My New Home Management Journal

During the last few months I've been working on a new journal to help me manage my home and finances.  It was time to upgrade and consolidate a bit so I decided to retire my old black binder and lovely yellow spiral notebook that I've had for years and create something fresh and new.  I am so excited to share this with you!

I started with an Avery mini binder that I picked up at Walmart for $3.97 and added a package of divider tabs and sleeve protectors for $2.48 each.  It may seem a bit expensive to some to spend that much on a binder, but have you priced dayplanners and organizers?  They are pretty pricey.  And I expect to have and use this one for a long time so I think it is well worth the investment.

Normally I am quite happy functioning with the basics.  Basic black binder, plain white paper, simple, simple, simple.  But this time I wanted to make it a little bit more than simple.  I wanted to make it pretty.

I have a lot of colored papers in various weights and a bunch of scrapbooking paper.  In fact, I have a stack of the stuff that is well over a foot high.  That is a lot of paper!  And crazy as this may sound, I've had it for years.  I decided it is time to either use this stuff or get rid of it.  I decided to use it and I'm having a lot of fun with it.

First thing, I selected some fun striped scrapbooking paper to dress up the cover.  No more basic black for me.  And then I created pages in Excel and printed them out on colorful paper.  I put them in the sleeve protectors.

My beloved pantry list

I printed out labels for the dividers and adhered them to the tabs for each category I want to manage.  I also created and made some lined paper to use for lists and notes.  I printed it out on colored paper for fun.

The sleeve protectors also act as dry erase boards so I can write on them with a Vis-A-Vis marker and wipe it away whenever I want.

I added my contact list and was able to eliminate my address book.  I also tucked my stamps, some stickers and return address labels inside the pocket on the front cover.

I'm keeping my lists for projects, gift giving, ideas and goals inside.  I've also tucked in gift cards, greeting cards, grocery lists, a 2018 calendar, our schedules, pretty much all the things I use to run my household.

This project has been a ton of fun and allowed me to tap into my creative juices.  It also spurned me onto some other projects.  I love mini binders!!!  Oh yes!  I have been a busy girl!  So be sure to hang in there with me and see what else I've been up to.