So far, in this Organizing Your Home, One Step at a Time project, I’ve worked on organizing my receipts and created an “in-box”.
Next up…getting all your important papers in a
Binder System.
I have to say, I really don’t like files. For some reason, it’s like grocery shopping or getting gas for me: I try to put it off until the last possible minute when I can’t procrastinate any longer. We do have a filing cabinet and I do (eventually) file important papers away, but a file system isn’t as efficient when looking up important info and having pertinent, every day papers at hand for me. Like all the ideas in this series, this is what works for me, in an attempt to finally get me and my family completely organized. I hope along the way I offer some inspiration on how to find what works best for you! And I think I’ve said this before, but you may have to tweak your systems a few times before you really hit the nail on the head. God knows I have tried many different solutions!
Binders I have (for right now):
- Family Binder
- Boys Binder
- Home Binder
{I also have one to use as a receipe binder that I will work on and talk about when we hit the kitchen}
I have them out on my little desk in our family room. These binders have moved all over the place while I tried to find the best spot for them!
For now, they like living here.
I started with some coordinating binders that I found at Target. I did this months and months ago, but every time I check Target’s office supply section, they have a similar selection.
shown: family binder, home binder, boys binder
The blue binder holds info about my boys. I purchased some pocketed dividers, labeled them with my trusty label maker, and added page protectors inside and scrapbook letter stickers on the spine so I knew which was which.
{By the way, I love my label maker. Really. It’s probably on my top 10 home necessities list. If you don’t have label maker, you MUST go get one!}
In this particular binder, I have sections for:
- Developmental Info-all the hand outs they give you at the pediatrician’s office during your well-baby visits
- The Boys’ Stats-height, weight, etc. at each Dr.’s appointment
- Feeding/Eating Info
- Discipline Info/Ideas
- Vacine Info
- Important Documents for Both Boys
Some of this stuff I don’t look at all that often, but I like to have it on hand for reference. In a binder, it’s way easier to look up quickly than to remember what I named the file folder and then dig through to find what I need. It’s just way more efficient!
Our Family Binder holds important info that we use often as a family, or info that is nice to have a spot for, but doesn’t warrant a whole file. I found my family binder ideas and tabs from iHeart Organizing. There was a period of time where these printables were free, but now you can order them through her Etsy shop. And looking through her post on this again, I will definitely be adding some new sections to my family binder. I’ll let you know what I end up selecting!
See! It’s ever evolving!
For now, the sections I have are:
- Important Info-phone numbers, insurance numbers, etc.
- Activities-info on swim lessons, pilates sessions, possible upcoming activities
- Preschool
- Family Field Trips-ideas of outings to do around town.
- Vacation Info-sadly there is nothing under this tab right now, but if I’m planning a vacation for the family and need to have the info in one place, this is where it goes.
- Babysitting Info-for when we leave the boys with a babysitter. I’m actually going to type up a new babysitting info page for anyone who watches the boys.
- Cleaning Check List-maybe I should look at this one more often…
- Home Maintenence Log-definitely need to update this list with the new house.
- Auto Log-downloaded this from iHeart Organizing and think it’s a great idea-however ours is still blank :(.
- Season Tickets-currently we don’t have anything in this tab, but when we had season tickets last year to the Padres, all the info went here.
I started my Home Binder last spring and it’s evolved since we purchased our new home. It’s basically a place I store ideas for home projects and has a tab for every room in our house, including the outside. It’s like having an old school version of my Pinterest! I keep pictures I’ve torn out of magazines and catalogs, fabric samples that I love, measurements for pieces, etc.
I came up with the Boys Binder and the Home Binder out of necessity and didn’t have any template to follow. But like I mentioned earlier, I did use the iHeart Ogranizing binder template, and Better Homes and Gardens has another binder resource that is useful. There are a few more ideas I have for using binders to keep up with our family and home management, (a holiday idea binder is on my list and I need to update our home appliance binder), and I’ll be sure to share those if/when I get around to them! But until then, having a few essential binders helps keep control of the paper clutter and lets me have everything I need organized and at my finger tips.
Has a binder system worked for you? Or are you more of a filer? Any other good binder subject ideas?!
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