Household Notebook

So you think businesspeople are the only folks who need a personal planner? Think again: families need an organizer, too, to keep life moving smoothly on the home front. Whether it's called a household notebook, a home management binder or family organizer, this simple idea saves time, cuts stress, and enhances communication in any-sized family or household.

A standard-sized binder stocked with calendars and schedules, planner forms and inventories, a Household Notebook creates a one-stop information center for busy families. Whether it's a carpool schedule or a co-worker's phone number, the Household Notebook holds the information you need to check each day.

What's the fast-track to an organized holiday season? Create a Christmas holiday planner notebook! Organizing holiday preparations in a simple three-ring binder takes the household notebook concept to new holiday heights!

To create your tool for efficient holiday planning, try these pointers from sister site Organized Christmas:

Our free printable forms library is a great place to begin building your household notebook: you'll find printable calendars, schedules, planner pages and checklists to make a good start.

Want company? Visit the Household Notebook Forum at the Organized Home Message Boards. Fellow Notebookers are always ready to share inspiration and ideas, tips and time-savers.

Using a household notebook to organize home life is only the beginning; the concept applies nicely to holidays, special occasions, crafts and hobbies.

Consider creating special notebook versions to organize:

• seasonal celebrations
• weddings
• birthdays and/or anniversaries
• moving
• gardening and yard care
• scrapbooking
• sewing
• hobbies and collections
• recipe collections

Planning Divider

To start your Household Notebook, begin with the basics: planning and time management. Claim your time with a Planning Divider!

What belongs here? Calendars, schedules and to-do lists direct the course of family life. In-depth planning tools, like mission statements or goal planning worksheets, do the hard work of translating goals to reality. Use a three-hole punch to add work schedules, school calendars and events lists for church and civic activities.

Phone Divider

To create your family's Household Notebook, start with a three-ring binder, some clear page protectors, paper and tabbed dividers.

Using tabbed dividers from the office supply store, set up dividers according to your family's needs. Remember, each family grows their own family organizer; expect divider categories to change along with your family. We've listed some suggested dividers in this article, but your family is unique, so your dividers will reflect that. Be sure to place a few page protectors behind each divider section.

Unlike a personal planner, which is designed for use by one person, a household notebook or family organizer serves as "command central" for an entire family. While each family's organizer will be unique, most are simple three-ring notebooks with several divider sections.