Home Organization (Part 2) – Home Notebook Specifics

Here are the specific details about my Home Notebook, which is pretty, fun, and hopefully helpful!  ;)

Supplies

I got a plain white binder, found some scrapbook paper, and trimmed it to fit into the sleeve on the spine.  I used rub-ons to label it.  I also put the same patterned paper in the sleeve on the front so I smile when I pick it up and see its prettiness.

Second, I purchased the cheapest page dividers I could find because I knew I’d need a lot of them.  Mine are plain white with erasable tabs.

Section One – General Information

I have my Emergency Information sheet in the front of my binder, along with a small section for general calendars.  My general calendar contains a year-long calendar as well as my birthday calendar.  I won’t have to refer to these things often, but – especially for the emergency stuff – if I need it I want to be able to find it quickly.

Section Two – Specific Calendars

I got 12 dividers and labeled them, one for each month.  Behind each tab I put the corresponding month’s calendar.  Behind the month-long calendar, I put 4 (or 5 as necessary) weekly calendars.  Behind each weekly calendar I put seven daily calendars.

Then, I got a post-it note.  High tech, I know.  A paperclip would probably be a better choice, but I had ample post-its handy so that’s what I used.  I put the post-it note on my daily calendar for today’s date.  That way it’s easy for me to find today.

Also, I rotated the current month’s section to the front.  So right now my Calendars section begins with March.

I printed monthly calendars for the entire year, but I did not do the same thing for the daily or weekly calendars.  I printed weekly calendars out through May and did daily calendars out through April.  I figure I can print more as I go.  That way, if I need to make changes to the page designs I don’t have to waste hoards of paper.

Each calendar fulfills a specific purpose.  The monthly calendars allow me to easily keep track of special events and appointments, even doing so far in advance.  I record those sorts of things on this calendar.  It also gives my husband a condensed version of what’s going on in our lives.  He’d be lost if he had to wade through my chicken scratching on the more detailed calendar pages.

The weekly calendar contains several different blocks.  There’s a block for each day.  Honestly, I haven’t found this very useful at this point.  It’s only useful in that it forces me to rewrite my appointments, which, as I said in the prior post, helps me remember the commitments I’ve made.  There’s a block for daily to-dos.  I could have put this on the daily calendar, but the inspiration design for the weekly calendar had it on the weekly docket, and I liked the way it looked.  Although I deleted them for the printable, my daily to-dos include exercise, writing a blog post, devotions, making beds, taking my vitamins, and taking my prescriptions.  Obviously I don’t do all these things every day.  However, I’ve found there is value in keeping track of these things on a daily basis.  Keeping track of them also motivates me to do them more often.

There is a small section for  meal planning.  Basically, I record the five meals I want to serve to my family during that particular week.  I don’t assign these to specific days.  I’ve tried that in the past and it doesn’t work for me.  I’ll inevitably forget an evening appointment on a day I’ve planned an elaborate dinner, and once I mess up it’s hard to get back on track.  It’s easier for me to pick a few meals and serve them whenever I feel inspired.  Also, I don’t plan 7 days worth of meals.  We often go out once or twice during the week, and we also do a pretty good job of eating our leftovers.  Planning seven meals would be overkill.

Beside the meal planning section is a shopping section.  It’s divided up to include the sections I use most.  It helps me to create my shopping list in some sort of order.  That way I don’t have to wander all over the store three or four times.   This section is too small in my opinion.  I expanded it a little bit, but I think I might remove the “Notes” section and expand it even more.

Finally, there’s a block for my cleaning rotation.  On a separate sheet of paper I divided my realistic cleaning tasks into four groups.  In the first week of the month, I do the first set of tasks.  During the second week of the month I do my second set of tasks… and so on.  If a month has five weeks I use the fifth week for special projects.

My rotations look like this:

Week One – vacuum upstairs; dust downstairs; clean bathroom; straighten spare room

Week Two – vacuum downstairs; dust upstairs; clear desk and files

Week Three – vacuum upstairs; clean bathroom; wash kitchen floor; clean out car

Week Four – vacuum downstairs; change sheets; clear desk and files; write Compassion kids

It’s really bare bones.  Ideally I’d do a lot of things differently (i.e. more often).  And really, I do more than this.  I do a quick vacuuming here and there.  I wipe down something in the bathroom every single day.  But as far as getting myself into a routine and making sure things get a minimum of care, this is going to be my rotation.  Also, it helps that our house is pretty small.  We have 1500 square feet spread over 2 stories and have only one bathroom.  Cleaning my house isn’t rocket science.

Section Three – To-Dos

In my life, I fulfill several roles or have several categories.  There are probably more than these, but I tried to keep things as general as possible while still being specific.  My To-Do categories look like this:

• Homemaker
• Parent
• Wife
• Family & Friends
• Ministry
• Blog
• Finances
• Crafting
• Decorating
• Spiritual Life
• Personal Care

Each category has its own divider, and in each category, I put a To-Do list.  Then I exhaustively searched my brain to think of every possible outstanding task I could remember and wrote them down.  I have a lot to do!!!  If I start a special project at some point – for example, if we decide to redecorate our bedroom – I might put a second To-Do page behind the “Decorating” divider for the specific steps I need to take to redecorate our bedroom.  This way, things can stay separate but together as needed.

Next, I made a separate divider labeled “Next Do List.”  Behind this divider I put another To Do list.  Then I searched through my To-Do categories to find my next actions in each category and wrote them on my Next Do list.  This way if I have a few spare minutes, I quickly and easily know some of the things I should work on next.  I also use my Next Do list to help me plan my days.

Section Four – Miscellaneous

I have a few sections in my binder that are currently empty.  For example, I have a Contacts tab, a Holiday tab and a Financial tab.  I will eventually expand these sections because I know they’ll be useful.  But right now they’re empty until I figure out how to best use them.

Some people might want a school section if they have children in school.  Others might want a health section to keep track of certain health information.  Actually, I have a separate binder for this information.  I used to use it more than I do now, but it’s still nice to have because I cram everything that is medically-related into that binder.  Even if it’s not organized, I know where the information will be if I ever need it again.

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Now for the printables!

If you’re interested in experimenting with this system, please feel free to use my printables.  I tried to take out most of the personal preferences and information so they’re blank and ready for someone else to use.  The fonts used are primarily Quesnell (downloaded for free from Font Garden), Ali Edward’s handwriting font (I don’t know where I got it but it was also free), and Century Gothic.  The weekly planner was inspired by The Design Girl.  You’re also free to share them with others.  The only thing I ask is that if you share them or modify them and share them, please leave the credit on the sheet.

PDFs

• Weekly Calendar
• To-Do List
• Emergency Information (with corrected Poison Control Number)
• Daily Calendar
• Birthday Calendar

Word Documents (editable, although sometimes the formatting doesn’t carry over well)

• Weekly Calendar
• To Do List
• Emergency Information (with corrected Poison Control Number)
• Daily Calendar
• Birthday Calendar