Home Management Binder

Fall is just around the corner, and so is the busyness that school and multiple holidays bring. The only possible way I can keep my sanity, is to be somewhat organized.

Last year I only had 2 children in school, and neither one of them played sports until the Spring, so I was able to keep most of the information stored away in my head. But, as the year went on I noticed that the little notes I wrote to myself on various different papers were being misplaced and I was getting confused on what was when. I knew I needed to come up with something different, but I wasn't quite sure what.

That was when I found the concept of a Home Management Binder. I instantly knew that I had to have one, especially with all three children in school, the oldest two wanting to pick up soccer {which will keep a person insanely busy in and of itself}, numerous youth activities at church, and the decision of Willie and I to enroll in a Dynamic Marriage Class. My head would be spinning if I had to keep track of all of that on my own. If that wasn't enough to ground me in my decision to make my own HMB, Willie mentioned a few months back that he was absolutely clueless when it came to the inner runnings of the house. He would have no idea who needs to be where when, or who needs to be paid when. I've always just kind of taken care of all of that.

I searched, searched and researched for a few months last year and early this year on different things to put in my binder and thought of all the things I was going to do. I even put it in as part of my 2009 goals. Then, I promptly forgot about it all. It must have been on one of those "lists" I was constantly misplacing. :)

Fast forward to last week. Amy wrote a post about getting organized that re-lit the fire and motivation I once had. She included some links to resources that I hadn't came across yet, and that I loved! I've spent the last week or so finally gathering up all my ideas and getting my binder closer to being finished.

This week I will just highlight the inside and the first tabbed section that I have set up in my binder--since so far that section has had the most use. I will highlight the remaining sections in upcoming Finding Freedom Friday posts. But, more on that later!

When you open it up this is what you see:

A zipper pouch that has my favorite pens of all time, dry erase markers, my calculator and soon my address labels. Right behind that is my three hole punch so that I can add things in as soon as I get them, and some extra notebook paper for quick notes.

Then I have a calendar that I printed off from CalendarsThatWork.com and written in all of our going-on's for the month. Right behind this calendar is another one that the church sends out that has all of the member's birthdays, anniversaries, as well as our church commitments and youth activities. Having everything right here has made it easier for me to see everything that is going, which makes planning other activities (or days of nothing) and our menu plans a cinch.

After the calendars, I have dividers set up. I first started with the pre-made tab dividers, but I will be switching to the tabs that you can put on yourself. I like for the pages that I'm not filling out constantly to be in page protectors, and the page protectors cover up my tabs. Putting my own tabs on the page protectors will alleviate this problem.

Under the Current Week tab you will find the current menu plan for the week as well as the kids' chore charts that I made.

This weekly menu plan printable is courtesy of MomAdvice.com. Check out her other great downloads here.

Each child has their own chore chart that needs to be completed daily, in addition to their daily routine which is posted on the dry erase board, otherwise known as Grand Central Station. At the end of the week they will have certain rewards that they are able to choose from if their tasks are completed satisfactorily. Following their chore charts are my day to day to-do lists. Since it is the Current Week tab, it contains 5 copies of this same page; one for every day except Saturday and Sunday. The to-do list is a printable from SimpleMom.net. You can find all of her downloads here.

Here is a peak at Grand Central Station. I love this thing! It has the week's events written down and right there in my face. There is no way I can miss it! It also has the kids' day to day schedule and what they need to get done before bed, in addition to their chores. On the cork board side, I have their spelling lists, study guides and a milestone chart that Noah is working on in preschool.

Nothing gets forgotten or misplaced!

Also, because the family is constantly asking me the menu for the week, I upgraded from my former calendar system to this:

A cute dry erase board that I spyed at Wal-Mart for $1!

The other sections in my binder include:

◙Upcoming Week (basically the same as current week, except I am able to fill things in early if need be.)

◙Cleaning Lists

◙Menu Planning

◙School

◙Finances

◙Bible Study/Scriptures

◙Projects/Wish Lists

◙Four Season Binder (This is actually a binder all in it's own, but it works hand in hand with the HMB.)

I will feature one section every Friday during Finding Freedom Friday. I will still have Mr. Linky available for you to add in your posts on the subject. You can see the dates they are being featured in my BlogFrog Forum. You can access that by clicking on the BlogFrog widget in my sidebar. While you're there, introduce yourself! :)

I hope that you will join me in this journey of organizational freedom. Not only is it a good tool for you to manage your home more smoothly, but it is also a good tool in the event that someone else has to step in and do those tasks.

This post is linking to:

• Works For Me Wednesday, Organization Edition.
• Organizing Junkie's Monthly Round-Up: Command Central