Organizational Binders = Lifesavers!!!

Okay, so another one of my friends, Kelli (also a fellow blogger and spells her name just like I do), posted something that gave me an idea for a blog post. BINDERS!!! Do you ever get tired of flipping through magazines (I LOOOOOVE Family Fun), marking the pages you like and then trying to find storage for them? Then, when you know you saw something useful or interesting in "one of those magazines" on your dusty shelf, you can't find it? That was me a few years ago until I thought of something...what if I ripped out all the pages I liked or found I would definately use (not just cute ideas I knew I'd never come around to doing) and placed them in a binder for future use. I did just that and here's what I came up with...


This is my "Summertime" Binder where I keep tearouts of fun, summer activities (mostly wet!) from magazines and from online. When summer hits, I just yank out the binder and let Avonlea (and/or other kids at our house) flip through and find ideas of fun things they want to do. I don't hear too many "Mommy, I'm bored" phrases, and if I do, I get out the binder. =)

This is what the biner looks like inside. I use plastic sheet protectors in all my binders (the cheap ones from Walmart) and although it's a little extra cost and effort, it keeps the pages fresh, especially when wet/sticky fingers are handling them.




Gardening and Landscaping Binder where I keep tear-outs from Home and Garden Magazine, seed order catalogs, notes from each season's garden we've planted, etc.


Here's our Christmas Binder full of Christmas traditions, recipes, craft ideas for the kiddos. The pages mostly consist of magazine tear-outs, but I also keep handouts from other things inside.





Here's our Thanksgiving and Halloween Binder where again, I keep recipes, costume ideas, crafts, traditions, etc. I keep these two holiday together because they're both fall holidays and come close together.


This is the "Party" Binder where I keep all kinds of party info. from cake/cupcake recipes and ideas, to decorating ideas, birthday traditions, a list of supplies needed, list of "to buys", a list of birthday themes for different ages, etc. I also keep a blank notebook in here for brainstorming ideas on each kids' birthday party.


"Games and Activities" Binder where I keep lots of magazine tear-outs of homemade games kids can play of all ages. This comes in handy in the summer or camping.


"Other Holidays" Binder where I put ideas, recipes and traditions in for New Year's Day/Eve, Super Bowl party stuff, Valentine's Day, Grandparent's Day, Groundhog Day, St. Patrick's Day, Easter and 4th of July.


Camping Binder where I keep packing lists, lists of good cooking meal ideas, games to play and activities, etc. The Bates family is about to undergo their first camping trip coming up so we'll let you know how that goes! =)


This is my Home Management Binder (see previous post on just this - got the idea from Candy's blog). I put the following information in it: Bible verses, house rules, schedules, "to do lists", car info., phone numbers, a list of birthdays, book annotations from books I've read, travel tips, safety and health articles I rip out of magazines, a discipline and rewards section, lists for packing and vacations, cleaning recipes and tips and take out menus. It's a real lifesaver!