Create a home management binder that will help you stay organized and reduce stress. You can easily make your own, including free printables.
I’ve been using a home management binder for years. For a long time, it was also my planner. Now I’m using an Erin Condren Lifeplanner for a lot of things but I still have a home management binder as well.
Since I have a planner my home management binder is not something I reach for every day. I use it now more for reference. It’s also where I keep my holiday planner.
There are so many amazing free printables out there for home management binders. It can be easy to want to print them all. The problem with this is your home management binder can become overwhelming. If it’s overwhelming you won’t use it.
I have run into this problem from time to time. I will get overly excited about all the pretty printables and start printing them all. Soon my binder is full and I end up using less than half of them. Over the years I’ve been simplifying mine to the things I will really use.
You will likely need to play around with your home management binder to find what works for you. If it’s not working for you change it up. I had to do this many times before finding a system that works.
Creating a Home Management Binder
There are a few sections you may want to keep in your binder. Dividing your binder up will make it a lot easier to find what you need quickly. I make section dividers using a plastic sheet protector with a piece of scrapbook paper inside and a Post-it tab on the side. There are several categories you may want to include, here are some you want to consider.
Time Management
This section is very important if you don’t use a planner. It was my most used section before I switched to my Happy Planner. It will contain the things that help keep you on track daily. Things to include:
- Goal Setting
- Daily To-Do Lists
- Monthly Calendars
- Week-at-a-glance planners
- Stop Doing List
Cleaning & Organizing
This section was the main reason I started a home management binder. I wanted to keep track of the cleaning chores I needed to get done around the house. It’s easy to let things slip, especially seasonal cleaning tasks. Things to include:
- Daily Cleaning List
- Weekly Cleaning List
- Monthly Cleaning List
- Seasonal Cleaning List
- Spring Cleaning List
- Cleaning Supplies Inventory Sheet
- Cleaning Supply Shopping List
- Decluttering Checklist
For these pages, I use my cleaning planner printable pages. They work really well for keeping me organized.
Important Information
This is a great place to keep emergency information for your family. You want to make sure members of your family know where this is in case they need to reference it. Things to include:
- Medical Information
- School Information
- Vet Records
- Babysitter Information
- Pet Sitter Information
- Passwords
- Important Contacts
Food & Meal Planning
Meal planning is a great way to save money so this section is a must if you are trying to be more frugal. It also helps if you are trying to eat healthier. Things to include:
- Meal Plans
- Grocery Lists
- Food Inventory
- Favorite Recipes
- Recipes You Want to Try
Health & Fitness
There are some really great printables out there to help you improve and track your health. This is a great place to keep all of those things. Things to include:
- Vaccination Records
- Health & Fitness Trackers
- Daily Food Log
- Fitness Challenge Printables
Budget & Finances
A lot of people like to use computer programs to track their finances. I tend to do better with a mix of digital and paper. Even if you use a lot of digital budgeting you may want to have some things in this section. Things to include:
- Monthly Budget
- Emergency Fund Tracker
- Account Information
- Bill Tracker
My Home Management Binder
Like I said I use a Happy Planner for my daily planning and home management. I will be sharing soon how I use my planner for home management. Subscribe to my mailing list so you don’t miss it.
Since I use my planner for the daily things I don’t have all of the things that I talked about in my home management binder, some things are in my planner instead. Here is what is in my binder, this system may work well for you if you are a planner user. Goals– This is where I keep my goals for this year. I also keep them in my planner but this where I do my more detailed goal setting.
- Date Night Ideas- It’s easy to slip into just doing the same old things with your spouse. I like to keep a running list of date night ideas so we always have ideas of fun things to do.
- Freezer Cooking Day Planner– This sheet helps you plan a day of freezer meal cooking.
- Food Inventory-This is a great tool to help you reduce food waste and save money. I like to reference this when meal planning and writing grocery lists.
- Cleaner Recipes- I keep all of my recipes for my DIY cleaners here. It’s great for referencing when I need to make more cleaners.
- Project To-Do List– This is where I keep a running list of all the bigger projects I want to get done around the house. It also has a place for notes and contacts for the projects.
- Passwords– I don’t keep my personal passwords here as I know those but if I’m working on a project for someone else I’ll keep my passwords on this sheet.
- Pet Sitter Information Sheets– It’s always good to have a few of these filled out in case of an emergency.
- Holiday Planner– An organized holiday season is what keeps me sane and able to enjoy the season. I like to keep this in my binder so I can look at it throughout the year and be planning ahead.
Now that you have some ideas about where to start and know what I use you can get started making your own. Decide what you want to include in your home management binder, gather your supplies, and get printing. Be sure to pay attention to what you use over the next couple of months and remove and add things to make it work well for you.
One of my favorite sites for free home management printables is Scattered Squirrel, she has beautiful printables. You can also find some great free printables on my Pinterest board Planners and Home Management Binders.
If you use a home management binder, what do you keep in yours?
diane says
What a wonderful resource! You are way more organized than I am!
Lisa Sharp says
Thanks and I wish! I am not a naturally organized person but I’m trying really hard to change that.
Katherine says
Thanks for breaking this down! I’ve seen these on Pinterest but not really paid attention to how you actually put one together!
Lisa Sharp says
You’re welcome! They have become pretty popular lately it seems. I really enjoy mine and I love how many free printable options there are out there.
Morgan Benedict says
I love bullet journaling, but it seems like a less effective way to stay organized. Id like to create my own spreadsheets instead but unsure of what software to use to design it. Any suggestions?
Lisa Sharp says
If you have a Mac Numbers is good or for PC Excel.
Fran says
I have two versions of this, but I like your ideas to expand on what I do already. Thank you so much!