Getting Organized :: Household Organizational Binder

This summer I am doing my best to take steps to get more organized…in every area of our lives. Except cleaning. Still waiting on a house elf for that one. Some of the changes I’m making are huge like finding storage facilities near me, some are tiny like getting folders for my documents! But in the end, they are all helping to make our lives feel a little less chaotic. I want to share my ideas with you over the summer, in the hopes that you will find inspiration for organizing, or perhaps share some organizing ideas with me in the comments section!

Just look at that mess! It’s what my desk (ahem, dining room table) looks like on a daily basis! I’ve got bills, my calendar, a binder stuffed full of random papers, old pictures to upload, no less than 15 stray lists, my wallet, my iPod, etc. You get the picture…in fact, I’m willing to bet (or at least I am hoping) that I’m not the only one out there with this chaotic kind of desk. Figuring out a better system for organizing our somewhat hectic lives was a top priority for me this summer. I wanted to take that binder you see there buried under all of the paper and clean it up to make it more useful. By the way, as I continue to work on this summer organizational series you will notice a common theme…I’m ADDICTED to binders. I find them to be ever so helpful. First I gathered my supplies: my binder and two sets of tab dividers for the binder (I had a lot of “sections” I wanted to develop to get organized).

And I also bought a cool set of tab dividers with pockets! These have been super helpful for sorting out all of my “stuff” – the bills, important papers, etc. Now that I’ve got all my energy bill documents in order, I can see it’s about time to start looking for a provider with more competitive rates; I might compare my current plan with something like Gexa Energy plans to see what the difference in cost would be.

My next step was to search Etsy.com for a kit to help me organize the Household Organizational binder. I stumbled upon Life on Purpose’s store. Life on Purpose is a store started by Shannan, a fellow crafty mama who authors the blog: It’s Not Always Black & White. I love her funny stories about her family, tales of their adventures & ideas for fun craft projects (and recipes!). I purchased from her store a “Household Organizational Notebook Printable Pages” for $5. It was a PDF that she emailed to me lickety split. The file contains 23 printable pages to help get yourself organized (perfect for list addicts like myself). Included are: An Outline; Weekly Planner; Weekly To-Do List; Weekend To-Do List; Master To-Do List; Family Member Info Sheet (so helpful to have around, in case of an emergency, or for babysitters!); Pet Info Sheet (I should point out here, that you don’t necessarily have to use all of the printable pages…only those you need!); Birthdays and Anniversaries List; Home Storage Inventory List; Movie Inventory (I will never again forget who I loaned a movie to!); Movie Wish List; Book Inventory; Book Wish List; Party Planning Guide; Party Guest list; Dinner Menu Plan; Favorite Recipes (Great way to remember which cookbook your favorite recipes are in!); Recipes to Try; Important Phone Numbers; Contact List. Lists, lists, lists! I was in heaven when I received the PDF! Since I purchased my kit, she has also added an itemized grocery list & recipe page to her shop.

The “Master To-Do” list has been my best friend these past few weeks. I printed several…a master list for me, a master list for Michael, a master list for summer fun (ie: the bucket list) and a master list of projects I want need to complete this summer.