~The Keeper Of Home Series: Home Organization System~

I truly believe one of the most important things in running a home, is keeping the members of the home on schedule.   I have had some form of organization systems ever since I was a child.  I had a little notebook that I would keep my lists in.  It was not a very sophisticated system back then, but it helped me to keep track of my goals and such.  Today I would like to share the organization system I use to run our home.  I find having this system in place makes all of the difference in the world for our family to stay on track with school projects, work projects, activities, appointments and all sorts of things.   There was a time when I was dealing with some pretty severe health issues and was not able to have a organization system in place, and our family did not function as well because of it.  
     The organizer pictured above is my Erin Condrin organizer in the vertical style.  This is my master organizer.   It is where I keep track of my family's and my schedule.   In it there is a monthly calendar, where I keep all of the important appointments and tasks.  Each new month I go through and record the appointments and such on the actual day list.

Here is a picture of what the day list looks like.  It contains three boxes for each day.  In the top box I will put all appointments and important events for the entire family.  In the second box I put my tasks for that day that need to get done, and in the last box, I put tasks for other family members that they need to tend to.  Today is May 1st, so I will go through and write in all of the monthly tasks on the days they need to be recorded in.  

 Here is my own personal planner.  I use this one to keep track of my daily schedule and daily tasks.  It is a Filofax A5.  

Inside the front flap I have a little journal that I keep notes on projects I am working on.  Such as my wax scents and information and such.  Since my girls were just little we always talked about one day going to Paris together.  It is a dream of ours, so I have a little page that reminds me of that dream.

Then I have a page with my Tentative Schedule on it.  It does not include my daily tasks such as errands and meal preparation, just kind of a big picture of things I try to include in my daily tasks list.

Next I have a pouch with stickers that I use in my planner.

Next I have a little pouch where I keep business cards that I want to keep.

Here is what the daily lists look like in this organizer.   It works well for use with just one person, but I would not like it for trying to keep my entire family's schedule in.  This week is not yet filled out as of yet.  Each Sunday I will set a time to do my organization for the upcoming week. So that all of my organization systems are in sync.

Next I have my little folders that contain certain lists I use.  

I have a little hole punch for this organizer, that allows me to add certain things to my organizer.  I accidentally had cut this pouch when I was opening it, and was going to throw it away.  However, Justin said I can fix it for you Mommy.  He taped it, so it works for me.  Each time I look at it, it touches my heart.

In the back of my organizer I keep a pad of paper to write little lists on.

I keep an envelope with my little sticky notes and highlighter.  I use the sticky notes to keep track of my household budget.  Every two weeks we put money into what I refer to as my food account.  I use it for more than food and having a little note on each payday, keeps my money organized for what I need it used for those two weeks.

I use this Cozi app mostly on my phone, but it can also be used on the computer as well.  I sync it with my other two organization systems so I always have my weekly schedule handy as I go about my days.  I just use the free version and I love it.  

The last thing I want to include in my organizational system is the Wunderlist app.  It also can be used on the computer, but I use it on my phone.  It allows me to keep all of my lists handy.  I even have a list called the Walmart quick list that i will put a little list together if I just need a few items.  This app is also free and I use it all of the time.

I truly feel that having an organizational system in place helps everyone in the household to stay on track so much better.  Each household is different and so it is important to customize your organizational system to your needs.  When using an organizational system is is so very important to set a designated time each week that you can work on your organizers.  They won't be effective if you can not keep them updated each week, so this takes some dedication and a bit of time.  However, I think it is time well spent.  I hope this information is something that you find helpful.   Have a wonderful week.  Hugs.  Juli