Taming the Tornado – Family binder

A sneak peek into my method of maintaining the madness of our household –

Just beware! It may not make sense to all, but it works for me.

I have to have everything in one place. Accessible and usable.

This binder has been tweaked more times than anything in our house – but I can honestly say….I have finally found a groove! {until something changes}

I have eight dividers in my binder:

1. Calendar – Here is the plan of all planners for our family. I used to have multiple calendars for the different areas of our life, but it is too complicated. This calendar contains IN PENCIL {symbolizing I am trying to remain, uh-em, flexible} planned family outings, fieldtrips, sports events, travel plans, business meetings, co-op dates, etc. If any of us are going and doing it, it’s here.

As much as I love having everything available electronically (Google calendar) I still have to have my paper and pencil. Old habits die hard, people.

2. N*E*L – (Never-ending-list-of-2-be-dones] – This speaks for itself. If it needs to be completed, repaired, typed, mailed, returned, bought, scheduled, etc……it is listed here.  

3. Writings – It’s labeled this, in lieu of BLOG, because I don’t just write on blogs. In my mind, this made it all-encompassing. This is where I keep track of writing deadlines. Whether it be my drafted-plan for this blog, or others – or for other publications where I am writing – it is all penciled in here. {notice PENCIL again. Things tend to change around here, y’all. I’m trying to be more prepared} Behind this tab, I also have my list of reviews that are in-work, so they are easily scheduled to post.

4. Skool – My sketching area for our homeschool. Current interests of the kids {for me to research and plan possible unit studies}, book lists, workbox planning grid, curriculum or sites to research, and our running-wish-list –> everything from watercolors to history books. It’s all listed here.

5. CCH – This tab houses everything-homeschool-co-op, including our current scope, current directory of members, and tentative plans for the following year. Here I keep track of the classes offered, resources used, teaching schedules, and supplies needed for each week. I also have a section behind this tab for FIELDTRIPS – where all my *plannings* are for those upcoming.

6. Menu – {this used to be a five week rotating menu that is currently under review and revising} (AKA this section is currently pretty empty) We have been in desperate need for a new menu in our home for a while. I am working on compiling a new, standard 5 week rotating menu, while getting great recipes from E-Mealz. [hope to be posting about our new menu very soon]

7. Cleaning – You would think this is a joke. But it’s for real in there. And I must tell you: I have had a daily, weekly, monthly, semi-annually plan for about 7 years. And I have tweaked it each time we have moved to *fit* our new home. Unfortunately, we don’t seem to follow it as much as we have tweaked it. But it is there. I do look to see what month we need to change filters, etc. So, at least it’s getting some use. {I’m thinking if I write a post on this beloved cleaning schedule, it may cause me to, uh-em, feel accountable to use it} <— THERE’S A THOUGHT!

8. Budget – The four letter word in our house these days. {Although it’s not really of four letters – you know what I mean!} Our PLAN for each month can be found here – so I can quickly glance at what is to be paid each week. Most of our bills are paid online, so a statement is never received in the mail. Although email reminders do come through, this is backup to ensure nothing is overlooked.

Yes, at the end of the day – this is where our calculations are jotted, receipts to be entered in Quick Books are filed in a pocket, and more chocolate is needed. {sigh}

Do you have a family binder or a go-to station to maintain the madness of your home??

Better yet, is there even madness in your home? Or is it just us?

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