organization: creating a home management binder

Hi friends!

This is day 4 of no school and pretty much being home bound .. we did get out yesterday for a little bit and hopefully we will have some human interaction this evening! Snow is beautiful but I really didn't expect to still be at home today. I'll share about our snow adventures a little later!

The up side is that I have been working on one of my projects for January (yes I realize that it is the last day of January!) and I am ready to share it with  you. Presenting:

This has been on my "Master to do list" for a while now and I had decided that January was the time. Some of the sections still need a little work, but it is off to a good start. I used LOTS of different resources in creating my binder so I will try to include them all as references.

To get started all you need is a binder, printer, hole punch, dividers, page protectors, and something to write with.

I chose 10 different sections for my binder.

1. Calendar

This section is pretty simple - just add 12 months worth of calendars and fill out as needed! I got mine from 30 Handmade Days.

2. To Do 

Included in this section is:

• Weekly To do lists  (Organized Home)
• Monthly Goals list (Home Life Simplified)
• Master To Do List for all those ideas and projects you will get to eventually! I go here when I am ready for another project. (Organized Home)

3. Schedules

Included in this section is :

• My school calendar and information
• Justin's school calendar and information
• Church calendar 

If you have kids or other activities going on this is where you could place sports schedule and other information.

4. Menu Planning

You can check out how I do my menu planning here. In this section is simply my Menu Planner from Pin Pickles Studio. Here is another option for menu planning from Organized Home.

I might decide to add a master list of recipe ideas, we will see!

5. Organizing and Cleaning

 I consulted A LOT of different sites for this section and finally came up with my own lists! I included:

• Weekly Cleaning List
• Monthly Cleaning List
• Spring/Fall/Seasonal Deep Cleaning List

I also printed  lists from Living Well Spending Less and included them as well. If you have kids, add chore lists. I personally do not do laundry each day or clean a different section of my house each day either, but I also don't have kids and I prefer to have my house clean all at once!

6. Finances and Bills

I have shared how I organize my bills and budget before here. This area is still a work in progress and I hope to share some updates in the next few weeks!

7. Health and Fitness

In this section I included:

• Health information (Doctor, Dentist, Insurance, etc.) See 30 Handmade Days
• Workout plan
• Medical log (About: Frugal Living)

8.Gifts

In this section I included a list of birthday's and when it gets closer to Christmas I plan on adding these gift planners.

9. Contacts

I have yet to do this, but I am going to put together a list of addresses and contact information for family and friends.

10. Home and Auto

In this section I included:

• Utilities information (30 Handmade Days)
• Insurance information (30 Handmade Days)
• Home maintenance information and log (About: Frugal Living)
• Car maintenance information and log (About: Frugal Living)

And there you have it! Home binders are meant to meet your needs, so decide what works for you! I am sure mine will grow and change as my needs change and as I see what works and what doesn't work. I am already thinking about adding another section for Travel.

Here are some other resources and inspiration I used when planning out my binder:

30 Handmade Days
The Nest Effect
Moms By Heart
Organized Home
Dimplicity Craft Blog
A Bowl Full of Lemons
Money Saving Mom

I am also linking up at A Bowl Full of Lemons