Busy households need every tool in the organizational shed in order to stay afloat in a sea of sports practices, stacks of bills, shopping lists and other flotsam and jetsam of running a home. How can the average busy homeowner keep everything in the home from becoming a cluttered junkyard of information? Here's how to get started.
Pick a Venue
Whether you would like to use a large three ring binder with pockets and labels, an accordion file with tabs, or a box with different sections, you will need to choose a way to organize your home. Perhaps you need a desk area, complete with mailbox, place to hang keys, bulletin board, containers for office supplies, etc. Think of it as your home's "Command Center". Depending on the size of your household, choose an area or method of collecting your home's incoming information and items.
Sort it Out
Your mail, keys, purse, shoes, school letters, sports schedules, appliance warranties and other home items should each have a 'landing place.' Your 'command center' area and household notebook needs to have sections and places that are clearly marked so you can find things when you need them. In your household notebook, have sections for "Kids Sports" "Pet Info" "Carpool Schedule" "Field Trip Permission Slips" "Important Phone Numbers" "Sunday School Schedule" or whatever categories relate to your personal home and its needs and demands.
Schedule Organization
Put a specific date and time on your calendar or in your phone's organizer that schedules you for updating your home organization notebook. A household notebook is only as good as its organizer! Check in once a week to your notebook to check off items on a checklist, see what books are due at the library, or whatever other tasks you've assigned yourself in each of the notebook sections.
Make It Fun!
If you are going to be 'visiting' your household notebook on a regular visit by updating the section contents, make it a notebook you like! Decorate it with pictures of your kids or pets, colors you like, bumper stickers, etc. You can even name it! If the words "Put it in the Bertha!" are heard throughout a household of children, everyone will know this means the household notebook, and it makes it fun for kids and adults alike.
One more note: take a look around office supply stores and online: several companies make household notebooks or other home organizers that could help you jump start your way to an organized home.
Good luck!
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