Guest Post~ HomeMaking Binder

Today we will be talking about a topic most of us already have a basic knowledge about – home keepers binders. These are disguised by many different names, across the board, but all boil down to one main objective, organization. There are many benefits to keeping a binder such as this and I’m excited and honored to share with you a little about my binder and how it helps me in my daily life.

For those of you who are not already familiar with this concept, a home keepers binder is typically a three ring binder, divided into sections that contain every bit of information from your daily life. They are tailored to fit each person [and her family], individually, from appointments to zoo passes and everything in-between.

The benefits of such a binder are numerous. In times of chaos, it will help keep your life from spinning out of control. Knowing you have all the important information in one place and peace of mind that you will be able to find exactly what you need, when you need it, is a great comfort. Consider this – you’ve taken the time to sit down and create a long-term meal plan. When time is tight, and you don’t know what to fix for dinner, flip to the appropriate section and, at a glance, your organized life is laid out before you. Another valuable benefit to this method of organization is the stress levels or rather the lack thereof. When structure and stability reign in your home, there is automatically less stress. You are, appropriately, creating a more harmonious home in which your children will thrive and your husband can relax – a specific job created for the woman. Personally speaking – I don’t know how I would survive without my “Home Diary”.

Organization in this manner actually began for me, in the classroom, as a certified teacher. I kept a lesson plan book, in a binder, which housed all my public school related material. When I was called home, to school my own children, I adapted my binder to reflect the needs I had at home. It wasn’t always glorious. As a matter of fact, when I started out, my binder was a plain black, one-inch binder that had four sections: lesson plans, grades, class list, and spelling. There was no color and everything was printed in comic sans fonts. It wasn’t until much later and a great interest in scrap-booking that my “Home Diary” took on a personality of its own.

My binder is currently a three-inch binder that holds thirteen separate sections; motherly mission, family, cleaning, food, training, homeschool, health, traditions, activities, budget, dreams, friends, and blog. Some of these sections are further divided into sub-sections for more, in-depth, organization, but each of these sections represents a very important facet of my life right now. I have revised my binder many times over the years to reflect the new person I’m becoming with age. Not only does it help to keep me on track, but also it reflects and takes on a personality of its owner – me.

Organization is not always an inherent trait, but can always be one that is acquired or learned. If you’re interested in learning more about beginning organized – your own home keepers binder is a great place to start – not too big, not too small. If you need help in getting started there are plenty of seasoned women ready and willing to help. You can go here for a start in creating your own binder. Just keep in mind, this book is about you and what is applicable to your life – nobody else’s. You have creative/artistic license in this project, make it reflect who you really are and have fun getting to know yourself and your family.

Lori is a wife, of almost ten years, to Daniel and a stay-at-home (schooling)-mother to Ali and Sydney, their two highly spirited daughters. She is passionate about a woman’s rightful place in the home and loves to encourage those who are there or just arriving. Lori and her family currently live in Texas with plans to move north and establish their own homestead. “There is no other life, than a life living from the ground in which you came.”