So here it is the beginning of October and I am trying to get started on the Holiday things. I have so many ideas running through my head and really need to get them on paper so that they get done. This year for Thanksgiving we are heading to the in-laws (first time I will be meeting these people- I know after 10 years of marriage this sounds odd, and it is, just go with it.) As I have been working on my Home Management Binder I have found other binders that people are doing that look cool- Recipe Binders, Life Binders, and Holiday Binders. I think I have mentioned before that I love organization, but I just can't keep up with it. Well I have been looking at my Home Management Binder and decided it was too small. Shucks, now I need a bigger one and have a smaller one for the holidays. I found Organized Christmas! Ahhhhhh (you know angels singing).
The house will be going through some serious changes over the next couple of months- hoping, praying even, that these changes will be the best for everyone. I am also hoping to get my life into some kind of routine- every time I try something goes wrong and I have to re-evaluate. I need to work on using To Do Lists so when I do have a disruption I can get back on track easier! Well off to spend time with the baby!
01 October 2012
Putting a Binder Together
I decided to follow a 31 Days by The Nester and chose the Home Management Binder by Organizing Homelife. Hope you have fun with it!
23 July 2012
Finishing up the Binder!
So I am off today and hubs is at work, so I am using this time to finish up my binder. As I said last time Finance is the most important part of this family binder to me- because it is the biggest mess! I found a great workbook at Consumer Credit that is free to print out and so easy to set up! So on to my next sections!
I decided that I needed some kind of calendar for the family to be able to look at and see what is coming up over the next few week- I get mine from Google Calendars (it's a tab at the top of my Google Mail). You can print these weekly or monthly. I went with weekly for this one and labelled it Weekly Plans. For the monthly ones (I use those to look at my monthly menu and my monthly bills) you can print out from current to a certain date, on the weekly ones I was able to print out this week and the next 3 weeks. This will also have anything that you put into your Google Calendar printed out on there. Maybe someday I'll figure out how to get my iPhone Calendar onto my Google one, but until then I will hand write it in. Another cool source is Calendar Labs, they ended up printing better than my Google ones.
Next I decided on Work Receipts. This is an important one for my house because hubs has to buy some of his own tools for work and occasionally those tools break while in warranty. I have not yet found what I will use for this but leaning toward bradded envelopes- either 6x9 or 9x12. This will also help for taxes at the end of the year- though we usually do not spend more that the standard deduction so it ends up being a mute point.
Last for now is Small House Receipts. This is where I plan to put receipts from smaller household purchases- small appliances, parties, kids gadgets, etc. This way I will have the receipts handy if I over buy for a party and want to return stuff or if the small appliance breaks within warranty. Large home stuff (new roof, add ons, etc.) will go in my Finish Rich File Folder System.
In case you actually counted, that is only 7 labels so technically there is one left. I have left this one open to see what comes up. I am debating a kids label, but really anything they will need to do will be in the weekly calendar.
Now that I am this far into setting it up, I will have to get on using it. I am going to read through Start Over Finish Rich again and work on putting it together for next weekend!
I decided that I needed some kind of calendar for the family to be able to look at and see what is coming up over the next few week- I get mine from Google Calendars (it's a tab at the top of my Google Mail). You can print these weekly or monthly. I went with weekly for this one and labelled it Weekly Plans. For the monthly ones (I use those to look at my monthly menu and my monthly bills) you can print out from current to a certain date, on the weekly ones I was able to print out this week and the next 3 weeks. This will also have anything that you put into your Google Calendar printed out on there. Maybe someday I'll figure out how to get my iPhone Calendar onto my Google one, but until then I will hand write it in. Another cool source is Calendar Labs, they ended up printing better than my Google ones.
Next I decided on Work Receipts. This is an important one for my house because hubs has to buy some of his own tools for work and occasionally those tools break while in warranty. I have not yet found what I will use for this but leaning toward bradded envelopes- either 6x9 or 9x12. This will also help for taxes at the end of the year- though we usually do not spend more that the standard deduction so it ends up being a mute point.
Last for now is Small House Receipts. This is where I plan to put receipts from smaller household purchases- small appliances, parties, kids gadgets, etc. This way I will have the receipts handy if I over buy for a party and want to return stuff or if the small appliance breaks within warranty. Large home stuff (new roof, add ons, etc.) will go in my Finish Rich File Folder System.
In case you actually counted, that is only 7 labels so technically there is one left. I have left this one open to see what comes up. I am debating a kids label, but really anything they will need to do will be in the weekly calendar.
Now that I am this far into setting it up, I will have to get on using it. I am going to read through Start Over Finish Rich again and work on putting it together for next weekend!
20 July 2012
10 Years & Starting Something New.
Ok, so I want to be organized, but I have never found that
thing that makes me really want to keep it up. Well after getting to my
10 year anniversary and not being where I want to be in a few things in
life (organization & finances) I decided to try something new. I
kept seeing these "Home Management Binders" on Pinterest and decided to
give it a try. I am still in the set up phase, but I can see where this
thing will help with those piles on the counter.
These kinds of things drive my husband bat shit crazy, so I decided that I would work on eliminating them. I started looking up all these binder thing and found that a good few of them are based on finances too- that stack is mostly bills that I have paid online and just not gone through the stack to throw away. So I think that I am going to be brave- haven't made a full commitment yet- and do something I have always wanted to follow:
"Throw is out, if it comes back then its important"
I cannot remember where I read this, but it was some management or finance book and that was a CEO who used this philosophy. It makes so much sense and since this pile is clearly out of hand, I am pretty sure it's time. Also if I start with a clean slate, I won't start off over-whelmed. I don't recommend this for everyone, but at this point in my house I feel like it is probably a good choice.
