The Beauty of the Home Notebook

I am a commander of an army.  Sure, the majority of the soldiers are less than four feet tall, but still, I am the commander.  And with leadership comes great responsibility.

Of course, the responsibilities that come with my army are laundry, doctor's appointments, not losing Christmas lists that are written in July and the to-do list, etc, etc, etc.

Bring in...  The Pink Notebook.  Wow, that sounds official.

What's The Pink Notebook, you may ask.  Well, a few years ago, my friend Kari brought her home notebook to a meeting we were attending.  Hmmm, what's that, I wondered.  This was her notebook where she pretty much organized her entire life.  I was seduced by the dividers and the printed out calendar for her convenience.  I was sold.  Since then, home notebooks have been popping up everywhere on the Internet and in conversations with many of my friends.

So what is it exactly?

Well, to give you an idea, one of my friends calls it her brain.  I couldn't see myself calling it that, though.  I could picture myself tearing through the house yelling out to my family, "Has anyone seen my brain?!"  Not only could they have me committed, but they actually would.  And while a few hours of peace and quiet in a padded room can occasionally sound almost like a vacation, on the whole, it's just not my idea of a perfect vacation.  Mountains, yes.  Padded room, tempting, but no.  Therefore, it was dubbed The Pink Notebook.

The Pink Notebook is divided up into sections for different categories in my life.  I have sections for a printed out calendar, printed out receipts for online purchases, schedules, homeschooling, blog, Bible study, book lists, holiday do's and don'ts and our little business, Faithful Nest, just to name a few.  I have a section for recipes that I've printed out and keep them there for when it's their scheduled night.  I also keep them there until it's time to transfer them to my recipe box, that is if that particular recipe is a keeper.

Here's what it looks like:

Please notice the dividers and the neat labels.  I've fallen head over heels in love with my label maker...

Oh, sweet little plain jane pink notebook.  I must fancy you up somehow.

Wowsers, that's a bad picture of me.  But not of The Pink Notebook.  No, it's still a thing of organizational beauty, no matter what I look like.

What are some of the ways you organize papers and such for your family?