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Thursday, November 5, 2009

Getting Organized: Home Management Binder!

Are you sick of being a frazzled Mom? I am! My Solution: A Home Management Binder!


When you first start Extreme Couponing & Frugal living, things might seem overwhelming in the beginning! Although I'm not a Beginner, things still get overwhelming for me! I am a binder lover, so I decided to make a Home Management Binder, and it has helped tremendously to keep me organized. Being Organized is probably one of first steps to help you to save money & save time! Even if your not into Couponing & Frugal living this is still a great idea!

What is a Home Management Binder?

A Home-management binder is a standard 3 ring binder that is used as a One-stop resource for busy Moms (like me) or Families! It is stocked with calendars, schedules, To-do lists, planner forms, checklists, phone numbers, addresses, important info all in a convenient easy to access place! I have an online organizer (Cozi) but I also like having an actual planner! With having a Home management binder, I can grab it on a whim, even when my computer is not available. I also can add important school or church papers, schedules, and such just by using a 3 hole punch and adding the important info and I also like having a back-up! For instance-if my computer crashes, I'll still have all my schedules, and calendar's within hands reach, it really is the smart thing to do!

What you'll need:

*A standard 3-ring binder. Any kind will work! The size of your binder will depend on how much info you want to keep in it!

*Divider tabs - These will come in handy so that you can quickly find what your looking for!

*Printables to help keep you organized! I will highlight all of my favorite links below!

How to make a Home Management Binder:

1. First you'll need to decide which sections you want to include. You'll want to personalize this to your needs! Some suggestions might include:

Planning Divider:
Calendars, To-do lists, and daily schedules.

Phone divider:
Important phone numbers, addresses, and important personal email address.

Family & School divider:
Medical records, church info, clothes size tracker, master occasion list for birthdays, anniversary's & special occasions, gift idea lists, gift log or gift closet inventory, birthday party ideas & planners, lists of DVDs & movies to rent, list of books to read, library info, sewing & craft idea's. You could also add school lunch menu's, school info.

Home management divider:
Cleaning checklists & schedules, seasonal chore lists, children's chore lists, home inventory, home decorating idea's, car information-servicing & maintenance, yard sale checklists.

Menu planning divider:
Meal planning menu's, track inventory in your pantry and freezer, you can also add grocery shopping lists, and price book info to help to save you more money at the grocery store!

Money and Finances section:
Budget, spending & shopping savings tracker (to keep track of how much money you are saving by using coupons-you'll be more motivated to save more when you see the numbers on paper), credit card lists, and insurance info.

Health & Fitness section:
Personal information, medical information sheet for each member of your family, diet & fitness trackers, emergency directory, first aid kit checklists, prescription drug record, health insurance info, and pet health info.

Travel & Activities section:
Vacation & travel idea's & planners, house sitter or babysitter info & checklists, church lists, and PTA lists.

I also have a section dedicated to web information that includes several important website address, log-ins & passwords.

I also have a BLOG section, where I include all of my blogging info & idea's! This might come in handy if you have a blog.

*You might also want to add some blank lined pages, in case if you need to make any notes.

The main thing to remember is to personalize your binder to your needs! The idea's above are just to give you an idea of what you could include!

2. Next, you'll need to get your printer going! Here are some of my favorite printable sites to use, All of these sites have FREE printables, make sure to check them all out to find your favorites, before you start printing!

Tons of printables at Organized Home! Printable Calendar pages, Daily routines checklist, weekly chore checklists, seasonal chore checklist, Running to-do lists, first aid kit checklists, address list page, phone numbers list page, and a lot more Here too!

TipJunkie also has a very good selection of great printables! She calls it an "Executive Homemaker Binder."


Mom Advice: Free printable weekly planner, Price book, lunch box notes, Monthly budget sheet, Diaper bag checklists, and weekly menu planner Here!

Simple Mom: Free printable daily docket, Master weekly checklists, Preschoolers chore chart, Printable Grocery lists, and more Here!


PrintableChecklists.com - They have tons of printables! One of my favorites that I added to my Home Management Binder is the Internet Tracker Checklist, so that you can write down all the websites and passwords.

Other helpful resources to check out:

*Fly Lady - The Control Journal


*Make a Household Notebook, Idea's & Printables!

*Home Management Notebook's Are a Great Idea!

3. After you print all the papers that you want, then you'll just need to put your binder together & put it to use! Happy Organizing!



Update: 





After trying several different binders, I have found that I absolutely love the Samsill Antimicrobial Presentation View Binder! It has a special additive that helps to prevent the growth of bacteria and they are my favorite binders!



You will also definitely want to have some Samsill Non-Glare Sheet Protectors . You can slip your printable planners into a sheet protector, then use a dry erase marker to write directly on it, then easily wipe off and reuse.

Leave a comment & let me know what you think!


Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links.

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4 comments:

  1. Great Article!

    I love my Household Planner. I keep all of my important info in there and I do keep a separate binder for my financial information.

    I tried using some online planning programs, but I keep going back to good pencil and paper. I made my own weekly/daily planner sheets that are very customized for me. So I can list all of my goals and to-do's for the week into categories such as: household, work/project related, financial, personal, calls/emails and other.

    It has really help me to make better use of my time and be more organized!

    I have some free printables on my site too!
    http://www.thehouseholdplanner.com/free-printables/

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love the idea of having everything you need to do in one place! Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanks for the suggestion about a home management binder. This is really helpful and filled with good tips!

    ReplyDelete

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