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Creating a Home Organizing Notebook
One of the
keys to being organized is to have a central
location for similar items. Be it the kids’
sporting equipment, your gardening tools, or
laundry supplies, you get more accomplished when
everything you need is right at hand and you
don’t have to go searching for that stray hammer
or the missing casserole dish.
The same
can be said for information. By having a
central location for all your important
household needs, it will be much easier to
remember to send out that anniversary card or
call the plumber the next time you need him.
You can accomplish this by creating a Household
Organizer or notebook. Think of it as your
personal organizer, but for the home. Here are
the steps for creating your own household
command center.
GETTING STARTED—THE SUPPLIES
·
3-Ring Binder—Start with a binder at least 1” wide. This will allow
for growth as you add pages. Select one with
sturdy sides if it will be kept upright on a
shelf. Flexible binders are good for drawers or
for laying flat on the counter, but will not
stand on a shelf by itself.
·
3-Hole Punch—This will be necessary for adding your pages to the
binder. You will also need it to add paper from
outside sources such as school calendars or
menus.
·
Paper—If you plan to write out your master lists, then standard lined
notebook paper is a good option. Otherwise, if
you plan to use your word processing or spread
sheet program to create master lists, then have
computer paper on hand.
·
Tabbed Dividers—These will be used to separate the major sections of
your organizer. You can start with 5 tabs, then
add more sets as the binder grows.
·
Folders—Purchase two-pocket folders with holes already punched in
them. These will fit neatly into your binder.
·
Page Protectors—These clear full-page pockets can be used for a single
sheet of paper or for holding small items such
as coupons.
·
Paper Clips or Binder Clips—Binder clips are sturdier and are good for
clipping notes to the binder cover. Paper clips
are useful for clipping items to individual
pages inside the binder.
SECTIONS YOU WILL CREATE
Emergency Information
·
General Emergencies
o
Address, phone number and nearest cross streets of your home—especially
if you have children in the house. They can
supply this information in an emergency.
o
Reminder to call 9-1-1 in case of an emergency
o
Phone number for Poison Control
o
Name and phone number of physician
o
Name and phone number of veterinarian
o
Name, address, phone number and directions to nearest hospital
emergency room
o
Name, address, phone number and directions to nearest emergency
veterinary hospital
o
Name and phone number of alarm company
o
Non-emergency numbers for police and fire department
·
Emergency Procedures
o
Names and phone numbers of relatives, neighbors, employers, etc., to
notify in case of emergency
o
Location of individual and main circuit breakers and how to shut
off/restore
o
Location of water main and how to shut off water
o
Location of other water valves to turn off water locally
o
Location of gas main and how to shut off
o
Name, emergency phone number and account numbers for all utility
companies
o
Fire escape plans
o
Basic First Aid and CPR instructions
o
Name, address, phone number, policy number of home/auto/life insurance
policies along with agent information
·
Medical and Dental Information
o
Name, address and phone number of family physician(s)
o
Name, address and phone number of family dentist
o
Name, address and phone number of pharmacy
o
Name, phone number, ID info, policy number, and group number of all
medical/dental plans
Individual Information
·
Vital Statistics (for each household member)
o
Photograph
o
Full legal names and nicknames
o
Birth date
o
Social Security number
o
Driver’s license number
o
Blood type
o
Height and weight
o
Description of distinguishing marks such as scars or birthmarks
o
Chronic medical problems
o
Prescription medications
o
Allergies
o
School information (name, location, phone number, grade, teacher)
o
Employer information (name, location, phone number, position held,
contact name)
·
Baby-sitter Information
o
Children’s meal times and bed times
o
Children’s routines, such as homework or sports
o
Emergency information
o
Rules and regulations
o
Punishments and rewards
o
Special notes
·
Gift Information (for each household member, family member, and if you
wish, friends)
o
Favorites (color, animals, food, hobbies, music, flower)
o
Sizes
o
Wish list (favorite clothing styles, stores, decorating style)
·
Pet Information (for each household pet)
o
Photograph
o
Breed/Type
o
Sex
o
Age or birth date
o
Allergies
o
Medications
o
Mealtimes and amounts
o
Routines (play, outside)
o
Name, address and phone number of veterinarian
Household Calendar
·
This is optional, as you might find it easier to use a portable
calendar that you can take with you in the car
or to meetings. If you want to keep a calendar
handy for other family members or the
baby-sitter, you can transfer your personal
calendar information into a program such as MS
Outlook or your PDA, then print the pages for
your notebook.
·
You can also use this section to keep copies of school calendars or
travel itineraries.
Phone Numbers and Addresses
·
Friends and Family—Use this section to record the names, addresses, and
phone numbers of all family and friends. Record
alphabetically by last name. Write down the
names of all family members in the household,
along with pets. This will come in handy when
writing out holiday cards. You can also include
directions to their house, or any parking
restrictions.
·
Business—Use this section to record all business contacts—name,
address, phone, fax, call phone numbers, etc.
You can use business card holders for this
section, or print out the Contacts section of
your Outlook or PDA program instead of writing
these out.
·
Yellow Pages—Use this section to write down the names, addresses and
phone numbers of companies you do business with,
such as a plumber, heater/air conditioner
servicing, carpet cleaner, dry cleaner, etc.
Write down any notes about the person or company
that you may need in the future, such as odd
business hours.
Master Lists
Here is where you can get creative
and start a list for any type of information you
wish to have handy. Here are some ideas to get
you started.
·
Birthdays/Anniversaries
·
Chores—daily, weekly, monthly, seasonally,
annually
·
Auto Maintenance
·
Home Maintenance—both repairs and decorating
·
Pet Vaccination Schedules
·
Child Vaccination Schedules
·
Illnesses and treatments
·
Menu planning/shopping list
·
Budget
·
Investment record
·
Household inventory
·
Credit Card Accounts (account number and name on
account in case of theft)
·
Reward Plans (account number, cost, expiration
date, earnings)
·
User Names and Passwords to online accounts
·
Goals
Feel free to e-mail us at
info@primabydesign.com for sample forms of these master lists.
By now, you probably see the benefit of having
all this information in one place. Not only
does it make your life easier, anyone in the
household has access to the same information in
case you are not at home, or in the case of an
emergency. One word of caution, however.
Because of the personal and financial
information in this binder, keep it in a secure
place. Do not have it lying around, where a
stranger, or even a friend or relative might use
the information for unsavory purposes such as
theft.
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