Hello friends! I’m back after a long break (more on that soon). And what better way to start off the autumn and new school year than with a cute little DIY? I’ve been working on lots of crafts and home projects while I’ve been gone–and this home management binder is one of my favorites!
Earlier this year I took an online course in homemaking by a sweet blogger friend, Ellie. The course is filled with amazing resources for busy wives and moms, including videos, self-assessments, articles, and of course loads of cute printables for home management and organization! I enjoyed it and highly recommend it.
All of the printables went straight into my home management binder, which was in desperate need of an update. Then, of course, I had to create some new covers and dividers to go along with the pretty printables. Today I’m sharing some tips for putting together a home management binder as well as the printables I created for mine!
How to Build a Home Management Binder
- Decide on your sections. These will be different for everybody. Mine include emergency information (contacts + login/password info); my daily, weekly, and annual cleaning routines; and our family planners (a general template for my weekdays with my tot, a glance-at-our-family’s-week, and weekly family goals/activities to do together). Then I store a few miscellaneous items in the binder pockets. Other ideas for sections include a meal plan/grocery list or budget/financial info.
- Locate (or design) templates for each section. This was done beautifully for me in the e-course I mentioned above. Alternatively, you can find loads of free printables on homemaking blogs around the Internet. They just won’t necessarily match! Although I do have to share another friend’s lovely meal plan, shopping and to-do list printables. In the future I want to laminate the meal plan for our fridge so the kid(s) can read it!
- Laminate and protect as necessary. I keep our emergency contact info in waterproof covers. My binder often hangs out in our kitchen, so I like to protect things I won’t be changing frequently from spills. And the occasional food-throwing by my toddler. 🙂
- Assemble and use! I love pulling out my binder to check my list of cleaning tasks for the day or see what’s in our plans for the weekend! You can also modify what your binder includes if you need another resource or aren’t using one.
FREE Feminine Printables for Your Binder!
In addition to the resources I linked to above, from Ellie and Kristy, I created my own binder cover and section covers to pull everything together. Simply click on the image to find the downloadable file. I hope you enjoy using them!
But tell me, what are your favorite resources to manage your home/health/finances? Feel free to share them in the comments!