My Binder system

 Thanks to sites like Large Family Logistics,  I have been able to find sanity once again and peace of mind in my home!!  

  Large Family Logistics lists days of the week designated for particular areas of the home: For example, Monday is Laundry day.  That means that you do your regular laundry loads every day, but on every Monday, you get it ALL done, put away and folded-  Every bit of it! 

I love this system!

There is also "Town day", for a specific day to go into town....Kim (the owner of Large Family Logistics) lists different GREAT ideas for taking multiple kids to town, and ideas for coming back and being able to have a relaxed and fun trip.   I just love it.

I found a lot of sites using binders lately..... I never have used a binder, or a calendar or ANYTHING before, but I finally decided to make the effort and start one!

I'm SO glad I did! For the last 3 weeks, this house has been GUEST WELCOMING CLEAN!   No matter what time of the day it is.  I can't believe it! lol

Plus, I have been learning so much about how much to expect my children to do. I have learned and realized that my kids do better, feel better, and have more time for fun, when they have more chores to do. 

It gives them a sense of purpose!  It makes them feel more loved and like more of a part of the family, when they have more responsibilities to do around the house. It may sound silly, but it's so true.  And I've seen the house become more and more calm, relaxed, happy, when we have our routines in place and ALL work together making sure things stay nice and neat, and have a system and a working PLAN for our lives.

So here is the binder that I have worked on and finally finished!

This is the front cover:
 

Isn't it pretty?   I have the cover image saved and you can find it HERE if you would like to print out a copy for your own binder!  http://www.sketchesbybethany.net/bindercover.jpg

The verse says "She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness.  Her children rise up and call her blessed;  Her husband also, and he praiseth her. Psalm 31:27-28"

Here is the zipper pouch, which holds  post it notes, pens, and markers.



On the first tab is my Monday cover page- Laundry day!    This is the day when I focus on the laundry, and make sure that every bit of it is folded, put away, and washed!



You can get the page design HERE:
http://www.sketchesbybethany.net/monday.jpg

On the next page is my usual morning and evening routine, which go like this:

Morning Routine

Take shower,
get dressed,
fix hair, 
change Noah’s diaper,
 make breakfast,
 clean off the table (completely),
 Get Caleb and Bonnie dressed,
read Bible to kids,
Start schooling,
Put one load of laundry in the washer,
Fold and put away one load,
Wash all dishes in sink and make it SHINE,

Rule: Make a point to do 15 minutes of phonics instruction with Bonnie. Every single day.  

Evening Routine:

Lay out clothes for tomorrow,
Iron anything that needs it,
Get coffeepot ready for next day,
Clean dishes in the sink, it must sparkle!
Make sure Noah’s diaper is changed,
Make sure Bonnie has a pull up on.
Straighten living room.

Then on the next page is some encouraging words from Large Family Logistics which helps me to do that days work.
Here is the page I have printed out and use as my motivation on the Monday section:
http://largefamilylogistics.net/monday.php?sid=1158358809-1714977

My next tab has my Tuesday cover page, Kitchen day.. This is the day when I focus on the kitchen, clean it out, make it SPARKLE and spot-free! 


  The next page again lists my usual morning and evening routine, plus the kitchen day advice from Large Family logistics, which I printed out and you can see here:
http://largefamilylogistics.net/tuesday.php?sid=1158358809-1714977

You can get my page design here:
http://www.sketchesbybethany.net/tuesday.jpg

My next tab is the cover page for Wednesday, Office day!  This is the day where I work on things like my emails, writing cards, cleaning off my desk and paper clutter,  balancing checkbook, etc...



The next page again is my Morning and Evening routines, and then the next few pages are advice from Large Family Logistics, which you can see here:
http://largefamilylogistics.net/wednesday.php?sid=1158358809-1714977
You can get the page design here:
http://www.sketchesbybethany.net/wednesday.jpg


Then the next tab opens up to Thursday, Town day!



This is the day when I go to town, and get all the things I need, run all the errands that need to be run. The day before, I must have everything planned out and ready to go!   Clothes laid out, food ready to go in crockpot so that when I come home there is a wonderful meal prepared already and no more work necessary in order to eat and relax!  I love this idea, and it really works wonders!!!!!

The next page is my morning and evening routine, then a printed out copy of another page from Large Family Logistics:
http://largefamilylogistics.net/thursday.php?sid=1158358809-1714977

You can get my design here:
http://www.sketchesbybethany.net/Thursday.jpg


The next tab opens to Friday, Cleaning day.



This is a great day to get rid of extra clutter in the home!  
Morning and Evening Routine on next page, then Large Family Logistics print out:
http://largefamilylogistics.net/friday.php?sid=1158358809-1714977

You can get the page design here:
http://www.sketchesbybethany.net/Friday.jpg

The next page is my Once a Month cooking section, where I list all my recipes and tips about OAMC:




You can get the design for this page here:
http://www.sketchesbybethany.net/oamc.jpg


The next tab is Homeschool section, where I have Caleb and Bonnies Homeschooling schedules planned out (this took me a LONG time to do, and I did it in Microsoft Word processor)...it's the entire 40 weeks worth :




The next tab is my Miscellaneous Tips and Articles section:




You can get the design for this page here:
http://www.sketchesbybethany.net/misc.jpg

In this section, I have some incredible articles such as:
http://www.raisinggodlytomatoes.com/basic.htm

And many more!   I keep adding them...it's so much fun.

Anyway, that's my binder for you!    Hope you enjoy!


Update ( as of Dec.6, 06):

Here are the pictures (centered) without the day of the week on them:

http://www.preciousinfants.com/a1m.jpg


http://www.preciousinfants.com/a1t.jpg


http://www.preciousinfants.com/a1w.jpg


http://www.preciousinfants.com/a1th.jpg


http://www.preciousinfants.com/a1f.jpg


If you have a photo editing program and want to add the days of the week on the pages, you might be able to find a tutorial online and add the text that way. I am only experienced in Adobe Photoshop, so if you do not have that program, I really can't help that much.

Also, if you would like me to, I can edit the pictures and add your specific days of the week for you.  Just send me an  email and  I will do it as soon as I can!

Thank you!

P.s. if you would like to use any images from my drawing site for your binder, you are welcome to use them for that use.  
http://www.sketchesbybethany.net

Please also visit my Blog front page...I update daily! 
http://bethany.preciousinfants.com


Posted by Bethany at 9/15/2006 5:11 PM
Categories: Getting Organized
 

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