2012 - Life Management in a binder

One of my goals for 2012 is to get all my to do's, schedules, cleaning, cooking, planning, commitments, etc gathered together in a neat little package so I can, from day to day, know whether I am coming or going.  I used to be completely organized, minute by minute in a nifty lil planner I carried around.  Then the world of smart phones and babies happened.  This past year was a whirlwind and flew by way too fast.  I don't want that kind of year again.  In steps the home management binder.  I have too many menus, calendars, check lists, and post it notes spread from here to there that I need to organize into one cutesy binder. 

You can find tons of information on building your home's binder online.  Just google Home Management Binder.  It really is a person by person thing, and needs to be coordinated to your lifestyle. 

Since I am on a quest to find my favorite printables for my binder, I thought I would share. Maybe its time for you to challenge yourself to creating some sort of binder too?

The Tool Box on Mommy Tracked has a large selection of printables:

                  

              

Get Buttoned Up has a large list of forms your can print, including lunch box notes and more!

                

          

    Printable pages for your Household Notebook available for free at Organized Home as well as more forms available from Organized home here.


Tons of printable spreadsheets for everything in life at Donna Young.  Great Homeschool forms as well!


You can also find plenty of printable bundles for a small cost.  I am debating on going this route.  I really desire a weekly planner with chores to tackle listed.  Of course I could fill in 52 weeks worth of chores on my own, but I did find this one already filled in. 
     The Project Girl 2012 Weekly Calendar with chores  ---  this site has an annual sale in Jan. so I am waiting to see if I can get a deal on the 1st.  It's only 12.99 now and would save me hours of creating my own documents...however, my "never pay retail" side is kicking in.

My Favorite Organizing Tips on my To Do List

The organizing bug has hit this house...not to mention a few other "bugs" that are not so fun.  Now that the wee ones are well on their way to feeling better, I've got the need to organize some things.  Maybe all the surfaces I wiped down with Lysol this week has me thinking I should minimize the stuff on those surfaces...  Being a blog junkie, I have lots of ideas pinned to my to do files.  here are a few of my favorite ideas, that will be making their debut in my home very very soon!

Gift Wrap and Ribbon organizer, makes my heart flutter!

Via Blue Cricket Design

Soap Boxes from the Dollar Store... organizes cards and other small items!

via Shady Tree Diary

Organize coloring books with a dish rack! 
via Heather J's Life

Organizing Labels

I will start off this post by saying it is HARD to get a house organized when there are people under the age of 18 living in it.  I would also like to add it is near IMPOSSIBLE if you have children AND a husband living in it.  I drool over pictures of neatly organized homes.  And I nod my head when a  fellow blogger reveals the "other side" of pictures...you know, the side the camera didn't catch! That's real life folks! 

I am not consumed with organizing to the point that I have or want lists of the items I have...I just want to see neat and orderly, and maybe things labelled.  If they were labelled, would the kids (and hubby) abide to the labels?  Maybe if I jumped up and down screaming and hollering enough?  I just don't know....  As I ponder that "would they" question, I found some labels that are FREE to download and/or print!  You can buy blank labels at any store that sells office supplies.  Or can do like I do, and purchase sheets of sticker paper. 

This allows me to print any size or shape sticker I want and not fight with set the computer to print a certain size, format, and direction. 

Better Homes & Gardens has an entire gallery of free printable labels, most of which are editable!

Lovin' this pantry! 


Some more pantry labels from Domestifluff. 
The Rubber Punkin has some great labels for your pantry, closet, and kids/toy rooms!


and one more....

 Spark Picks offers some great Craft Container labels.

You can also find a huge assortment of free printable blank labels on the Internet.  Just search "free printable labels" and get lost in the variety of labels available. 

DIY Tiered Jewelry Holder

Last year while planning Lil Bug's 1st birthday party, I ran into a problem with my "want" and what I could actually find in the stores at a price I was willing to pay for a party.  Those that know me, know, I love a bargain and if its not something I will use over and over and often...I refuse to pay full price.  I wanted a red tiered serving platter.  I couldn't find one.  Then I saw that you could DIY one and they were all over blog land.  It was perfect timing!  I made my own.

And then I made another....

Fast forward to present...I really needed to organize my jewelry.  I have cubby holes in my closet and one of them houses all my jewelry.  It was a mess.  I wasn't quite sure what I wanted to do until I saw a picture of a tiered jewelry holder and decided I must make one. 

Photo via Better Homes and Gardens

I collected my supplies....3 plates, 2 candlesticks, and glue. 


You will want to turn the candlestick upside down so that the top plate gets the most surface area.
I glued my candlesticks (upside down) to 2 of the plates.  See how there is more surface area on the bottom ring?  Allow to dry for a good hour or so before moving on to next step.


Glue one on top of the other and again, allow to dry for a good hour or so. 


Then glue the last plate to the top. 


I used glass glue but found that super glue (dollar store) works better...its thicker and you can get more on the tiny rim of the candlestick.