My Journal

This is the year when busy moms start talking about setting up their household journal.

I have seen numerous ebooks, websites, and more. Mine is a mix of various sources and due to be overhauled this holiday weekend. I think I'll start by thinking up a clever name for it later!

Mine has:

Schedules - in the front is the chore list of what dailies each child is expected to do. Now that Joseph and Noah are older we need to re-evaluate this list and bring them into the fold. Noah loves to be a helper and empty things (sometimes useful things!). We do not rotate chores. If I see a pile of shoes in the hallway I know Joseph didn't do it. If the living room looks like a tornado rushed through.. Charlotte got sidetracked. It makes my life, and theirs, easier.

Flylady Routines. Yes, yes, I know most people dislike her crazy overflow of emails. I don't use her emails. I printed out the lists, altered them to fit my life, and threw out the rest that didn't fit. www.flylady.com is her URL. She likes to play mom and armchair psychologist. I already have a mom so I'm all set there. I don't think I need a psychologist. lol. I don't have an 'inner brat' - I just have a house that needs routine. So, I have her routines behind a tab labeled (wait for it..) "Routines". hehe. The main perk are her zone detailed cleaning lists. Things like "flip mattress" are on her bedroom lists and it makes life easier. I don't have to remember it, I just read the list. Plus, the kids are able to pitch in because they can read the list too.

I like her Master grocery list, but those never seem to work for me. Meal plans I do as a matter of habit, but we're switching more to whole foods (again!) so I hope to simplify my shopping. I'm blessed with a husband that will eat pancakes for dinner which saves my sanity and grocery budget.

After that I have tabs for 1-31. I use these for days of the month. This system wouldn't work for everyone, but it works for me. Our master calendar hangs on the wall so I don't keep a private calendar for myself. But some things I make notes for and it just helps to have it stored in my notebook. I also like PlanPlus (through Outlook) for that.

The back has holepunched recipes I've printed, meal plan ideas, and a spiral notebook for jotting down things. Oh.. and there is one more tab for homeschool planning. I would like to keep a Master checklist in there for what needs finished for each grade level. We'll see how that works!

Hopefully this weekend I will get it all sorted out. It really does help to have a Plan Book for the home for those juggling homeschooling with homemaking.

www.donnayoung.net is another great place to get all kinds of forms. We will be getting the children's school notebooks ready for the second half of the year and using some of her items. It is a free site.