party...

saturday was our binder party :)  we worked hard, had some great laughs, and all came away with some awesome ideas! 

we had another fun, somewhat nerdy (read, lover of all things organizing!) friend who had to leave early.  she is a mom first and that makes me proud to call her one of my closest!!  anyway...here are some cliff notes for everyone and reminders for me too :)

#1 - try to make it fun to put together!  have a party with friends (pre-print some of the page options, have access to more printing, and lay out anything you would use to share!)  glass of wine not required, but it did make for a lovely evening :) 
or make your self a nice hot cup of coffee, lay everything on the floor in the living room, turn on the tunes and go to it!

#2 - think about what you need!

i began a brainstorming list the week before the party and jotted things down as i did them.  this is an important place to remind everyone...each binder will look different (and i don't just mean the aesthetics of them ;)).  each family has different needs, each mom does things a different way, and with every family, things change!  this leads to another reminder, once you set up your binder, remember to re-evaluate anything that isn't working and to review the sections when things in your life change.  this is a plan, and leave room for plan b, c, d...  you get the picture ;)

#3 - set up the sections you know you want to try out!  work with them for a few weeks and change/add/delete any that don't work.  put in any ideas you have, even if you don't have a list or page to put in it yet.  adding it now will keep it on your to-do list for finding the organizing pieces you need.

this is the daily list at a glance page, dinner, big calender items, this one is in a a pocket and i used a dry erase marker!

 

my to-do list, week at a glance

one place for birthday's & anniversaries for the year

liked these, printed, then found another...have these as backup in the pocket at the end of this section

empty as of yet, know i need the section (sewing) but not sure how to organize the info yet...

budget folder, pocket holds my checkbook and the to pay bills...other side the register

grocery list, clipped coupons in the front pocket

the meal planner!

un-clipped coupons go straight here from the sunday paper

#4- use it!  enjoy the process, mess with it until it fits your life, make the front pretty, find a spot for it to live (when it's not open on the counter :)) and share with us!

this is where mine is, in the newly re-done kitchen (yes, this will be another post!) this is now the command center!!

i'd like to link you to the places i found my free printables....

download a meal/menu pack here , these are customizable (i didn't use any yet)

prettiness in picture #1 here (i will be using more of these in some of my empty spots!!)

LOADS here almost anything you can think of! these are picture #2, #3, #4, #7, & #9

will share more when i find lovelies, that are free, of course!
stay tuned, loads more to share on the changes here, to inspire you to make your home the best place for your family and friends!!