Mission: Organization {home management binder}

Apparently it's the "thing to do" if you want to get organized. Making a home management binder isn't for everyone, but I *LOVE* this kind of thing. A cute place to keep all my "schtuff" organized. I know, I'm weird. 

There are a bajillion and three tutorials on Pinterest on how to make your own home management binder (or organization binder/book/whatever you want to call it), so I'm not really going to be sharing the "how to's" here. I just figured I would share what I put together to give other people some ideas. My binder is super simple, which is how I wanted it to be... and colorful, which is how I like things :] I'll share where I got the printables I used. They were all FREE, so that was awesome.

You'll notice that my binder is quite... empty. As in, the pages are not filled out. I thought it would be in my best interest to take pictures of my binder BEFORE I filled out all the information... so our personal info isn't floating around on the interwebs for some weirdo to find. ;]

I used a binder we already had, and the scrapbooking paper is just stuff that I had. The only thing I went out to buy for this were files to use as dividers, page protectors, and dry erase markers. I think that cost a total of $5 or less at Walmart. I cut the files in half because I wanted them to be able to lay flat in the binder... but they still serve their purpose of dividing the sections. 

Click on the photos to make them bigger!! 

[front of the binder. I used a bunch of proverbs on and throughout the book; most of them I just wrote on the files; others, like this one, I printed off of Pinterest.]

 [inside the binder. L: bible verse on one of the pockets. I plan to stick stamps and maybe a few envelopes in these pockets for easy access for Jake. R: the first section is "Weekly Overview and Calendar." I'm kind of bummed because in the files where I have page protectors, you can't see the label on the side of the file showing which section it is. Oh well, though. Next time (ha, there won't be a next time...) I should flip the folders over so that the tab is in the front of the section, instead of the back.] 

 ["weekly overview." This page is in a page protector that I will be able to write on with a dry erase marker. The pages I decided to put into protectors are ones that will be frequently written on, and probably erased the most. I've heard certain dry erase markers work better than others, so I'll have to see if the ones I got work well or not.]
You can find this printable here. 

 ["the eat sheet." These are also in page protectors because I plan our meals for two weeks, and the meal for a specific night may change due to activities or guests. So I wanted these pages to be flexible. I decided to put these here instead of under the groceries tab because this is part of planning our week.]
You can find this printable here.

 [next is just a simple calendar for the month. When I need to just quick jot something down, I write it down on the calendar on the fridge. That's my messy calendar. Then I sync up the two calendars and make things a little more neat and organized in this one. But I'm hardly busy at all right now so it's not too hard to do.]
You can find this printable here.

[the next section is "cleaning lists."]

 [L: I have a list of reasons why I want a clean home. I saw this on another blog and thought it was a good idea {and I did copy some of her reasons, but I liked them!}. I'll add to this list as I can think of them. R: I have a daily and weekly to-do list for cleaning. It's blank at the moment, but I plan to write down the things I do (and need to do) as I figure out what works for us. Then, since this list is one you can customize, I'll go back online and enter in my list there and print it out again. But, this is a work in progress and I need to figure out how it'll work best for us.]

You can find this printable here.

 [L: is the generic version of the daily/weekly to do list that I printed from MSM. I figured it would be good to get an idea of what another mom does during her day, cleaning-wise. I'll remove this sheet as I figure out my "routine." R: This is another daily cleaning list that I printed out because I haven't decided which one I like best. Again, a work in progress. I'll figure out what works best and take the other out.]
You can find these printables here and here. 

 [L: a weekly cleaning list... deciding which one I like best. R: a monthly/every three months/every 6 months cleaning list]
You can find these printables here and here. 

 [L: MSM's monthly/every three months/every 6 months cleaning list, just to get ideas. R: a three page list of ways to make your own natural cleaners using ingredients like vinegar, baking soda, lemons, etc.
You can find this printable here. 

 [the next section: "grocery lists and recipes." You can see this tab because I don't have any pages with protectors on them in this section.] 

 [L: I cut off the flaps of two envelopes to make little pockets for the left side... I can stick loose recipes or whatever in here. R: a short reminder list of the "dirty dozen" and "clean fifteen" fruits and veggies. Behind that is a grocery list for me to jot down things as I think of them.]
You can find this grocery list printable here. (Just Google "The Dirty Dozen/Clean Fifteen if that list is of interest to you)

 [L: just some notebook paper for me to use since I tend to write a lot of things down pertaining to groceries/recipes. R: A pantry inventory so I know what I have/need without having to dig through my cupboards.]
You can find this printable here. 

 [a freezer inventory. We have a small chest freezer in the basement and having an inventory of it will help me reduce waste by planning meals around what we already have... and I can't use the lazy "I don't want to go downstairs" excuse any more, because it will all be listed right here.]
You can find this printable here.

 [the next three pages are just random "cheat sheets" that show how long things can last in the freezer (and still taste good) as well as cooking temperatures, etc.]
You can find these printables here.

 [the next section is "family info." I decided against making a few different files for family {health information, etc} and just combined it all into one.]

 [the first page is emergency info. I don't expect to flip this open if the need arises for me to call 911, haha (which I've already had to do once since being a mom), but having this information in here will make it readily available for others who may not be familiar with it... and it will make ME remember it better by reading it frequently.]
You can find this printable here. 

 [I do have a small section for each family member, just so I can jot down health issues or anything else needing to be remembered.]

 [Ryan's section is a little more detailed; I have some of his birth information here, his height/weight for the first year, when he got his teeth, etc. This page is a list where I can write down about him... we don't have babysitters very often at all but I figured this would be a good place to write down his favorite things in case he does get taken care of by someone else. And, it's a good reference for Jake because he obviously doesn't spend as much time with Ryan as I do, so I can jot down some tricks that may help Ryan if he's having a hard time if I'm away.]
You can find this printable here.

[the next section is birthdays and holidays]

 [here is a place to write down birthdays and anniversaries so I can remember to send cards. I've gotten terrible about sending cards. I used to be so good at it... fail. Hopefully I can get back in it.]
You can find this printable here. 

 [this is a place to write down christmas gift ideas. I hate that I'm a procrastinator when it comes to gifts so this will be helpful to just be able to jot something down when I think of it.]
You can find this printable here. 

 [this is a planner for christmas baking. I can write down needed ingredients and approximate cost so we can make sure it fits in the budget. I don't know why, but Christmas baking seems to get expensive!!]
You can find this printable here. 

[the last section is calendars and master copies.]

 [the first page is "things on loan." I can write down when I loan something to someone so I can keep track of who has what. This way you don't "lose" things!]
You can find this printable here.

[The next two parts are the rest of the calendar months, as well as a copy of every printed list that is in the book kept in a page protector. That way, if/when I need a new one, I can just copy it in my printer instead of trying to find the website it came from.]

Aaaand... that's my binder! I hope it gave you some ideas of something that might work for you, or that you were able to find some uses for the printable lists that I posted. I'd love to see your binder if you have one :]