More about my control journal

I thought I would share a little more about my control journal, in case anyone is interested . . . I finally got it just about completed, as far as having everything in place that I wanted to put in it. I'm sure I'll still continue to add to it later, but it now looks pretty well organized, and I am enjoying using it! Now, I hope no one gets the impression that I think a control journal (or household notebook, or home management binder, or whatever you prefer to call it!) is the only way to maintain a home. I'm sure that most everyone keeps up with their home just fine without one! But, for someone like me, who is not "born organized," this is an awesome idea and does really help to keep me motivated and on track with keeping my home looking nice. I have a LONG way to go, but I've found that since I made my new notebook cover, added section dividers, and have been working on a daily to-do list, that I've gotten a lot more accomplished. Crossing things off a list is a good way to keep me focused! So, here is a little tour of my control journal:

First we have the cover, in case you missed it when I posted it earlier:


Then we have section #1: Routines, Weekly Schedule, and To-Do Lists:
In this section I have pages for a morning routine, before-bed routine, and then a weekly schedule to remind me of things I do on certain days. For example, on Mondays I always try and "catch up" from the weekend--spiff up the house because it usually takes a beating on the weekends. I really want to get back into doing my Home Blessing hour on Mondays, too. (See Flylady for info. on the home blessing hour.) And Thursdays are always my day for errands--groceries, bank, library, etc. Then I also have a Master To-Do List and some Daily To-Do Lists, which I printed out from Organized Home. This site has a lot of great free printable pages for this type of thing! Also included in this section (even though it doesn't really "go" here, but I like to have it here just because it's at the front) are several pages of all our internet usernames and passwords for various sites. It's nice to have them all in one place. I keep the routines, weekly schedule, and internet info. all in plastic sheet protectors. I also keep some plain lined paper in this section for writing down anything that comes to mind--such as a wish list of books that I want to save up for.

Next we have section #2: Detailed Cleaning Lists:
In this section I have Flylady's detailed lists for cleaning each zone in my house. I hope to utilize these more in our new house; I haven't been very good keeping up with them here in our trailer! You can download these for free from Flylady.

Next is section #3: Flylady's Moving Tips:
This is some more information I printed out from Flylady. I think it will be useful as we hope to move soon! After we move, I'll probably just eliminate this section from my notebook . . . or I may keep it for future reference, depending on how helpful I actually find it to be.

Section #4 is Flylady's Holiday Control Journal:
This is another free download from Flylady (can you tell I'm a big fan?) and has pages to write down gift ideas, holiday budget, holiday traditions, meal plans for the holidays, etc. The main point of the holiday control journal is to try and be completely ready for Christmas by Dec. 1, pretending that you are leaving on a cruise that day, and just getting back in time for Christmas! I've never actually tried this yet, but hope to implement it this year. :)

Section #5 is Miscellaneous--every notebook needs one of these, right?! :)
I don't have much in this section, just a few handwritten drafts of some stories and stuff I started writing ages ago. Maybe eventually I'll have time to work on them again.

Section #6 is Menu Planning:
Here I have more pages printed out from Organized Home; a monthly menu planner which I haven't yet used, and weekly menu planners, which I use a lot. I don't really plan breakfasts and lunches, but I love having my suppers all planned out a week ahead of time so I know what to buy when I go to the grocery store! :)

Section #7 is Decluttering Info:
This is all about how to declutter, printed off Organized Home.

Section #8 is Kitchen Organizing:
These pages are also printed off Organized Home. It includes kitchen decluttering info, pantry stocking info, fridge cleaning info, and a pantry inventory list and freezer inventory list. I just inventoried my freezer a couple days ago; now I have a goal to do the same with my pantry by the end of next week!

Section #9 is Recipes:
In here I have any recipes I've printed off the internet, recipes my mom has typed out for me, handwritten ones, etc. Basically any recipes that were floating around loose in my kitchen drawer, LOL! :) This is a thick section.

Up next is section #10: Organized Home Checklists:
These are just some of the other lists available at Organized Home, such as first aid checklist, camping checklist, travel packing checklist, and picnic planner. None of them is filled in right now; they're for future use!

Next we have section #11: Sewing Room Organizer:
Again, this is all printed out from Organized Home, and it's not actually in use yet. But it includes a great fabric organizer (for writing down descriptions of fabric, manufacturer, including swatches, etc. and also several pages of sewing room decluttering info.

Last but not least is section #12, my Galaxy Internet page (Galaxy is our service provider):
This just has all the info we needed to install Galaxy on our computer, etc. We kept misplacing it before I had a control journal; now it's nice to have it in a logical place.

Well, that's it! I am loving my organized system--now I just need to implement the organization in other areas of my life, too!! :) Oh, I should also mention that while some people also use their notebooks for all their financial info, and bill paying, I have separate notebooks for that kind of stuff. I have a nice 3 ring binder that came from our bank, in which I keep all our bank statements. Then I have a "Household Budget Organizer" that I got at Walmart, which I love for bill paying. I keep all our paid bills in it, in their own sections (it has dividers for rent/mortgage, credit cards, insurance, electric, phone, oil, etc.--just about anything you could think of, plus miscellaneous--and a section to record payments for each one. It's very helpful!! I was determined at the start of 2005 that I wanted to get more organized in regard to our financial mangament, and so far we are doing fairly well. There's still room for improvement, of course . . . :)

I hope you all enjoyed this little look into my control journal. I have a lot of fun with it! Oh, and here's one more picture, just so you can see an example of some of the stuff available at Organized Home. This shows a daily to-do list and a weekly menu planner: