Household Notebook

It's something that every mom - and every work at home mom in particular - should have, and takes the stress out of organizing your family and business life.

What is a household notebook?

Think of it as 'mission control' for the entire family!

It may sound impressive, but it's quite simply a divided binder containing all the checklists, schedules and important family information that may otherwise get scribbled on endless scraps of paper and constantly mislaid!

A typical household notebook will contain...

• checklists for house cleaning
• chore lists for family members
• schedules
• important phone numbers
• emergency medical information
• favorite recipes and menu ideas
• packing checklists for trips and vacations
• calendars
• lists of school/church/business activities and events
• lists of birthdays of friends and relatives
• insurance details
• information for house/pet/baby sitters

The notebook can also serve as a 'message center' to which all family members refer for reminders and notes.

The advantages of using a household notebook?

• It eliminates stress. As a work at home mom, I sometimes feel as if my head is going to explode with the sheer number of little details I have to remember! But once those details are committed to paper, I don't need to think about them any more.. I KNOW they'll be attended to. Once you start using a notebook, you'll find that having all your important information in one place gives you great peace of mind and a welcome sense of calm!
• It eliminates clutter. No more untidy scraps of paper stuffed inside drawers or pinned on the fridge - instead, everything you need to know is confined to one small, well organized area!
• It keeps everybody organized. No more missed appointments or forgotten birthdays! Once everyone becomes accustomed to using the book on a regular basis, then you'll see just how smoothly life can run.

How to make a household notebook

There is no fixed method for creating a household notebook and you can make yours in which ever way suits you best.

However, here are my basic guidelines to get you started...

• Buy a 3-ring binder - I prefer to use one large one, but you can buy several smaller ones in you want to keep different aspects of your book separate (schedules/medical information etc).
• Buy dividers, which you should then mark with the appropriate categories (the list above will give you some ideas).
• Make sure your binder contains a calendar (which is most useful placed right at the front) and a supply of binder paper to use each time you add more information.
• Use pre-printed forms to save time in creating your schedules and checklists (make sure you have a hole punch so you can print these forms out and include them in your binder).

Printable forms

Calendars to Print

The 'Organized Home' website offers an excellent selection of free, printable forms, including daily and weekly planners, chore checklists, kitchen inventories and LOADS more!

Click here to start printing pages for your household notebook

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