Home Management Binder: A Pinterest Project

It’s no secret that I like to be organized and anyone I know would definitely categorize my personality type with the first letter of the alphabet. That being said, you can imagine how happy I was when my friend Katie told me such a binder existed where you could literally organize your entire life into one three-ringed heaven. Home management binders’ have become super popular on media outlets such as Pinterest and you can pretty much buy one to coincide with any fashion statement. But, because my fashion sense actually goes hand-in-hand with my money supply and for the most part, I value food more than a designer… anything… I decided to make my own binder and customize it as much as I possibly could.

What you’ll need?

  • A three binder from Staples. I got a mini three-ring so that it easily fits in my biggest purse and can go with me to work.
  • Mini three-ring page covers. This is optional, but they basically laminate the binder in a really cheap way so you only have to print out insert pages once and you can constantly, easily, update the changes that always arise in life.
  • Dry Erase Markers
  • A yearly calendar insert (I got 2016 by accident, so I can’t start using mine just yet)
  • Printable home management binder inserts that fit your schedule and needs. They exist for just about anyone! Make sure you print them a 50% size ratio to the size of the paper so that they come out small enough for the mini three-ring.

Once you customize your pages and find what works best for you, it’s all about setting them up in a way that makes sense. For instance, I put all of my “to do” and calendar pages toward the front because they’re the most relevant for me, while some people would rather have their grocery and store needs on the first page because they have a family of four and frequent the store more than their house. It’s all about having fun with it and creating something that will assist in your day-to-day.

The biggest question I get about my binder is if I use it conjunction with my phone calendar and reminders or if it serves a different purpose. To be honest, my iCal will always be my best friend. Everything goes in their and everything is color-coded by type (I warned you I was type-A earlier). My home management binder serves more as a very important tracker for me. I only put the highlights of everyday into the calendar. Things like meetings and trips and birthdays. But what I really find it useful for is keeping track of my bills, cleaning, grocery trips and expenses. There’s even a password log where you can put your credentials for any online account you have, which is super useful.

I’ll include some images of my binder below. Have fun with it! It’s just another way to keep things in order and I promise you’ll feel organized and oddly relieved when it’s done.

IMG_6724
This is the cover I created. It says the years that my binder will encompass, but also inspirational quotes. I made the artwork for the cover and the banner on Canva.com.
IMG_6725
Inserts are optional, but I think that having them really allow you to break down the binder into sections of importance and always add new pages into the categories you create.
IMG_6726
This shows the theme of inserts that I chose. It’s simple and clean and really allows me to list things out. I chose this to be the first page of my binder and I use it for super important things like appointments in the future, so that I have all upcoming events and tasks as soon as I open the first page.
IMG_6727
The calendar inserts are broken down into two parts. A monthly one with only enough space to write days off of work, holidays, or birthdays. Then a weekly one, which you can see behind that, that allows for meetings and appointments to be marked down.
IMG_6728
I found these mini inspirational calendar inserts at Staples for only $7.00. Once 2016 rolls around, I’ll write all important permanent dates and holidays inside and probably get rid of my laminated monthly insert.
IMG_6729
This list is way more useful than you’ll ever know and you won’t figure it out until you’re ready to check out at the grocery store and you actually get this overwhelming feeling of relief when you realize you got everything for dinner and lunch and breakfast the next few weeks, while spending a whole lot less because you have a list to follow and aren’t aimlessly wondering through the cookie aisle. (Okay – maybe you’ll still aimlessly wander a bit – but it helps!)
IMG_6730
My favorite section! Every time there are coupons attached to receipts or in magazines or sent through catalogs in the mail, I put them into an insert in my “coupon” section. There’s not a better feeling than being a store and realizing you have $5 dollars off of whatever you’re about to buy!
IMG_6731
Clearly the most important section. I had to make sure I really erased this page before posting or you all would know my game plan for the next few weeks and that wouldn’t be any fun. Any time I get an idea for a post, I write it down here. The reason the insert to the left is cardboard and not plastic like the rest is because it starts my “Ideas & Inspiration” section and I like to draw all over it whenever I need to doodle something out.

On a scale of 1 to Well Worth It... What did you think?

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

Gravatar
WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Google photo

You are commenting using your Google account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Twitter picture

You are commenting using your Twitter account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Cancel

Connecting to %s