House Binder Catergories

[celina]

i have pockets in mine, easier to stuff stuff in..

souts, football, hockey, theatre, new baby, tax for next year, school, me

calendar in front page

to do lists

diary tab...i lvoe journalling but have sheets scattered EVERYWHERE from years...so as i find a sheet i put it in the right order in the binder..

xmas page just has a tab stuck to it..

recipes is a seperate binder

the back end has my routines and fly lady stuff that i've ignored FOREVER>..lol....will hopefully be able to incorporate this back in after baby is born

the trick is to tailor it to YOUR needs.....my budget is on the pc, always is...my address book works best for us...so why copy it all over again....used to be the calendar on my fridge was the best thing that happened to us..now i don't check it anymore so i'm trying it in this thing.....it will evolve and that is ok

[peanut]

I have my family journal in a huge 3 ring zippered 3" binder. On the front cover there's a flap that opens up to a notepad, pens and pencils and business cards.

It has a few file folders built into the inside of the front cover for drug information sheets, stationary, return address labels, coupons, chequebook, etc. Plus a zippered pocket for stamps. And places to hold pens and pencils.

Then there's the binder...

I punched holes in the side of a 5x8" envelope and stick it in to hold cheques or money to be deposited in the bank.

After that...

~ a table of contents
~ Emergency numbers
~ business cards of businesses we use
~ list of family birthdays and anniversaries
~ phone directories and lists from various organizations we're involved in.

~ a cleaning schedule section, a la Flylady...daily routines (in plastic sleeve), weekly routines (in plastic sleeve), "tips for not getting sidetracked" (in plastic sleeve), "how to declutter", "Flylady's Eleven Commandments", "5 Minute Fly-Bys", "Flylady Paper Clutter Essay" (my nemesis!), "Crisis Cleaning 101", "72 Hour Preparedness List", and separate sections for zone cleaning, and at the end of that section, some recipes for homemade cleaners.

~ a Menus/Recipes section: menu plans, freezer/pantry inventory lists, diet overview (foods I can eat), a dietician approved 4 week menu plan, list of suggested healthy breakfasts (my weak spot), and recipes (inside plastic sleeves).

~ a Finances section: monthly budget, ideal budget (to work towards), list of when to pay bills, pocket pages for bills and each budget category (for receipts), previous 2 years cash flow comparison (to see what my spending trends are), a list of all the financial numbers and information, and a list of our ideal retirement (planning ahead).

~ a gifts and shopping section: Things I'd like to buy, clothes sizes, wish lists, books to take out of the library.

~ a goals and challenges section: this is currently empty. I've moved it onto my computer and into a smaller planner I carry with me everywhere.

~ a project section: currently also empty because I've moved it onto the computer. I use One Note and am just now becoming acquainted with Curio for Mac...which I like much better than OneNote.

~ a Home reno section: it has a copy of the surveyor's certificate for the property (in a plastic sleeve), yard plans (in plastic sleeves), notes on changes to make to the yard, separate plastic sleeves for each room of the house (these house information from various businesses on renos, and paint chips, business cards, proposals, etc.), a form that I devised called the Home Decor Plan for each room (it has samples of the fabrics, and notes of what the decoration goal is).

~ a Fabric Stash section: I cut out samples of all my fabric and staple them onto pages with the length and width and fibre content. Makes it easy to go shopping for matching fabrics for quilting. I just take my page and go. No need to haul around huge pieces of fabric.

~ an Ideas section: for date nights, for nurturing myself, a plastic sleeve with takeout/order in menus.

~ a Health section: with pertinent medical information on myself. DH has yet to add his.

Obviously my journal does not get carried around that much. It is more like my filing cabinet in a portable zippered binder. I think it would hurt my back to carry it too far! Still, everything is in one place and lives in one area of the house. That's a big plus. Like I noted earlier, I have a much smaller planner I carry around with me for organizing my day and 'to do' lists.

[Maisiedotes]

I am chronically disorganized. You all have inspired me to get my binder started today! Thanks everyone!

[Ceashels]

You could also add a section for pictures of items for insurance purposes, jewelry, antiques, electronics, etc.

[moasmom]

I just saw this helpful link the other day.

"Create a Command Central Binder
Organize all your family's need-to-know documents, papers and addresses all in one handy binder with this plan from organizing expert Aby Garvy."

Kara

[hmcart]

I just started ours and it is a work in progress but so far I have calenders to write appointments in, a meal planner with grocery lists, and our financial section(thats a big part). I still have a lot to add but working on it a little at a time!

[Cricketlegs]

My financial binder is separate from my household binder.

I have--

2012 declutter challenge schedule
Notebook Paper
Master Grocery list
more notebook paper
Laundry soap recipe
Hot Spot Cleaning schedule that I sooo didn't follow lol
some more notebook paper??
cleaning checklist and tips
notebook paper(getting a little embarassed here)
nutrional info with calories and carb amounts(5'3 150lbs take it for what you will!)
notebook paper--DAGNABBIT!!!
notebook paper--wiping my tears now
notebook paper--you gotta freaking be kidding me!
master mix recipes, favorite recipes,my breadmachine recipes(I was looking for those!)
notebook paper--you saw that coming didn't you?

[greekislandgirl]

I think 2012 will be the year I make a household binder finally. I have an immigration binder, a savings/expenses binder, a financial binder, a recipe binder... I need to work on this and pull it all together or at least simplify it somewhat.

[peanut]

My goal when making my household binder was to have one binder that if our 1928 home caught on fire we could pick up and run with, and not be scrambling for information. So the financial stuff went in it. Otherwise I wouldn't have added it.

[bookwormpeg]

Wow....you guys are organized! I have a small notebook I take to the dr./dent with me and I write everything I want to talk about, scripts I need, what dr. says etc.
I have another book called a planner where I write what I spend everyday. This is helps me know where my money is going.
That's it for me.

[LilyLady]

I currently have some of the information listed stored in a large accordion file. I can see how much easier it would be to access if I put it in a large 3-ring binder and kept it on a bookshelf by my desk instead of tucked away in the laundry room closet.

[tinkb13]

Love all the ideas they will come in handy.