With five people and two dogs in our house, life is always abuzz with activity. Keeping track of our schedules and planning ahead is a must to keep it all together, and I do this with the aid of a household binder. What is a household binder? Simply a 3-ring binder that I have filled with various forms and printables to organize and track our lives.
My household binder has several tabs: one for our weekly menu, one for the monthly budget, one for our online passwords, and so on. I fill the binders with printables, some that I have made myself and some that I have purchased. Printables are things like calendars, to-do lists, etc., that you can print over and over again.
Here are a few of my favorite printables:
The Confident Mom Household Planner
My own Monthly Budget Printable
The best part is, all of the printables I listed above are free!
One of the most important elements of a binder system is using tools that you actually like. I use cute binders, pastel dividers, and printables that compliment the color scheme. I label the tabs with my label maker instead of by hand, so it looks nicer. I have also purchased some fun pens that coordinate with the binder. That might sound silly, but if I am excited to use what I have, it am far more likely to stick with it.
I use a traditional 3-ring binder system, but a lot of people prefer the ARC system. Places like Staples and Target are good sources for fun an unique binders and tools. I like the Martha Stewart line at Staples because a lot of the products are my favorite aqua color.
I set aside time every week to go over the household binder with my husband. We go over our schedules for the week, nail down a menu plan, and review our budget. That way we both know what is going on that week, and he knows where to access the information in the binder. This has been a great habit for us to get into, not only for our schedules’ sake, but it has improved our communication and eliminated misunderstandings about who will be where when.
If you struggle with finding a calendar system that works for you, I would encourage you to consider a household binder. It has changed our family’s life for the better.
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