Kids Binders

Binders are wonderful storage tools and I use them ALOT!! Here are a few of my Kid Binders.

I have a binder for each child to hold all the certificates and awards they earn. These include attendance awards, spelling awards, sports ribbons ect.

Then I have my Kids Craft Binder. This is for all those little activities I come across to try with the kids.

Recipe and Shopping Guide Binders

I love trying new recipes and frequently tear recipes out of magazines and print from online sources. I rarely use a store bought cookbook. But with all of those pieces of paper I needed to find them a home. What better then a BINDER!!!

First let's talk about my Recipe Binder. Here I put all the recipes I tear out of magazines or print off the internet. I keep a calendar at the front for monthly menu planning and I have a section for meal ideas. The recipes themselves are sorted into the following catagories: Main Dish, Side Dish, Breakfast, Baking. Each recipe is slipped into a sheet protector.

Next I have my Price Guide Binder. This is a handy tool when planning my weekly shopping trip. To be honest this has taken me some time to build, but is worth every minute spent.

This binder is divided into the following catagories: Fresh Fruit, Fresh Veggies,Breads, Dairy, Condaments,Can Fruit, Can Veggies,Can Food, Box Food, Pasta/Rice, Meat, Cereal, Frozen Food, Baking, Beverages, Paper Goods, Toiletres, Cleaning, and Snack foods.

At the front of this binder is a zipper pouch that holds reciepts I need to go over. I have a printed "Cheat Sheet" at the front that list the abreviations I use for each store; LK for Lucky, SW for Safeway ect.

In each section I have a sheet for each food item. On the sheet I list the size of the item, the store abreviation and the price. So for example I buy Jar Applesauce so on that sheet I have noted that a 47.8oz jar of TreeTop cost $3.99 at Safeway and $3.49 at Lucky. This helps me to try and save as much as possible on my weekly shopping runs because I ALWAYS compare the listed price with the sale adds.

My Household Bills Binders

Keeping track of household bills has always been a thorn in my side, I have to say!

In years past I would loose bills, forget about bills and frequently pay bills late. That is until I found my binder system!! Now my bills have a home and I have a system for filing and paying them that works for me.

I have 4 binders I use for bills and investments:
1 for household/utility bills1 for credit cards and loans1 for business related bills (my hubby owns a Landscape Construction Co)
1 for our investments (IRA's, College Funds and Stocks)

These binders are broken down by bill and at the front of each binder I have a form listing due dates, amounts due, dates paid and amounts paid. It's handy to have this information at-a-glance.

Each day when my mail arrives I go through it immediatly. I NEVER let it sit...that is to dangerous for me!! If it sits, it piles up!! I shred and recycle all junk mail first. Then I open all bills and 3-hole punch them, I keep my hole punch in the cabinet that house my Bill Binders. As I file each bill I write down the needed information on the form at the front of each binder. Checking this form is one of my MIT's listed on my Daily routine.

Now I always know where my bills are and I never pay bills late!!

Medical Information Binders

I have learned over the past few months how important it is to keep medical record information contained and accessable at a moments notice. To acheive this I put together Medical Record Binders for each member of my household. These binders are broken down into the following catagories: Visits, Lab Work, Immunizations, Procedures, and Reciepts. At the front of each binder I have the medical record number, emergency contact information, allergies, current medications and a list for any OTC medications.



I have also put together a binder for my mother, who is currently under a doctors care for an on-going illness. It is such a valuable tool for my sisters and I, who take turns attending my mothers' appointments with her. It allows each of us to make notes of the appointment and have past notes handy. It also keeps each of us up to date on her care.

Binders, Binders, Binders.......Love me some Binders!!!!

I have a confession.............I'm a binder junkie. I use binders to organize just about everything. It helps to keep my life clutter free and it helps the kids and hubby too!

Today I'll share my most important binder:our Household Notebook:

This binder sits at the end of my kitchen counter 24/7. It contains all of the following sections & information:

Planning: This section is divided into subcatagories of Daily, Weekly, Monthly & Personal Developement.
In the Daily catagory I have a printed form with the following information: My days general plan broken down by hour. A list of tasks I would like to accomplish on that day. My top 3 most important tasks to complete that day. My dinner plan for that day. My baking plan for that day (I like to have a fresh baked treat ready for the kids to have during homework time each day.) A list of "To-Do's" focusing on a particular project I may be working on...this could be reorganizing a closet, doing some scrapbooking or working in my yard. On this form I also keep track of my water intake for the day...I'm not very good about drinking enough water so this helps me.
In the Weekly catagory I have a printed weekly calendar. Here I list out everything that is taking place that week, including times, such as kids events, hubby being out-of-town, appointments ect. I also include my cleaning routine here and my project goals for the week.
In the Monthly catagory I have a month at a glance calendar. This helps in my weekly planning so I know what the month has in store for each family member. Hubby also uses this section to block out times he will not be home or will be working late.
In the Personal Developement section I keep track of my personal food intake, my excercise routine, my personal goals ect.

The next section is Household Inventory. This section is also broken down into subcatagorize: Dry Goods, Can Goods, Baking, freezer, Cleaning Supplies, and Paper Goods. I do a weekly check of items so I know what we have, what has been used and what we need. This is a GREAT tool when making my grocery list.

The next section is titles Projects. Here I have individual printed sheets for each project I am currently working on and projects to be worked on. On this form I list what the project is, my goals, any shopping needs to complete the project. I also break down the project into managable To Do items so I don't feel overwhelmed with the "big picture" of the project.

The next section is Cleaning. Here I have cleaning checklist for EACH room of my house. Here I'm able to keep track of Daily-Weekly-Monthly-Yearly task for each area of the house.

The next section is School. Here I put any "need to keep" correspondences from the kids schools; calendars, class schedules, class contavct list ect.

The last section is Misc. Here I put anything that needs to be kept, but doesn't fit into any of the other sections.

Every Sunday evening after the kids have gone to bed I sit down with this binder and first look at my monthly calendar. From there I transfer information to my weekly calendar and from there to my daily. I write out my daily routines for the ENTIRE week. Based on the events for that given week I plan out what projects I will try to tackle. If I have a busy week I may skip a project all together, but if we have a light week I may choose a larger task that takes more of my time. I also check my cleaning schedule and add anything that needs to be added to my daily routines.

Once a month I go over my cleaning checklist and write down on my monthly calendar any less frequent cleaning and household maintence tasks like changing the heater filter.

I also use this time to do any meal planning. I use to try to plan an entire month in advance, but that became unrealistic for me. Now I focus one week at a time and write a shopping list for that week. I do my grocery shopping every Monday and my large wholesale shopping once a month. I will be posting more about this later.

So as I said before I'm a binder junkie and have many more binders to share, so stay tuned.....