Put Your Homemaking Binder Together – The Binder {series} 2
Introduction – I did a version of this series a year ago in tandem with a book review I had done on Renee Metzler’s books Total Home Makeover. You can read the review here.
I’ve since updated the series to be a simple primer on putting together your Homemaking Binder for a new and organized 2014.
I’ve added all the forms you’ll need to complete the series here in my free downloads section but if you’re ready to take it a step further and fully outfit your Homemaking Binder you can view my more feminine printables, checklists, forms, and ebooks at our estore
So to help you regain some semblance of order in your home for 2014…
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Creating The Perfect Binder for Your Household
This is the shell that will turn into the beautiful swan that is your own homekeeping binder. A binder is just that, a binder. It is up to you to flesh it out, personalize it, and make it your own.
I encourage you to make your Homemaking Binder a thing of beauty.
Putting Together Your Binder
The Cover: What kind of binder did you choose? Does it hold full letter sized pages or half sized pages? Did you pick up a binder with the clear view cover or did you find a binder that is already done for you? I’ve tried quite a few different sized binders with and without creative covers and for me personally the smaller classic sized binder that is meant to tote and go is what is working best right now.
As of this writing this is my binder of choice. The price was right and so was the color! I like to to take my details with me on the go and this smaller size suits me best. It does have the seven ring thing happening but I have a small hole punch for that.
I also have a full size binder for leaving at home. I made this binder on Zazzle where you’ll find lots of cute full sized binders that you can personalize. This binder holds things like my gardening information and other items that I don’t reference that often.
Customized Plain White Binders
A plain white binder is the choice for many people when they make a Homemaking binder. It’s easy to customize and white is a clean fresh color reflecting a clean fresh home. You can personalize these types of binders very well.
Here are some lovely personalized binders that were once plain white.
- Here’s a nice one from More Like Home. She used pretty cardstock to personalize it.
- At One Sewing Mommy she slips in pretty vintage graphics to pretty her binder.
- The Country Homemaker has this one in an older post (scroll down). Shows what you can do with your favorite image.
Fabric Covered Binders
Covering your binder in fabric is another delicious way to go. You can do so many pretty things with pretty fabric. It’s a great way to cover up an old binder. And even if you go this route in the interest of being frugal what you may end up with in the end could be far lovelier than a store bought binder. And don’t worry. If you don’t feel adept at covering your binder with fabric read my article with links to tutorials here.
Dividers: Your binder is going to need dividers if you’re going to find things quickly and effortlessly. There are many types of dividers on the market and you can even create your own but I will tell you about two that I have used.
I always want to be able to personalize the dividers in my binder so I use these Avery top loading page protector dividers for my larger binder. That way I can put whatever my heart’s desire as the first page to each section. Just add tabs.
Let us start with the basics. We’re going to put in our binder divider sections for….
- Calendars and Schedules
- Menu Planning
- Household Cleaning (includes Daily and Weekly Cleaning and Seasonal Cleaning)
- Home Finances (or Budget)
- Home Inventory
- Your Children (includes school information and their schedules)
- Gardening (of course this is optional)
- Crafts (another optional section)
Your task is to spend the next week putting together your binder. Don’t get caught up in the details (I’m speaking from experience). Go with the first idea that you come up with. You can perfect it later. Right now we want a working model.
Next Week Calendars and Schedules.
