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Monday, November 1, 2010

Homekeeping Notebook Pt 2

PART 2!!!!! :)

As I said in my previous post I was trawling the net and came across the exact thing I needed to get on top of my poor exhausted brain cells. Its called various things and while I know I labelled this 'Homekeeping Notebook', I actually call mine the Housekeeping Diary :)

So the lowdown on a Housekeeping Diary/Homekeeping Notebook/whatever else you wish to call it, is that its a folder with sections that cover every part of your life that you want to chronicle and keep on top of. Simple right?! Apt really since this blog is all about Simple Homekeeping ;) Now while I'd love to share photos of mine I managed somehow to pack it and it is currently in a totally different island to me :unimpressed face: so much for organisation... so you'll have to make do with this :

The sections in my folder include
PLANNING
Monthly PlannerI put in all appointments, playdates, the big fellas hunting/wood cutting expeditions, etc into this page.


Daily Planner - I fill out each day in the evening before bed, carrying anything thats been prearranged and entered into my monthly planner over onto here.

Meal Planner - The menu list I've chosen for the week is in here. This also lists all the prep details required for each dish (i.e soaking and cooking beans) and I have a glance at this and enter any prep into my 'Daily Planner' so if I want Black Bean Burritos on Thursday I know I have to soak the beans on Wednesday, and so on.

Cleaning Planner - The list of jobs I have, how many times they need doing, etc. I'll choose one or two things to enter into my Daily Planner each night. I also have a sheet with my best recipes on it.

Goal Sheets - I have sheets for Family goals, Personal goals, Round the House goals, Yearly goals, and Relationship goals. Being a pretty goal orientated person I find it very satisfying ticking things off ;)

HoneyDew Lists - For the big fella - Honey can you Dew this... I stick it somewhere he can't miss it with what I need done and by what date. Works a treat ;)

Preschool Chore List - Never too early to start teaching responsibility IMO. We have one of these on the wall too.

KITCHEN
Favourite Recipes - self-explanatory really ;) I have all our favourite recipes, where I found them, what ingredients I need, what prep is needed.

Fakeaways Menu - a list of fakeaways (homemade takeaways) with recipes that my male-folk can choose from for the weekends.

Menu Planners - I have about 6 weeks of menu plans written out. They have the name of the recipe, and the prep required for each meal. They're easy to put together because I have a meal system. We generally have one mince meal, one chicken meal, 2 vegetarian meals, 2 fakeaways (or 1 fakeaway, one takeout), one sausage meal for every week and since I have multiple recipes for each 'type' I choose what flows into what easily. That means I might do a roast chicken with roast veg the night before I make quiche so I can do the veg for both easily. That makes it quick and easy to chuck together a couple of quiches the next night IYKWIM?! Then I choose the meal plan I want for that week and move it to my 'Planning' section :)

Pantry/Freezer/Fridge Lists - These are laminated printouts with every single thing we have in stock. I write the quantities beside each product and adjust it as I use stuff. Theres a list for all our homemade condiments etc too so I know when we're running low.

PERSONAL
Workout Plan - I (attempt to) workout everyday, even if its only for 5 minutes. I have a sheet with all my favourite butt/belly/bicep busters plus a daily tick box so I can keep track of what I've done, how often, etc.

Bible Study - This is a big part of my day. I have a sheet for memory verses, passages I'm working through, a prayer list, note paper and a weekly assessment on how I feel I'm doing in personal areas of my life plus what I want to work on.

KIDS
Homeschooling - We plan, at this stage, on homeschooling our boys. My big boy is getting into his letters, numbers, colours and so on, and I'm taking full advantage of this and implementing 'school time' in the mornings. In this section I have writing aids, teaching aids, games, flash cards and other bits and pieces I can pull out to make learning fun even at 3. I also have a growing list of curriculum, links and resources I'm collecting for later.

General - I have a couple of scavenger hunt lists, some art ideas, a list of rainy day activities and some special stickers and colouring pictures that I can quickly go to if our day is deteriorating and we need a change or just for something special. It makes it easier to enjoy spending time with my kids if I don't have to spend ages trying to come up with something to do!

MISCELLANEOUS
Gardening - I have my garden planning pages including diagrams for what I've sown, where, and when they should be ready.

Gifts List - This is where I list anything I might pick up on special for a future birthday/christmas/random gift. Makes things easier on the thinking and the finances!

Journal - I'm not a big diary writer but its always good to keep some journal pages handy for those days I either really want to remember or need to offload about.

Book List - I love reading so always keep my eye out for recommendations from people on the same wavelength as me. I pop it on my list and don't have to worry about missing out on a good read or a good resource.

Reading Journal - I do my own little book reports if I really enjoy something, especially if its a book I've borrowed and I want to remember why I want to find it and buy it.


So these are some of the pages I find helps me keep my house, my family and myself in order!! There are quite a few more bits and pieces, forms and files I have in my binder but of course what suits me won't automatically suit you. Now here are some links so you can get downloading and work your own system!!

Life...Your Way

MoneySavingMom

Simple Mom

$5 Dinners

Kirstens Guide

Fly Lady

Inspired to Action - there are some great free e-books here to help pull some routine into your day.

Spring Pages

Donna Young

Household Management 101

Fruit of her Hands

Homemaking Organized

Menus4Moms

Organized Home

The Household Planner

Chart Jungle - there are some potty training and targeted behaviour chart printables here which are blow-your-mind awesome!!

Pet Charts

My ParenTime - some free, some require payment.

Mommy Tracked



If you come across any other links you particularly love please share!

3 comments:

Lindsey said...

Thanks!! I have been checking each day for part 2!

Jakes Mama said...

No worries :) I'll finish it asap and include links so you can make your own!

jaycee said...

Yay! I have been doing some obsessive checking too! Thank you, as always I am in awe of your organising skills :-)

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