Home Binder

I've been reading more and more about something called a Home Binder.  It is basically the more organized list of things that need to be done to manage a home.  At first, I thought people who used those were crazy obsessive with cleaning and organizing.  But now, I'm starting to see that maybe they are people like me...people who have no direction, need to see something plain and clear right in front of them, and people who lose everything if it's not together in a binder ;)  So the past few days, I've been researching and trying to figure out what exactly a home binder needs, or more specifically, what MY family needs.  I need it to be simple.  I really like simple.  It has to have a check list because I just really like to cross things off.  It makes me feel happy and productive, lol.  I have been looking around the Money Saving Mom web site and really like a lot of her ideas.  I've also been looking at Iheart Organizing's ideas and others I've found at random places and I've been picking and choosing things that might work for me.  So, here's what I have planned so far.  It's broken into 7 sections, I will use those nifty dividers with pockets to separate the sections.

1- A page with our last name and a Bible verse.  J things I am crazy but I think it's cute.  It's for our family and it's to help me to be a better house keeper, two things that are important to me and to make me more like the Proverb's 31 woman.  It's the very reason for this binder, and it's going in there first thing ;)

2- A list of important phone numbers.  This will include our doctors (pediatrician, primary care, obgyn, dentist, eye doctor...) all of their numbers need to be in an easy place for me to find.  Our cell phones, J's work phone, family members numbers, church, neighbors, and any other number that I feel is important to have handy.

3. Next will be a list of every single chapter in the Bible.  J and I have decided to start reading and try to get through the whole thing.  We are not planning to do it in a year, but we want to do it.  When we read a chapter, we will cross it off.  Yay!  I've already said how excited I get about crossing things off my list!

4. A calendar.  Self explanatory.

5. Here's where the crazy obsessive comes in.  I plan to have a detailed list of all the chores I want done over a year.  This section will have three pages.  One will be a list of the whole year, broken into daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and yearly sections.  I want it all on one page.  Another page will be a detailed list of weekly chores.  This will have my daily chores and weekly chores, and I will cross the weekly chores off as I do them.  More crossing things off!  I love it!  I am not planning to have certain days to do certain chores.  Sometimes I'm just not in the mood to clean the bathrooms, I'd rather clean my appliances.  Whatever day I do things doesn't really matter to me, all that matters is they get done.  The last part of this section will be a daily to do list.  This will have my daily chores, any extra errands or chores that need done, and a detailed menu for that day.  I also get to check things off this list :) 

6. Speaking of a detailed menu, this year I'm planning to become more organized with my menu too.  Last year I planned out dinners.  It helped a lot!  But I often find myself wondering what we will eat for lunch, or I search for something to give the boys as snacks and wonder, "have they had this too much lately?"  If I had a list of breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, and dinner, I know exactly what to give them, when!  It's going to be great!  I hope... 

7. My last section.  It's going to be a list of all the bills we pay, the dates they are due, and I'll keep my check book in one of those cool little pockets on the dividers I want to get.  Most of our bills are paid automatically, but I still want to write down exactly when they are due. 

Ok, so that's it!  It's been a little overwhelming trying to figure out what exactly I want, but now that I've pretty much got it, I'm excited.  I still have to finalize my list of chores (pretty much everything in section 5), but other than that, I've got it ready to put together!

Kids are waking up.  I finished this blog at the perfect time :)