Friday, January 14, 2011

Projects: mom binder

Sometime shortly before Christmas I snagged a free download of Jessica Getsgow Fisher's "Organizing Life as a Mom" pdf for creating a "Mom Binder".  My tried and true method of writing a list from scratch for the next day has been falling to pieces since I became a mom of 3.  It was time to try something a little more comprehensive, and that could do a little bit more of the remembering for me.  (Because my short-term memory is a joke right now).

I remembered that my friend Aubrey had something like this and it had made it easy to step in and be the mom when we house-sat for her and watched her older kids for a few days.  It was almost like a manual, "everything you need to know to run this household and keep the small kids in their groove."


It's taken me over a month, but I finally have one notebook with all my calendars, lists, schedules, routines, important phone numbers, budgets, and menu planning information.  If I can just keep this puppy close at hand throughout the day, then we stand a chance of staying on track and actually accomplishing what we plan to accomplish in any given day.  Well, until something unexpected throws us off track.  But I still prefer to start with a plan!

What has worked for you in managing your household and all the people relying on you for order and instruction?  (And food?)

And yes, someday I expect a smartphone and google calendars will do all of this for me.  But for now I can afford paper and printer ink much more readily than a smartphone and a data plan.  Regardless, what apps have you or other moms loved for running life smoothly?

4 comments:

Stina said...

I had a similar binder taht I spent weeks preparing when Tay and I went on vacation last summer, it had everything for my mom and Alvin, addresses, phone numbers, directions for the computer/tv ect...what solids he had so far and what were next...his entire routine...we even included a guardian release we signed for her in case he needed special care while we were in mexico...That's gonna be an awesome thing to always have on hand!!

Lizzie said...

That is awesome. I'm very impressed you got it all filled out. I'd love a copy of the pdf if you are willing to e-mail it out. ;) But if you didn't save a blank copy, no biggie.

hairyshoefairy said...

I want to see what something like this actually looks like in real life. I have a notebook with me constantly, too, but I know nobody but me would be able to just step in and know what was going in by looking at it because it's kind of scattered. I tried a google calendar for a while but it felt kind of silly for me because I don't have many places I need to be at a certain time. Most things are just sort of whenever which is why I found it easier to just make a list and do it when I felt like it (or when it REALLY needed to happen). I wish I could figure out a way to feel more organized than that but for now my notebooks and a big family calendar are all I've got working for me.

ari said...

i suppose my phone call was one of those unexpected interruptions today ... i was so nice to have that time to chat with you though.
my binder is in my head - little use for anyone else, but then again, i don't expect to have anyone jump in for me any time soon, or rather later. =)

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...