Home Management System – Get Organized for 2016

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With the beginning of each new year, you may suddenly feel inspired to clean out your closet, revamp your exercise routine, or get your household organized. My biggest problem is keeping that motivation going year-round. We all know moms wear lots of hats, and sometimes keeping track of all those little details eludes me (plus, I’m pretty convinced that having children literally kills my memory brain cells…is that a thing?).

Anyway, what was I saying? Now’s a great time to set up a home management system that will keep you organized throughout the year. The goal is to have one place where you can “dump” all those dates and details that you’d never remember otherwise, in order to keep your entire household (and your headspace) organized.

Set aside time now at the beginning of 2016 to set up a home management system that makes the most sense for your family. This might be a notebook, a set of folders, an electronic spreadsheet, a special planner, or a binder. I personally would choose something physical and put it in a common area that everyone in the family has access to. That way if another family member schedules an appointment or needs quick access to an important phone number, they know where to go.

What to include in your home management system:

• Blank weekly or monthly calendar to write down appointments, sports events, school meetings, etc. You can also write down when you change filters, perform car maintenance, etc. to refer back to in the future. 
• Important contact info for doctors, teachers, babysitters, and also home maintenance companies like your maid service, repairmen, plumber, etc. You can arrange your contacts by function (medical, school, etc.) or by family member.
•  “Eternal” monthly calendar to keep track of anniversaries and birthdays from year to year.
• Car logs to track important maintenance events such as oil changes, tire rotation, etc. Also include the contact info of your preferred car mechanic.
• Logs to track important maintenance events related to your house – like pest control visits, when you changed the A/C or water filter, etc. You might even benefit from noting when you last cleaned the bathtub, vacuumed, etc. if you have a hard time with staying on top of cleaning.
• Monthly bill tracker so you know when all your bills are due

These items in my home organization system are important for me so I don’t go crazy…because I simply can’t remember “all the things”. However, there are also a few more items I like to include, just to make our household run a bit smoother:

• Expense tracking templates to keep track of how much we’re spending each month
• Weekly meal-planning templates
• Blank grocery list templates for easier meal-planning
• Blank to-do lists to have on hand when I need them
• List of our favorite recipes (for when I’m drawing a total blank on the menu-planning front)
• Password list for important accounts

For my own home management system, I created a set of printables and put it in a coordinating binder to sit in our kitchen where everyone in the family has access (hey, if I’m going to leave it out it should look pretty right?). This system helps me stay organized year-round, but there are many other options out there (including tons of free printables on Pinterest or other organization bundles on Etsy) so you can choose the method that works best for you. Good luck and happy organizing!

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