That disorganization and overwhelmed feeling with household tasks is exhausting. A household binder can help you keep track of important information, schedules, and to-do lists all in one place. Follow this guide to create and use a household binder that will keep your home and family running smoothly.

Our Household Binder

We established our Household Binder 10 years ago and haven’t looked back since. It has certainly evolved throughout the years from category tabs to the size of the binder, those change as our family needs change.

The sound of getting organized can be intimidating and make you not want to start but organizing isn’t intimidating!  The biggest challenge of it all is starting.

Creating a household binder is one of the easiest and quickest ways to get organized.  A household binder is kind of like your resume, it keeps all of your important information together and can be easily accessed.

Just as you update your resume frequently, updating your household binder is important too because things change.  Your household binder won’t serve a purpose if it’s not updated.

Why You Should Have One

Creating a binder will serve as a resourceful resource.  The binder will become your go-to guide.  It will be your Home Bible.  It will keep you organized and allow you to become more productive because all of your important resources will be in one place.  Time will no longer be wasted searching for documents.

Computers today allow you to save your login information but there are times where information is needed.   Write down the login information the first time and you’ll be good, no one likes selecting ‘Forgot Password’ it makes you feel unorganized and just becomes an annoying task.

You’ll want to place it where it can be easily accessed every day, like the inside of a kitchen cabinet or on an office desk.  Make sure to keep it in the same spot so you always know where it’s located.

The kitchen is the gathering place of the household, it’s where everyone congregates.  Your household binder will be the rock of all the important information you need.

Get a binder

Start with a 1″ binder, anything less than that is too small and anything bigger is too big.  You can always reevaluate the size after you’ve been using it for a few months.

Get tab dividers

You can get standard tab dividers for paper or get the ones that have folder pockets.  The folder pockets work best. They’re functional and accessible.  You will need a three-ring hole puncher if you chose the tab dividers.

Print Printables

Using printables keeps all of your information neatly organized and easy to find.  Decide which printables you want in your binder and print them out.  Gathering all of the printables first will help you organize your categories and what you want and don’t want in your binder.

The most common and important ones for a Household Binder are as follows:

• Account Information

  Keep all of your login information in one place.  You’ll be able to access the information quicker rather than doing an endless search.

• Meal Planning

  Planning out meals for the week not only saves you money but you also end of eating healthy because you are sticking to a plan.  If you don’t like to cook, meal planning can be tedious.  As much as I love to organize and plan, meal planning isn’t one of my favorite things to do but saving money is.  Using that as motivation helps make meal planning a little easier.

• Medical Contacts

  If you have kids, keeping your pediatrician information handy makes life easier.  Keep your insurance information in the same area as your medical contacts.  It will be easy to reference if you need to call insurance or if the doctor’s office needs the information again.

• Monthly Budget

  Tell your money where to go each month rather than wonder where it went.  While I’m no financial expert, a monthly budget keeps you in check and gives you less stress.  If you are looking for some great budgeting tips and ideas, Dave Ramsey is an excellent place to start.

• Address Book

  It seems most people just have address books on their phones but having a physical address book comes in handy more times than not.  There’s something satisfying looking at a physical list.

• School Information

  Keep the school calendar or any event information here.  As a new parent of a child in school, it’s overwhelming all the information they come home with, sort through what you need and don’t need.

• Pet Information

  It’s really easy to forget when your pet had their last checkup especially if you have kids, the pets usually take a backseat.  Keeping their last checkup information handy will be a reminder to schedule the next appointment.

• Family Goals

  Having your goals in a place you always reference will help you stay on track with them.  Keeping them in the inside pocket or the cover is a great place to put them because you will constantly see them.  It’s one thing to write down goals but they serve you no purpose if you don’t look at them often.

Gather Account Documents

If you have important documents from the bank or account information from another company they mailed, keep it here for an easy reference point.

1. Binder
2. File Folders
3. Pens

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