Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is. (Eph 5: 15-17 NIV)
Family Household Organizer
Personal organizers are hot, hot, hot. Call it a daytimer, a personal planner, or private diary, many Moms use a special notebook for organizing the myriads of details involved in raising children.
Some home management experts promote the idea of a “Household Organizer” designed to be accessible by the whole family. It can save time, reduce stress, and enhance communication in any-sized household.
Here’s how it works. A simple 3-ring tabbed binder can be created to contain telephone rosters, a message section, a divider for church events and activities, schedules for sports teams and extra-curricular classes, medical information, vacation and travel information, gift wish lists, and clothing sizes.
Infinitely expandable, many other sections can be included as well. How about a division for a daily Bible verse? Permission slips and other school notices can be tucked inside the flap in the cover. Pizza menus can live in the back cover. A family mission statement can be crafted and inserted as a title page. Invite your artistic children to decorate the notebook with photos of the family pet.
The best place to keep your Household Notebook is near the main telephone and family calendar of activities. With regular use, your children will get into the habit of seeking information for themselves first, before they run to the ultimate resource: Mom.
A detailed plan for creating your own household
notebook is here.
BusyBodyBook Organizer
You can save yourself the effort of creating a family binder and buy a simpler ready-made version. BusyBodyBook is based on a weekly grid format. Each family member has their own personal column, and they can track their activities while they plan and co-ordinate with one another in parallel.
Download FREE BusyBodyBook sample pages here. Spotted over at Design Mom.
Information about the Carnival of Christian Women is here. Next edition is March 1, 2008.
Up Next—Where Are all the Fathers? Why Men Hate Going to Church
Do you know of any good blogs that promote home organization?
Photo: Bob Gamble (Flickr)
Enjoy this article? Stumble It!
February 21, 2008
Practical Life: The Art of Being Organized
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
10 Popular Marriage Articles
15 COMMENTS:
I'm new to your blog, so you may know this one already, but here's one: http://orgjunkie.com/
Your blog has great stuff!
Hi E-mom,
I really don't know of any blogs that promote organization but this is what I have been working on in my own life right now. I've sort of stepped back and took a good look at my house and I see some areas that really need attention. I NEED TO GET ORGANIZED.
Thanks for the big boost.
Lor
I don't know any blogs about organization, but I love The Organizer Lady, and she does everything from a Christian perspective.
I started keeping a notebook this year, and it really helped get my homeschool organized, if nothing else!
the flylady.net is one that i did for a while!
E-Mom,
I bet your are highly organized.... Great post.
mine and my friend Karens at sowerscorner.blogspot.com
I just posted my spring cleaning chart (although I truly don't write this down...today I did for posting purposes.).
I don't have a family daytimer, just my own that everyone's stuff gets in but i do have a magnetic calendar (write on wipe off) that I have had since my oldest was 2 and in Kindermusik! it hangs on our fridge and each person of the family has his/her own color (no wait..me and hubby share a color). anyways, it is called Our Crazy Schedule...love it love it love it!
I would have said Orgjunkie too and flylady.
I'm in the process of getting back on track after finding myself hugely disorganised!
Hugs.
Sarah x
my daytimer/daily organizer is priceless to me!!!!! i'm scared to think about life without it!
Hey e-Mom,
I love organization and have posted here and there about maintaining order in the home on my blog.
Here is one about getting rid of clutter:
http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/UnderHisConstruction/426712/
Here is one about rules of ownership:
http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/UnderHisConstruction/356337/
My favorite site for home organization is here:
http://myblessedhome.blogspot.com/2006/11/my-home-management-binder.html
E-mom I've tagged you to do a meme.
Hugs.
Alicia, Lori, Jana, Amydeanne, Lynn, Faith, Sarah, Roo, & Mandi.
Thank you for your fantastic links! Perhaps I'll do a follow-up post in the future, and include all of your suggestions. :~D
I've spent much of our morning - well, the entire family has, doing a "sweep" of the whole house! Organization for me, right now, is mostly getting rid of stuff! Then I can organize. This is a huge topic for me. I'm always trying to get on top of keeping a well managed home - everyone is much happier that way!
Okay, I've decided to put together a household binder. I'll let you know what I've come up with...I have to check out the links you have here first. :-)
Jennifer: Good for you! It feels so much better to be clean and organized. Let me know how you like using the household binder. All my adult life, I've lived out of a well-tabulated notebook, and it certainly "works for me." :~D
Flylady has great suggestions on creating a home organization notebook. I know that I should create a system to organize a family now while it is just DH and me, but I just don't have the motivation. Right now, I have a list of the 5 most important daily tasks. I get as far down that list as I can.
Post a Comment