I don't know about you but when I know where everything is I feel at peace. Today I would like to show you my HOME MANAGEMENT BINDER. In our home there is chaos and confusion at times and this binder has been a life saver! I use it everyday, plus its so easy to set up!
Here is what you need:
A binder mine is 1 1/2 in. it can be bigger or smaller depending on what you need the binder to entailcolored dividers
page protectors
A printed out calender
Collect any papers that would need to be put into your binder
Oh and a bit of time too :) Depending on your organizational needs it could take anywhere from an hour to a few hours to get ready.
Here is a breakdown of what I have within mine:
1. Calender- When you open the binder the first thing you see is a calender I made and printed out. The calender has the same information that my wall calender has but in a more portable version it has the dates that our bills are due, birthdays, events and any other pertinent info that we will need accessible at a moments notice. This helps a ton with budgeting too! We are able to see any extra expenses for the month as we are able to adjust our budget accordingly! Beginning with the current month and a printed out of each month through the rest of the year, this way I can add something months ahead of time easily :)
2. Current week- The first Category is for our current week. I have our weekly menu plan, a list of our families favorite dinners for inspiration on future menu plans, A breakdown of what I like to accomplish on a daily basis all scheduled out and also any important papers I may need associated with the week, such as imunization records, invitations etc.
3. Chore chart- Next I have chore charts printed and ready for use. The top one is for the current week. My older daughter knows that when she has had a good week of behavior and chores she gets a reward so she is eager to make sure everything is done!
4. Cleaning- I have a weekly guide that I can look at to make sure our home is tidy and orderly. I know that each area is cleaned twice every week because I can simply check it off! I also have a list of home maintenance broken down so that is can be done quarterly. These are things that need to be done but we wouldn't remember to do them unless there was a list.
5. School- I keep information from my daughters school schedules here along with permission slips, party schedules, etc. This way I can easily check what days she needs to remember to wear tennis shoes for p.e. or when she needs to have her instrument for music.
7. Activites- Any papers for our families extracurricular activies are place in this area.
8. Finances- This is the biggest category the first page is our current months weekly budget with a breakdown of incoming and outgoing money. Next is our overall budget broken down so we can easily see what we have set aside to spend in each area... for example $200 for groceries, and $200 for your car insurance and $100 for auto repairs. Next is a list of our debt so we know where we stand and what we can snowball next. NEXT I have subcategories that are sleeved and labeled; paystubs, bank statements, insurance, bills, and debt. (also we use Mint.com its a great and FREE resource!)
9. Projects/ wish list- Here we have blank paper where we can add projects that need to be done and a place where we can add to our wish list easily.
I know that this is a lot of information so if you have any questions don't hesitate to ask :)
