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Becky Parker
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Does anyone use this Mom's binder for organizing their household? I love the way something like this looks, but always hesitate because I'm not sure if I'll really use it. Just wondering what your thoughts are...
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Becky
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JodieLyn
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I like the idea.. and I can see how useful it would be to have.. but I really need my planner to come find me and remind me about stuff 
so I use google calender with text reminders on my phone and email reminders plus my cell phone calender with the alarms and reminder tones. 
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Jodie, wife to Dave
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Erin
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My thought...it does look beautiful, but... every family is different and I always wonder, would you be so busy changing most of it to suit your needs.
If I was going to do pretty, obviously I don't I'd take some of the lovely pretty binder ideas shared here and make my own binder.
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Erin
Faith Filled Days
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Michaela
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Agreeing with Erin and Jodie that I like the idea of it and it looks very nice, but home management binders don't work for me. The forms in them are great, however I need my lists posted out in the open (on my bulletin board!). Bells and whistles are perfect for me ....I am easily distracted without a reminder to get back on task.
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Michaela
Momma to Nicholas 16, Nathan 13, Olivia 13, Teresa 6, & Anthony 3
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JennGM
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It does look fabulous. I'm laughing to myself because I had bought a binder and printed out things, and now I can't find that binder. I really need to find it.
What's hard for me is finding the time to fill out everything. If it's something that needs to be updated every year, I'd prefer it to be electronic, and then print it out, then have to write it out all over again.
I was thinking as you I looked at the link how we could easily come up with our own 4Real Home Binder and forms we could share if we brainstormed a bit.
What kind of things go into a home binder?
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Jennifer G. Miller
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Erin
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Jenn
Like Michaela I need papers on the fridge or whiteboard. But I'm assuming home binders would contain the sort of papers I post everywhere. Menu plan for the week (why oh why do my children still ask what's for the next meal without looking at the menu  ). Cleaning roster, Sporting commitments those sorts of details. My recipes are in a separate notebook, but I suppose they could go in a binder. ; ;
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Erin
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JodieLyn
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Erin wrote:
| why oh why do my children still ask what's for the next meal without looking at the menu [:x |
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the same reason some of mine come up while I'm doing something like chopping onions and say "are you chopping onions?"  I usually answer "no" and wait for "the look"
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Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
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Becky Parker
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(Sigh). I knew I'd find voices of reason here! Truthfully, I guess I don't need something like this. I do have things posted on the bulletin board and fridge, as some of you mentioned. I have a grocery list, menu, job chart, etc. The pages for this binder were all just so pretty and coordinated ya know?
I think that's what draws me to them.
I make my own, but they aren't really pretty, just functional. For example, I have a calendar on the bulletin board that I use to write down family events and appointments. It's seperate from my own planner which is from Family Centered Press. I printed the calendar from donnayoung.org and it works fine but it's just really plain and boring. I need help in the creativity department!
My other thought about these notebook pages is that I could have this notebook, then someday, pass it on to my dd as sort of a keepsake. At one time I think there was a thread about old cookbooks or recipe boxes from our grandmother's and how special they are because of the handwritten notes, jottings of menus for special occasions, or favorite recipes. I'm thinking that maybe this notebook would be a way to organize all the things that we as moms do to keep our family organized and then have it as a remembrance or something... I think I'm getting too sentimental in my old age! 
It would be really neat to come up with something like a 4Real Home Binder as Jennifer mentions. Maybe we could share ideas for adding some pretty little touches too?
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Becky
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Erin
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Becky Parker wrote:
| My other thought about these notebook pages is that I could have this notebook, then someday, pass it on to my dd as sort of a keepsake. At one time I think there was a thread about old cookbooks or recipe boxes from our grandmother's and how special they are because of the handwritten notes, jottings of menus for special occasions, or favorite recipes. I'm thinking that maybe this notebook would be a way to organize all the things that we as moms do to keep our family organized and then have it as a remembrance or something... |
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Now you've sold me on the idea. I've finally re-written
recipes into my cookbook complete with notations of who gave me each recipe.
I like this idea, so like you I have functional but not pretty, we need the 'pretty gals' and they are here!!
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Erin
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Becky Parker
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Erin wrote:
| so like you I have functional but not pretty, we need the 'pretty gals' and they are here!! |
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So, any suggestions on how to make a very plain document, like a menu or chore list or schedule pretty?
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Becky
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JennGM
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Becky Parker wrote:
Erin wrote:
| so like you I have functional but not pretty, we need the 'pretty gals' and they are here!! |
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So, any suggestions on how to make a very plain document, like a menu or chore list or schedule pretty?
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Black and white, or color?
Home Learning Notes from Small Meadow Pres are just delightful, and inspiring.
For me, I like having things plain and legible, with only a small graphic on the page. I don't like fancy fonts or light colored inks that make it harder to read.
Print out the "plain" menus on Desktop Stationery or fancy scrapbook paper.
If you have the files to manipulate, I was thinking you could have monthly or seasonal themes. A small graphic for the monthly dedication (this month is the Holy Name, I think, so IHS in a nice graphic would be nice).
