My household notebook is truly my household manager. Sometimes I think that if I didn’t have it, I would not know which way was up, at least half the time. I discovered household notebooks many years ago. I was shopping at store that sold these little planner things that were very small and you could record all kind of information in them. They were titled Household Inventory. Though truly there wasn’t much in them that made them an inventory.
I came home and was thinking about the book. I did not purchase one, instead I had the creativity to make one on my own. I had a spare binder around and tons of page protectors, after all I am a scrapbooker, so I set to work. Throughout the years, that binder has expanded greatly. It started out as a 1” binder and has grown to a whopping 5” binder. Yes it’s huge, but it also holds every necessary important thing for my family and household.
So here is how you can get started.
First, look around your home and see if you have a spare binder. Most families have one lying around somewhere, perhaps with other things in it, that they have not looked at for years. Clean out the binder and get ready.
You will need to either purchase or find some page protectors. You can also add folders that insert into a three ring binder and if you are the OCD type, consider using divider pages to divide your various sections, which we will discuss tomorrow.
The number of page protectors that you need, is dependent really on the size of your family, and the number of items you need to store. I purchased a box of 500 and I have plenty leftover for expanding and growing. That’s an important part of this. As your family changes, and seasons go by, there will be things to remove and things to add, so keep this in mind when choosing your entire system. You need a good binder that opens easily, and closes completely so pages don’t slip out. You need it to be sturdy and tough because more than likely there will be a lot of stuff to fit in there.
Once you have the system ready to go, you are ready to figure out what your categories will be. I will discuss this tomorrow, so please check back in the frugal living blog for more information.
Related Articles:
Time to Update Your Household Notebook and More
How to Make a Household Notebook
The Household Notebook – Divided
The Household Notebook – Getting Started