Moggins household manual - hope that's ok?

Bubba_Shaboo

Just found this thread and it makes for a very 'interesting' read.

I'm a great lover of lists but usually do mine on post-it notes stuck on walls/furniture around the house to remind me as I pass. Unfortunately they often drop off or the kids knock them off and my memory is so poor I forget what needed doing.

This idea sounds right up my street so I'll have to invest some time and effort methinks, so a big thank you to everyone for their ideas/links and to the original OP.

One last thing though - I'm a bloke - are we allowed in here?

Cheers,

Bubba©

MushyPeas

Of course Bubba - welcome to this inspiring organisational thread

moggins

Of course you're welcome Bubba - the more the merrier on OS

Dora_the_Explorer_5

Spendless, that made me laugh. In fact she was a farmer's wife and her working day started at 7.00, so she had to be organised - cows, sheep and farmers don't understand delay!
Murtle, the one single thing I've found the most useful is to 'clean as you go', usually only takes a couple of ticks but prevents the housework mass pileup.

COOLTRIKERCHICK

austin allegro...... dont bother buying the the book "surviving without a salary"..... i have read a few pages.... and basically in long winded woffling way....it hasnt told me anything i dont allready know...not much info.. its more of an insperational book.. to get you geared to the thought.. if that makes sense.... but that was after a few pages....i am now reading that huge. the complete tightwad gazzette... which had me interested and gripped within a few seconds of starting to read it....i think this will be the last book i buy... as i think it should have the the first and the last...as its FULL of info...

i would suggest if you want to read surviving without a salary.. order it from the libary....dont buy....if you are going to buy a book def...the tightwad..gazzette..as that is the only book you will need .....

jcr16

i am still putting my manual together. i printed off loads of bits from organized home. but i have so much info i not sure what to do with it all. but as i am building the manual i am working out what will go in and it is working out very well at the moment.

nicki_2

Well I'm starting work today SPECIFICALLY on my household notebook. I've been working on it for 5 years so I should really get it together. It is a work in progress due to having to update things etc but I've got a list of all that I want to do with it so I'm posting it here for accountability. Its also posted over in the Flylady challenge but only as I'm setting it as my goal for this week so I can have lists to tick off - as of 1st July I've got school events coming out of my ears (oh the joys of being a parent governor :rolleyes::rotfl: ) that I really should attend as I didn't show my face at the summer fair I need to get organised. Also need to sort out photos for the school website (and getting refunded for what I spent on it :rolleyes: ) so I'm going to be a busy little bunny for a while. Roll on July 23rd (going out on the 21st to see Il Divo so it will take me until the 23rd to recover :rotfl: )

Anyway, thats besides the point. My list of to-do's for my notebook is :

• Update any emergency info - including "Child Emergency Info" (most recent photo, height etc)
• Add school section with calender info etc.
• Update Family directory - including finding addresses etc so I have a papercopy of our address book :rolleyes:
• Paper copy of budget PER MONTH between now and April (take into account a couple of bills which are irregular) ~ will also include (some will go in another file, hidden):
  • Make up banking checklist - which bank / account numbers etc - Private file
  • Making copies of cards carried in wallet/purse so all info is available if they get lost - private file
  • Bill tracking info - papercopy - including account numbers etc
  • Insurance information
  • Location of important papers - private file.
  • Employment records & bank statements
• Website registration info - only for joint "accounts" like Tesco, Post Office etc
• Packing lists / before we leave list (set timers, switch on radio etc)
• Bookmarks - papercopy
• Clothing inventory - helps at Christmas/birthday to know what people need
• Menu planner - include printing out recipes from here on A5/A6 size paper (4 to an A4 page ) so they can be put in my Old Style recipe book.
• Check/update on household receipts - especially recent purchases.
• Chores list - weekly/monthly/seasonal
• Ideas for gifts - print out from websites
• Household Inventory - copy to be kept in the private file.

Anyone who's been to organizedhome will know the private file as "Alien Abduction" or "Tahiti file", as in if I was abducted by Aliens or ran away to Tahiti then someone could take over the running of the finances etc Personally I might call it my "Yeah, as if!" file :rotfl: Should really be getting on with it I suppose

needmoney

Bluemoon and thriftlady both those sites are a bit OTT but very much enjoyed seeing the both of the - Thanks:j

and god alive I could never be happy being that organised:rolleyes: I've said this before

My house is clean enough to be healthy and dirty enough to be happy.:D

Moggins came in here to look at your manual got sidetracked AGAIN :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

QueenB.

I love being organised it relaxs me and means i can really enjoy myself as i don't get too behind on things and can find what i want when i want. With 3 children, all with their own social activities,one children with a range of special needs/physical disabilities who requires alot of special one to one help and has many doctors/ specialist appointments, a OH who works different shifts every week, my own commitments and on top of all that the day to day running of home/family/life plus any outings/unexpected musts/celebrations thrown into the mix it helps to stay organised and on top of things.

I make to do lists every evening for the next day so i get all that needs to be done out of the way so that the rest of the day (whilst they are all at school)is mine. Being organised also means when everyone is home in the evenings/weekends i spend most of my time with them as most housework and so on has already been dealt with.

I used to have a household manual but when we moved last year it got forgotten so now i am looking forward to making a new one.

Other than the usual sections i will be adding a section on my debt, and a section about decorating as the whole house needs doing.

Another plus side of a manual is that when i am not here, OH and kids use it to keep up with all they need to, OH always says he loves lists to work to. He is fantastic where housework is concerned, better than me in many ways:D. He asks for the list of what needs doing ( i have a separate one just for him) and then he just gets on with it. It works well as it all gets done even quicker with both of us tackling it and i don't need to nag constantly;).

rosy

I am going to make up my household manual properly very soon, with all the daily/ weekly/ monthly routines etc written down. This is so it will be easier for the other three in the house ( all male ) to do their share without me having to explain it all ( again! ) and so that I do not become so frustrated I end up doing it myself ( again! ):rolleyes:
What I have at the moment is an A5 diary, week to a view, where everything for the day gets written in ( what we are having for tea, appointments, birthdays etc). Everybody's stuff goes in here ( most of it written in by me as I seem to be the only one who actually knows what anyone is supposed to be doing at any given time ). One thing I have found that does work ( most of the time ) is when I write in an appointment for anyone else in the house, or something that one person specifically has to remember, I go over it with a highlighter pen, one colour set aside for each person ( DH is yellow, DS1 is green etc) and that makes it easier for them to look in the diary and see that today there is something they are supposed to do. Well that's the theory anyway! ( To make it easier for them to remember I even try to buy toothbrushes for everybody in the matching colour, now how sad is that....:o )