Household Notebook

I've spent the last 4-6 weeks updating my Household Notebook - it's my "Command Central" for running our house and family. It's where I keep our calendar, weekly planning charts, daily to do lists, schedules, menu and meal planning, chore lists, financial, medical, and school information, diet and exercising tracking, holiday planning, remodeling and project ideas, birthday calendars and gift ideas, contact lists, prayer lists, discipleship plans for each of the kids, creative ideas for encouraging Ron and the kids, family night activities, vacation planning, etc. And at the back, I have sections for other responsibilities with church, SGA, Pastors' Wives, Leaders' Wives, youth group, etc.

As our family has grown and our responsibilities increased over the years, I can't keep all this information in my head - it has been a great help in reducing stress by knowing that it's all in one place and it's there to keep me on track with my priorities.

I've tried to use Day Runners and DayTimers and other types of home management notebooks, but finally decided to custom make my own to fit my specific life and activities. I've gotten great ideas from other homeschoolers and bloggers who've demonstrated theirs with photos and provided detailed instructions on line.

This year, I've tried to make it visually interesting by adding some creative paper and scrapbooking embellishments to it - so it's enjoyable to look at each day as I use it. Making this notebook has helped spark new vision for what I'm doing in managing our home and family. And it's leaving me more time to think about other things - friends, family, reaching out to neighbors, having people over for hospitality, reading, being freed up to enjoy some hobbies...

Organization: It's a GOOD Thing!