While I was doing my research, I found a few different names for these binders:
Home Management Binder
Family Command Center
Family Organization Binder
I went with Home Management Binder. I had started with Command Center, but wasn't feeling it. The best thing about this is that it is a "living document" so it can be easily changed as needed.
This has been a simple set up so far. I grabbed a few things from Walmart and since it is back to school time, it was pretty easy to find it all.
Binder (I chose 1" I got 1 1/2" )
Dividers (Avery Durable Write-On. You can write on the tabs and there are pockets in there!)
Pencil Pouch (one that goes in a binder)
a pack of pencils
Hole Punch
FREE Printables
Since my main focus is getting the household finances in order, I made sure one of the tabs was about budgeting. By no means have I figured out what I am labeling all my tabs! I don't know yet what will work for my house, but the tabs I have can be written on in PENCIL and erased as needed until I find what works for me. The actual name isn't as important as you knowing what kind of information is under what label. I am such an exact person (always have been- drove my family nuts when I was little) I can actually direct customers in my store with how far down an aisle a product is and at what level on the body it is located. I know, I'm a nerd.
I know that I need a "Quick Reference" section- this will be a place for phone numbers, birthdays/anniversaries, things like that.
Next is the Finances. This will be the place that all bills and receipts are put. This is also where I plan to put my worksheets for budgeting and our financial dreams work sheets. I know a lot of people like and use Dave Ramsey's Financial Freedom Plan and he's got some great stuff, but personally I like David Bach and the Finish Rich plan. All of the Finish Rich worksheets are in the books and not on the website, kind of a bummer. Whichever works for you is the best one, maybe its a mix of the two. If you aren't money savvy, pick one and stick to it.
Next I have a Meals & Menus section. I cannot stress the importance of a menu when trying to save money! I saw someone make a monthly menu- and seriously that has got to be the easiest thing ever. I know you are thinking "How is making 30 days of meals easier? You are nuts." Stop for one minute and think about it, how many different meals does your family have week in and week out? Maybe 10? There you go- repeat 3 times and you have 30 days. Then you can repeat for the following month. If it seems too daunting a weekly or bi-weekly menu will definitely help. For fun you could transfer each week to a monthly calendar and see a trend for your family (yep, back to the nerd thing!). Of course the menu will change a bit for changes in your life or the season, but basically you probably have the same few things every week.
Now I have one more section labeled right now, and it is actually my last section. I have labeled this one "References." This is where I put the things that I feel will help me with this binder- either Money Management or Organizing.
I think that is it for this post- Whew! I will try to keep updates on this stuff, part of the organization thing ;)
These kinds of things drive my husband bat shit crazy, so I decided that I would work on eliminating them. I started looking up all these binder thing and found that a good few of them are based on finances too- that stack is mostly bills that I have paid online and just not gone through the stack to throw away. So I think that I am going to be brave- haven't made a full commitment yet- and do something I have always wanted to follow:
"Throw is out, if it comes back then its important"
I cannot remember where I read this, but it was some management or finance book and that was a CEO who used this philosophy. It makes so much sense and since this pile is clearly out of hand, I am pretty sure it's time. Also if I start with a clean slate, I won't start off over-whelmed. I don't recommend this for everyone, but at this point in my house I feel like it is probably a good choice.
While I was doing my research, I found a few different names for these binders:
Home Management Binder
Family Command Center
Family Organization Binder
I went with Home Management Binder. I had started with Command Center, but wasn't feeling it. The best thing about this is that it is a "living document" so it can be easily changed as needed.
This has been a simple set up so far. I grabbed a few things from Walmart and since it is back to school time, it was pretty easy to find it all.
Binder (
Dividers (Avery Durable Write-On. You can write on the tabs and there are pockets in there!)
Pencil Pouch (one that goes in a binder)
a pack of pencils
Hole Punch
FREE Printables
Since my main focus is getting the household finances in order, I made sure one of the tabs was about budgeting. By no means have I figured out what I am labeling all my tabs! I don't know yet what will work for my house, but the tabs I have can be written on in PENCIL and erased as needed until I find what works for me. The actual name isn't as important as you knowing what kind of information is under what label. I am such an exact person (always have been- drove my family nuts when I was little) I can actually direct customers in my store with how far down an aisle a product is and at what level on the body it is located. I know, I'm a nerd.
I know that I need a "Quick Reference" section- this will be a place for phone numbers, birthdays/anniversaries, things like that.
Next is the Finances. This will be the place that all bills and receipts are put. This is also where I plan to put my worksheets for budgeting and our financial dreams work sheets. I know a lot of people like and use Dave Ramsey's Financial Freedom Plan and he's got some great stuff, but personally I like David Bach and the Finish Rich plan. All of the Finish Rich worksheets are in the books and not on the website, kind of a bummer. Whichever works for you is the best one, maybe its a mix of the two. If you aren't money savvy, pick one and stick to it.
Next I have a Meals & Menus section. I cannot stress the importance of a menu when trying to save money! I saw someone make a monthly menu- and seriously that has got to be the easiest thing ever. I know you are thinking "How is making 30 days of meals easier? You are nuts." Stop for one minute and think about it, how many different meals does your family have week in and week out? Maybe 10? There you go- repeat 3 times and you have 30 days. Then you can repeat for the following month. If it seems too daunting a weekly or bi-weekly menu will definitely help. For fun you could transfer each week to a monthly calendar and see a trend for your family (yep, back to the nerd thing!). Of course the menu will change a bit for changes in your life or the season, but basically you probably have the same few things every week.
Now I have one more section labeled right now, and it is actually my last section. I have labeled this one "References." This is where I put the things that I feel will help me with this binder- either Money Management or Organizing.
I think that is it for this post- Whew! I will try to keep updates on this stuff, part of the organization thing ;)
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