Clutter Control and Organizing Solutions

I got an email the other day from someone who was curious as to where I kept my household notebook. That’s a pretty good question since it contains some sensitive material, you might not want others to get a hold of.

While my household notebook has changed location several times over the years, it currently resides on a shelf in my kitchen near our computer center and a phone. It is also close by for reference while cooking, paying bills or just for general information.

Many families feel more comfortable keeping it in their bedrooms where it seems a bit safer. This is entirely up to you. I used to store mine there too, but then I found it was a nuisance to have to go retrieve it all the time and I wanted to keep it central to all our household activity.

A bookshelf in your living room, or anywhere else for that matter can work too, simply because it blends in and nobody is actually looking for it, but be careful when you have company in your home. You just don’t want any important information to fall into the wrong hands, but you also want to be sure you can access it whenever you need it as well as making sure it is updated frequently.

More on household notebooks coming all month long.

There is simply so much information to provide with a household notebook, that I thought I would show you a couple of pages from my own household notebook. I live with this thing most days. It contains absolutely everything from account information for every monthly bill we have, down to meal and menu planning, favorite recipes, magazine subscriptions, information on each child, a current copy of both of our resumes and lots of other stuff.

This particular two page spread is where I paste the magazine subscription labels that come on the magazines. There is a spot for my account information, when it expires, if I have a credit card on file, etc. This is one area I actually refer to a lot!

This is a copy of both a monthly calendar for meal planning and a list for my favorite recipes which includes a spot for page #’s, name of the cookbook and of course the name of the recipes, etc.

This is my pantry/freezer inventory sheet. Honestly I have four of them completely full for both, however I always have extras for the great bargains or those days when I have done serious freezer cooking and have loads to add.

These are my children’s information sheets. It includes information from social security numbers, library card numbers, doctor/dentist info, school info, allergies, medications and a lot more. I also have the same type of sheet except in a “health sheet format” that does not include private information such as social security info and library card and insurance info - these sheets can then be left out for babysitters.

I have a bunch of sections in my book, and tomorrow and Wednesday I will share with you the sections and what I have in each.