My First Household Binder

A few weeks back I was looking around on other blogs and found a great home organization tool, A Household Binder. Since I had recently set a goal to get my household chores, meal planning and organization under control, I knew this was the tool I needed.

I started by using a binder and dividers that I already had on hand.

Money Saving Mom has several free printables on her site that you can fill in to fit your life. My first page is her Daily Docket. I love that I can change it every day so I know what I need to do that day at a glance. I put it in a protective cover so I can write on it and wipe it off. My second page is My Daily Cleaning List. This page breaks everything up by time of day on the left side and has a Weekly To-Do list broken up by day of the week on the right side. This page really helps me keep on track through out the day. It is much easier seeing that I need to do 2 or 3 small chores over a few hour period then seeing a huge list of things I need to do by the end of the day. By following this list I also know that everything in the house is going to get cleaned at least once a week.

Next comes the Monthly/Semi-Annual Cleaning List (scroll down to second page). I was able to fill in the chores I wanted to do monthly, every three months or every six months. Once I have done the chore I just mark it off and I know that it gets done as often as I think it needs to be.

My next section (not pictured) is my sons school calendar.

Following that is my One-Week Menu Planner page, also from Money Saving Mom. I use this form to plan out all our weekly meals and snacks. If I am not feeling well my husband knows to go into my binder and can tell what we are having for any particular meal. This really helps with last minute meal stresses and fast food pickup. My dividers have a pocket in them so I can pull the recipes I am using that week and they are right there with the menu plan.

I also have a section for our monthly budget and bill paying tools, tax papers that we have received, recent receipts and rebates, crafts I would like to do with my kids, notebook paper and my birthday party planning folders.

So far this system has worked like a dream. It has made my days run a lot smoother and helped me keep on track throughout the day.