My Home Management Binder

As I mentioned in my last post I have been in search of the perfect "Life" Planner.  After doing some research and getting some input from friends I decided to create a "Home Management" binder and also  ask for a more basic portable "Life" planner for Christmas :-)

I started taking notes of "likes" and "dislikes" from sample "Home Management Binders" online and decided to piece together one that would be more user friendly for us( seeing as we have no kids,pets,etc..). First I decided on what I wanted to keep in it. I had 10 basic tab ideas but the list grew as I worked(Im really happy I decided to get a few more Tab Dividers!). Then I set off to Wal-Mart to pick up the necessary tools to make this happen! Here is what I got:

A Binder $4.47(The more basic ones are cheaper of course)

Tab Dividers $1.97 for a pack of 5(Again, Basic=Cheaper)

A basic 3 hole punch $3.88

Page Protector, 50pack $3.67(I bought two packs)

I also bought printer paper for my brand new printer! Did I mention that Brian surprised me with one this week? He is the best. Seriously, He is.

And so the project begins. I will admit that I was totally overwhelmed at first but I made sure to allow myself plenty of time to work on it and all in all it only took me about 2 hours to put together.

My work station (Coffee included!)

I started with looking for cute little free clip arts to put on my Tab Divider Cover Pages for each section. I know absolutely NOTHING about design and have very basic document building skills so with that said, My pages are pretty basic. I like a clean look though, so Im okay with that!

Here is an example of my cover sheet:

It titles the section and lists what you will find there. For example this one says "Home" and Lists the following " Cleaning Schedule, Pantry Inventory, Freezer Inventory, Grocery List, Landlord Info".

Here is an example of this section page by page:

I found some really awesome printables at Yourway.net. Check them out!

Once I completed all of my "Section Cover Sheets" I decided which order to put them in inside the binder and began filling them accordingly. Here is a picture of my table of contents to give you an idea of what all I keep in there.

Home,Vehicle,Health,Monthly Bills,Coupons,Travel,Birthdays,Christmas Card(LIST),Kitchen Manuals,Misc. Manuals, In-Home Nanny Info, Taxes, Important Receipts

I love the idea of having everything I need at my fingertips and so easy to find! If you have any questions about how I put it together please feel free to ask. I love ALL things organized and am constantly looking for better ways of "keeping it together". I really feel like this will be my go-to book for years to come!

Here is a list of links I got some of my ideas from:

 http://printables.yourway.net/home-management-notebook/

http://www.imperfecthomemaking.com/2012/03/my-home-management-binder.html

http://www.thenesteffect.com/2011/09/home-management-binder-setting-it-all.html

**UPDATE!**

If you are looking for a great binder for your Home Management project please check out what Samsill has to offer! I have 4 binders from them and they are fantastic for a project like this! Very sturdy and easy to load!

Here are a few pictures of the ones I use!

Bound for a Cure
Proceeds from the purchase of this binder benefit breast cancer research, education, and treatment with The Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

A pink ribbon is screened on the front and spine of overlay. Customizable clear overlay on front, back and spine. Round rings mounted on back lid to allow pages to lie flat. Built to last—heavy-duty construction. Contains 47% post-consumer recycled content. A Binders for Life™ product - Lifetime Guarantee.

The "Raw Binder" 

Built to last—heavy-duty construction. Rings mounted on back lid to allow pages to lie flat and reduce wear. Holds sheet size 8.5x11. Contains 61% post-consumer recycled content.