The household challenge is complete!
We finally have a little organizational center–a household notebook! And, I’m really excited about it!!
So here’s the breakdown of our family’s “little black book”…
An emergency information form immediately on the inside with 5 divided sections:
TO-DO:
- Daily to-dos from Simple Mom. I think the form is perfect–a section for the most important tasks of the day, a section for work, for notes, for health–it’s great! I laminated it, so it’s perfect for wiping off & reusing. Also, I printed on both sides so I can have two days before erasing.
- Cute monthly tasks pages from Tidy Mom & a blank project to-do list I made to keep a running list of household projects we’d like/need to get taken care of.
Cooking:
We’ve done a lot more recently with trying to menu plan, cut our grocery spending, do more eating from home, and doing more freezer cooking. In this section, we have a:
- pantry staples list from $5 dinners which I’ll use to keep track of what we have
- freezer storage sheet from Life Your Way to help keep track of freezer meals/items
- monthly meal planning grids from Life as Mom I’m nowhere near being able to plan the whole month, but I figure if I even just keep track a week at a time for now, the full planners should end up being a good resource in the future.
Cleaning:
Ah, cleaning. This is not my strong suit. We don’t have a set routine; no set cleaning tasks on certain days; no set rotation (*note: this doesn’t mean that we don’t ever clean–it’s just we have no organized method in doing so 
). So, to that end, I found some people who have shared their set ways and rotations.
). So, to that end, I found some people who have shared their set ways and rotations. I printed a full year cleaning calendar and Money Saving Mom’s Cleaning List. We’ll use those as a starting point. Then, we also have blank ones, so that we can fill-in and determine what works for us.
Birthdays & Holidays:
- a Gift List that I made to keep track of presents that purchased throughout the year for various occasions. Details include “for”, “what”, “$$”, “occasion” and “location”. This way we can keep track of what we’ve purchased, how much was spent, what it’s for, and where it is in the house!
- a Gift/Wish List that I made to jot down when something comes to mind/we see something at the store.
- a few Birthday Party planners from Everything Mom, which could be used for any party/get together you’re hosting!
- a Christmas Decor Inventory (eventually, I think it might be good to have this for all the holidays we decorate for).
Contacts & Accounts:
- A chart to keep track of all of our accounts/bills including due dates
- a business card page to keep cards from companies we like
So, there you have it–our household notebook! I’m sure it will be an ever-changing “document” as we figure out how to make it work best for us. But, I sure am happy with this start!
What about YOU?
- Did you complete the challenge? Or have you already been keeping a household notebook?
- Anything major you think I’m missing?
Seriously, I am in awe. This is such a great idea! I love reading your blog!
Man, I want to do this!!
Wow, I am so amazed at how organized everyone is! This hop is great! Your binder is awesome. Thanks for sharing.
What a wonderful system! I like how you’re able to include so much, yet it’s not bulky. All of the information is well-organized and easily accessible. Thanks for the inspiration!
Your binder is fantastic! Great idea to laminate your daily to-do list so you can reuse it. The birthday organizer is great. I often buy ahead and forget what I have bought! I keep a gift idea list in my Christmas notebook for Christmas gift ideas, but didn’t think about doing the same in my year round book. Thanks for sharing!
Wow, so cool to see this all put together, and I LOVE how you were able to really pick and choose the printables that work best for you from all of the great ones that are available around the blogosphere.
Thanks so much for including some of mine!
I already keep a household notebook. Yours looks great Mine has more stuff in it due to my husband being a pastor. It serves as our my husband’s and my calendar. We also added obedience charts and goals and things like that for our kids. I cannot survive without my notebook! GREAT POST! I will definitely be visiting some of the sites you recommended
Wow! I LOVE this idea! A household notebook would be so helpful to me –love the business card section at the end. My business cards for doctors, repairs, insurance etc. are all in different places. Can’t wait to make one!
This is awesome!!
Awesome. I’m going to be using this as inspiration — I just hope I can keep motivated to keep it up!
I love some of these ideas! I’ve struggled with finding what will work for us as well. An idea will hit, we’ll try it out, it doesn’t seem to stick. Maybe perseverance is lacking. Haha. Anyway. Thanks for the post! I’m bookmarking this one.
What a great idea grabbing a few from the bet websites!
Pam