaries)--this is something that will be filed with my 'family' section;
**a master grocery list for everything we need regularly to keep our fridge, freezer, and pantry stocked--will be referenced often as I check what I need to buy soon--and a weekly grocery list that has the staples I buy every.single.week with room for extra additions (this will be kept with my food section for menu planning and recipes to try);
**a section for keeping our $$ matters organized (like credit card info incase they are stolen)
**a section for our medical info
**a section that will change based on current needs, and right now, that will be moving information


now I have more to look through! :giggle

Yup, I'm with you on the favorite meals bit, and the easiest meals, too. I have recipes scattered in so many places, I really need them in only one or two. Right now they are in a binder, on loose papers, in my bookmarks folder on the computer, in my email folder for recipes, and in a binder. Oh yeah, and the magazines I have stashed away. It's a wonder I can plan for a month, much less a week, in less than 4 hours!

Re: Household notebooks
 

Making and sticking to a home notebook is one of my main goals in 2010. :thumbsup

:cup

Re: Household notebooks
 

Here is a site with pretty good printables for free! This makes it really easy for anyone who doesn't want to do their own. :yes

http://delightinreallife.com/pages/printables.htm

---------- Post added at 09:26 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:53 PM ----------

BTW, when I've done more on this tomorrow, I will take a picture. It took up way more time than I expected today. :yawn

Re: Household notebooks
 

Subbing

Re: Household notebooks
 

Have you seen this form? I've been using it for a few weeks.

Re: Household notebooks
 

I wish my stuff was on this comp, but it's on my desk top with no internet, or I'd show you guys. I make all my own sheets in excel. I used stuff from www.keepingthehome.com when I first began. Now I kinds just do my own thing. Once you do it once, it's just tweaking really.

Re: Household notebooks
 

:popcorn

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Is everyone aware of this thread, too? http://www.gentlechristianmothers.co...85#post2795685

N :)

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So now I'm having a hard time filling it. I had planned to put medical info and vehicle info in it, for example. But right now these are kept in our filing cabinet. I am wondering now which is best...keep them in the filing cabinet, or move them? :think