We are all in the same room so no worries Am I am still totally watching them all. *smile*
It also got me thinking I have been promising my best friend there for a year to share about my household binder. So what better time then the present? I'm positive it will never fully be at where I would like to be and it will forever be a work in progress, but I'll share with you what I have so far.
It's really pieced together from ideas all over the web. Like I said massive work in progress. One thing you should know about me is I am very Type A personality in the aspect I like things in order. Each thing having it's place and lists. Oh I love lists!! Binders. I love binders too. I have one for almost everything. Mostly school outside of this one, but still love them. I'm not crazy OCD cans have to face the same way kind of thing but I think things in order. Easy to find and use. One reason I can't wait for our own school room cause it all cluttered right now is driving us all batty.
OK... sorry back to topic. Our binder.
I have decided since moving that I am adding everything under the sun to our binder. We just moved to the South and well, yeah tornado country. Of course there hasn't been one seen here in Y.E.A.R.S but one can never be too careful. Just the thought was enough for us to think about the "what ifs".
So with that being said onto our tabs. {In no particular order} Links to all printables I have used will be at the bottom of this post.
*Calendar: Here I have a monthly calendar. I try really hard to use it but I am going to be perfectly honest I don't even look at it. Nope. Thanks to technology and the fact my iMac syncs beautifully with my iPhone I use my iCal ALL THE TIME.
*Daily Schedule: This is more of a checklist of what I would like to get done daily. I usually keep only the blank printables in the binder and take out one daily to have "in my face". I don't have a ton of space here to leave the binder laid open all day so by taking it out I insure I actually use it.
*House Info: Here I keep our apartment info and Rental insurance information (like policy #, agent #).
*Vehicle Info: Here I keep a maintenance log, a copy of the registration and insurance, agent #
*Cleaning: This one I keep just a master list of what I'd like/do daily, weekly, and monthly. I add to my Daily Schedule what each is so that way again it's in my face.
*Meal Planning: Here I like to have a list of staples to try to keep stock on, a printable for freezer inventory for grocery shopping. Since I don't have an extra freezer right now and inventory changes daily, I use this just for when I'm making my grocery lists. I have grocery lists printed and meal planner printouts. I take out every 2 weeks (as we are paid) and fill out as needed. I have a clipboard in my kitchen I my planners on for that week's meals. After each are completed I then put them back into my binder for meal ideas and to try to not repeat too often.
*Finances: I have right on the inside of the table a list I created of all of our bills and their due dates, and our paycheck dates for quick reference. I have created a print out for each paycheck to write out it's individual budget. I also have list of any debt there may be or that comes about and our plan to pay it back if needed. I also have a list of all the websites, acct #'s, logins, and passwords used in order to pay online. I'll explain why below.
*School: Since we homeschool this is a little different then if your child is in school elsewhere. There you could keep school menus, teacher's email address, class schedules, school holiday schedules, etc. For us I use it to keep the list of all the curriculum we purchased for that school year and its cost. Catalogs from the companies we purchase from. I keep a running list of ideas of curriculum to look into, an idea of curriculum layout for the next year... especially since I will be adding more full time students next year. I include more detail into my teacher notebook but in here I keep prices and basics.
*Medical: Here I keep it all. I have a personal medical information on each member of the family. Behind each of the kids pages I have their most recent well checks paper from the doctor with all their current information. Since we just moved their old doctor gave me their entire files on CD so I have that in there as well. I have a file folder pocket as well in that section that holds their shot records, Birth certificates, and Social Security cards. Again they are all in here currently because we do not have a filing cabinet or safe.
*Contacts: Pretty self explanatory. We have our address book and emergency numbers pages in this section.
*Special Days: In this section I have block year calendar to write family and friends special dates on. Also as the kids special dates approach I include a birthday check list of ideas, guests, and needs to purchase for the parties. Same for holiday gift buying.
*Purchase Plan/Wish Lists: I keep a running tab of house projects or projects in general we want to complete. Any print outs or flyers of each project. As well as color palettes we have picked up along the way for them. Also a wish list of items we would like to purchase and their prices so we can budget and save accordingly. Books and Movies wish list are included as well.
*Family Newsletters: I keep a printed copy of our most recent family newsletter in this section.
*Websites: This is one I am working on now. I am going through all the sites we use or are on and adding all our login info for them as well. Mainly so we don't forget where we have parts of us on the web.
OK now that huge bit of information was just thrown at you let me explain why I include so much personal information.
First off, it's our household binder and all things about our household.
Second, since moving to tornado country and the fact we don't also own a laptop we figured if there was an emergency it would easier to quickly up and grab a 3 ring binder vs a 27" iMac. In the same moment we would obviously try to grab the computer as well. We eventually plan to have a copy of all the personal info in a fire proof safe should a fire come through and ruin computer and binder. It's super scary knowing EVERYTHING to be us in so accessible but I like it as the same time. God forbid something should ever happen to us someone could come in and cancel our cards, bank acct, etc. They could run our household and see our desires for the children's schooling and health. They could continue with doctor visits and such.
Third, If someone should ever steal our identities/cards/wallets we have copies and proof of everything to say we are us and not them. This is where if our binder ever got stolen... eeekkk.... the back up copies in a fire proof safe come into play. Although I'm pretty confident that once we get a fire/water proof safe all the massive personal numbers and info will move into there and out of the binder anyway. It's all in here now just to keep it all in one accessible location for us vs strewn all over the house.
Sorry for the super long post but I think I covered everything. It's been a huge blessing for us to have a binder like this. It truthfully has made life so much easier for us. Thank you to everyone online that has shared theirs so we may be inspired to do the same. So grateful!
Here is a list of all the websites I have gotten my printables from.
Monthly Calendar from Anything But Perfect {She has ADORABLE free printables!)
Cover page of binder, Daily Schedule, Grocery lists, Freezer Inventory, Medical Information, Emergency Information, Address Book Contacts, Special Days, Wish Lists From Mandi @ Finding Home
Car maintenance log from Yourway.net
Meal Planner weekly planner from The Project Girl
Curriculum Planner {2nd option down} from Donna Young
I know that was a ton of info to take in... I apologize. If you have a household binder that you'd love to share I'd love to see it. Any tips or tricks or critiques of ours I'd love to hear it.
1 comment:
Great idea! I love it!
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