Creating a Home Manual

Everyone struggles with paperwork. It comes out my ears most days & drives me crazy! Being a self-proclaimed organizing guru, I am always looking for ways to make my life easier and to stay on top of everything that is happening with my family, finances, home, ways to save, places to go without breaking the bank...you get the idea.
So, I've come up with my own version of the Home Manual. In researching this concept, I've found that not many people have written much about it. I've found some forms and templates in sporatic places but only a few places did I find them all together - and none of them really fit my needs.
At first, it does seem somewhat time consuming but hey, this is life, what isn't? The idea though, is to put some time into it in the beginning & let it save you some time and headache in the future. Being the chief CEO of my own home, I often wonder - what if something should happen to me? Would my husband know where to go to pay our bills? Does he know which accounts they come out of?  Does he have the kids doctor on speed dial? Before doing this, the answer would have been a definate No. Atleast now, I can rest a little better knowing that I have it all written out for him.
Here is what you need to make your own Home Manual:

Binder of choice preferably one you can insert a page on the cover. (1 1/2-2" should be a good starter)
Divider tabs (Atleast 10)
Paper
Printer
My handy-dandy forms that we will be talking about soon

Finished Product

I used the Microsoft Word starter kit that came with my computer for most of this project. You will want to write <Last Name> Home Manual and decorate the frony however you see fit for your personality and your family. This one is for a client so I covered up her last name when I took this picture. The picture is just stock clip art from Microsoft. Insert it in the front plastic when you are finished!

Next, we will work on the tabs. Since I am a woman on a tight budget, I got my tabs at Wally World (for you literal folk, I mean Wal-Mart:)). They are the re-writable kind, 88 cents for 8. I used 2 1/2 packs for this client but I left all 3 in her binder so when she gets it how she wants it, she can use some real labels, print & stick them on the dividers.
Here are some ideas for divider labels:

• Calendar (Put the entire year in this section, or if you happen to stumble upon this blog in June, doing June-December will be ok too!)
• Weekly Meal Planner
• Grocery Shopping List
• Cleaning Schedule
• Cleaning Shopping List
• Budget
• Bills
• Important Phone Numbers
• <Family Member> Important Info (One divider for each person)
• Fitness
• Internet Websites
• Home Inventory
• Home Maintenance
• Auto Maintenance
• Gift Buying
• Home Decorating Logs (Can group together or have a seperate divider for each room)
• Vacation Planning & Packing
• Customer Service Logs

You can find alot of Word & Excel templates on my website: www.ohfiddlestix.com under the Projects tab.
If you are looking for a certain kind of template & can't find it, please drop me a line I would be happy to help!

Fill out your forms either on your computer or by hand, insert into your binder under the appropriate tabs, be sure to customize your own Home Manual to fit your families needs!

After you've been using it for a few weeks I would love to know how its working out for you!

Happy Organizing!
~Angie