Home Management Binder

Samara’s Home Management Binder
My binder is a white plastic 2” 3-ring binder with clear pockets. I’ve decorated the binder covers front & back with some cute pictures drawn by my little nieces & nephews, formerly housed on my refrigerator. There’s a pen clipped onto the inside front cover with a binder clip, and scratch paper in the front pocket. The binder has 5 divided sections, with the master schedule up front in its own clear page protector.
I’ve been using the binder for about 2 months, but have only been doing my current Master Schedule for the past 4 weeks. The remaining sections have been fleshed out during that time as well, and I am really happy with the result!

How I Created my Master Schedule
First, I made a list of things that must be done every day: these are my morning & evening routines; they change very little. Each day's schedule begins with the morning routine & ends with the evening routine.

Daily Routines

Morning: devotions, morning hygiene routine, make bed, water indoor plants (using the stale water from my bedside bottle and the dog’s indoor water bowl), feed & water dog
Weekdays: adjust thermostat, check that all doors are closed & locked

Evening: make supper, wash dishes, take out compost, water outdoor plants, walk dog, bedtime hygiene routine, read/journal
Weeknights: pack lunch, pick out clothes for work

Next, I made some lists of general household chores that should be done on a regular basis to keep the house looking nice. Because I currently live more or less alone (my townhouse is used as “overflow housing” for my family’s house and is right down the street from them, but I am the only permanent resident), I do not need to do most major cleaning more often than biweekly. Floors and dusting are the exception, as the presence of an animal means that dust and fur could accumulate or create an odor if left for too long. Floors and dusting are therefore grouped together and done weekly. I grouped the rest of the chores into categories and divided them in half; this way I can do part each day without getting overwhelmed. Also, if I get behind, doing both sets in a single day won’t kill me either :). I tried to group them into sets that would make sense- Yardwork 1, for example, is related to the composting process, since dried weeds, leaves and trimmings go into the compost heap, and I can turn them into it with a spade or fork. My evening chores rarely take even an hour to complete, which is nice.

Alternating Chores

Floors
1: dust throughout house, dust-vacuum all doors, frames, corners & closet floors, vacuum all upholstery
2: vacuum all carpeted floors (dining, living, area rugs), sweep & mop all smooth floors (kitchen, bathrooms, entryway)
Glass
1: TV & computer screens, glass tabletops, light fixtures, mirrors, oven front
2: clean all glass windows & doors
Yardwork
1: pull weeds, trim bushes/trees, rake leaves, turn compost, scoop poop
2: check soil levels in pots, plant seeds, fertilize plants, sweep patios, scoop poop
Wipe-Down
1: kitchen & laundry: washer & dryer, dishwasher, fridge, microwave, toaster oven, stovetop, sink, counters
2: bathrooms: sinks & counters, toilets, tub, shower & shower doors
Laundry: clean table (I use a picnic table outside for folding), hang clotheslines, wash, dry & put away clothes, towels, and bedding, take down clotheslines; ironing, mending

Now for putting all these activities into my master schedule! I sorted the chores into mostly indoor chores that I can perform in the evenings after work, and those larger, outdoor chores that require sunshine for Saturdays. Fridays and Sundays are largely chore-free, and I’ve also added in my karate classes (taught by my oldest brother!) and other weekly tasks. The Master Schedule is really a 2-week schedule; each individual week is either a “week 1” or “week 2”, and that determines which of the alternating chores is done that week. I’ve actually been doing this exact schedule for 4 weeks now and it has worked EXTREMELY well. Many thanks to Candy for putting the whole binder idea out there in the first place. I’ve even done her “emergency quick clean” on my mom’s place a couple of times & it worked like a charm.

Weekly Master Schedule

Monday: morning routine, work, bring in recycling bin, glass 1 or 2, evening routine

Tuesday: morning routine, work, karate, floors 1, evening routine

Wednesday: morning routine, work, floors 2, evening routine

Thursday: morning routine, work, karate, wipe-down 1 or 2, evening routine

Friday: morning routine, work, RELAX :), evening routine

Saturday: morning routine, laundry, karate, yardwork 1 or 2, pick out clothes for church, evening routine

Sunday: morning routine, attend church & Bible study, clean out fridge, take out recycling & garbage for Monday pickup, evening routine

Remaining sections in my binder:
Calendar: includes dates for my gardening schedule (planting/harvesting days etc), dog scheduling (heartworm medication, flea & tick skin treatment, grooming/bathing days etc), home maintenance (when to change the air filter, mattress flipping/rotating, carpet cleaning), car maintenance, appointments, birthdays, vacations etc.
Cleaning: includes a couple of articles on housekeeping that I've printed from the internet including Candy's Emergency Quick Clean and some seasonal cleaning checklists, plus a list of special cleaning & organizing projects. I do these little projects whenever I have a bit of time and don’t feel like sitting down.
Kitchen: includes filled-out pantry & freezer inventory sheets from Organized Home, a list of favorite recipes, and a list of recipes that will use up some of the items that I already have (if you’ve been reading my blog, you’ll know that my summer home goal is to cut down on the food-storage clutter in my pantry)
Self-Improvement: includes my reading lists (one for Bible readings & one for other books), as well as some articles that I've printed from the internet. I also keep a list of personal goals in this section.

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