You could get even fancier by weekly menus posting a main saint or feast of the week.
Another idea for menus, do seasonal themes, so a winter scene, or snowflakes in the border for winter, then spring, summer, fall in a similar fashion.
Colored Post-It Notes.
Like Jen mentioned in another thread, post the lists on fancy clipboards, or have a pretty background paper to paste the list to, so you have a pretty border around the sheet.
If you aren't working with files, then how about stickers? 
That's my initial brainstorm.
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Jennifer G. Miller
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Family in Feast and Feria
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Becky Parker wrote:
| So, any suggestions on how to make a very plain document, like a menu or chore list or schedule pretty? |
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ugh... just lost my long reply... let's try this again.
Stickers! I believe JenMack and Dawn have some wonderful ideas for prettying up plain notebooks, planners, and documents using the multitude of pretty scrapbooking stickers (and pretty papers) that are out there. It's an easy and fast way to get a custom look that's all your own!
I just checked out this book from the library yesterday and it has this cutest idea for a memo board that would make any plain document so pretty. Take those old cookie sheets that are ready for the trash, drill (I bet you could even just nail) holes in the corners, string ribbon through, and hang. You could paint it with chalkboard paint for an adorable place to post a menu. You could make magnets for them with magazine pictures or pictures you print off the computer. Paste those to the junk magnets that sometimes come in the mail or on phonebooks. Then you have a way to make any plain document, calendar page, recipe card look really sweet!
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JennGM
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Also to add other extraneous thoughts:
I had bought Simplyfying Your Domestic Church after Abby came to talk to a group of us. I still have to finish using the tools. But that has some helpful forms and layouts.
Also Microsoft website has a boatload of templates to download. There is quite a variety.
I recently printed out Martha Stewart's Cleaning checklists Which are found in her Housekeeping book. These I was going to merge into my daily routine.
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Jennifer G. Miller
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JodieLyn
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What about covering your bullitin board with a pretty fabric.. then at least the plain lists would have the pretty background..
and of course things on the fridge could have pretty magnets instead of just functional.
And you can always hot glue pretty things to good strong magnets since often it seems the pretty ones are pretty wimpy.
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Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
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Paula in MN
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I do have this. It was a gift because I purchased the complete set of notebooking pages. It is nice, it is very complete and pretty, but it is too much, if you know what I mean. I don't use it at all.
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 Paula
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If you'd want to spend money on pretty papers and such anyway.. and you like this.. get it and take it to a store that does copying and binding and such.. and have them cut the binding off of it and then you can use the pages on your bullitin board or on your fridge..
you could even play with the settings and manage to print on it
then you could slip the pages into a binder when you were done to keep a record or hand it off to a child etc
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Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
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I love Debra's work! I rec'd her "Sampler-Spring" awhile ago when she was developing this "Tool Belt" and I print out the few pages I rec'd with that little SAMPLER BUNDLE all the time...even in the winter... . They are so pretty! I print out the checklists and the meal plan calendar'
Several people have commented that they wished Michele's planner was in color, etc....but obviously it's too expensive to print it like that....we'd be paying an arm and a leg for a color planner like that.
So, to me....this would be a GREAT option to print out your own PRETTY PLANNER, bind it or place in 3-ring-binder to use similar to Michele's planner....but with color and more frilly. Of course, there are feast days and all things Catholic and liturgical that would be missing. But, this would be a GREAT color planner, customized for your own use. You'd pay the yearly subscription plus your printing costs....so it DOES add up, of course.
And, most of the files are EDITABLE....they aren't just PDFs. Which would be a concern for me too....I like things printed out on Computer....don't like to look at my handwriting if I don't have to.
So, I would do this if Michele's Catholic planner didn't exist.....I would bind my planner to carry with me and then use the other forms as I needed them either in a file system or a 3-ring-binder.
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Suzanne in ID
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Erin
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JodieLyn wrote:
| What about covering your bullitin board with a pretty fabric.. then at least the plain lists would have the pretty background.. |
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I've really been thinking about doing this since I saw that idea for the first time, here.. (Scroll down)
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Erin
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JennGM
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Erin wrote:
JodieLyn wrote:
| What about covering your bullitin board with a pretty fabric.. then at least the plain lists would have the pretty background.. |
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I've really been thinking about doing this since I saw that idea for the first time, here.. (Scroll down) |
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Nice!
Martha Stewart -- search "bulletin board" to pull up all sorts of beautifying and practical ideas for bulletin board. French memo or bulletin boards are the trend now, with ribbons across to tuck things instead of using tacks.
And that's another fun thing you could do...use fun thumb tacks!
Oh, saw this the other day, and thought of Jen. Stickie-Note Calendar.
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Jennifer G. Miller
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Family in Feast and Feria
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JodieLyn
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Oh! and you can get the fancy scrapbooking scissors and trim the edges of your paper so that they have a pretty edge before you put them against a pretty bulletin board or on another pretty paper backing.
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Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
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4Real Forums : Planning and Ordering our Days
Topic: "Mom's Tool Belt"
