Getting Organized :: Our Lives :: Household Organizational Notebook Printable Pages

This summer I am doing my best to take steps to get more organized...in every area of our lives. Except cleaning. Still waiting on a house elf for that one. Some of the changes I'm making are huge, some are tiny, but in the end, they are all helping to make our lives feel a little less chaotic. I want to share my ideas with you over the summer, in the hopes that you will find inspiration for organizing, or perhaps share some organizing ideas with me in the comments section!

 

Just look at this mess!  It's what my desk (ahem, dining room table) looks like on a daily basis!  I've got bills, my calendar, a binder stuffed full of random papers, old pictures to upload, no less than 15 stray lists, my wallet, my ipod, etc. You get the picture...in fact, I'm willing to bet (or at least I am hoping) that I'm not the only one out there with this chaotic kind of desk.  Figuring out a better system for organizing our somewhat hectic lives was a top priority for me this summer.  I wanted to take that binder you see there buried under all of the paper and clean it up to make it more useful.  By the way, as I continue to work on this summer organizational series you will notice a common theme...I'm ADDICTED to binders.  I find them to be ever so helpful.  First I gathered my supplies: my binder and two sets of tab dividers for the binder (I had a lot of "sections" I wanted to develop to get organized). 

And I also bought a cool set of tab dividers with pockets! These have been super helpful for sorting out all of my "stuff" - the bills, important papers, etc.

 My next step was to search etsy.com for a kit to help me organize the binder.   I stumbled upon Life on Purpose's store.  Life on Purpose is a store started by Shannan, a fellow crafty mama who authors the blog: It's Not Always Black & White.  I love her funny stories about her family, tales of their adventures & ideas for fun craft projects (and recipes!).  I purchased from her store a "Household Organizational Notebook Printable Pages" for $5.  It was a PDF that she emailed to me lickety split.  The file contains 23 printable pages to help get yourself organized (perfect for list addicts like myself).  Included are:  An Outline; Weekly Planner; Weekly To-Do List; Weekend To-Do List; Master To-Do List; Family Member Info Sheet (so helpful to have around, in case of an emergency, or for babysitters!); Pet Info Sheet (I should point out here, that you don't necessarily have to use all of the printable pages...only those you need!); Birthdays and Anniversaries List; Home Storage Inventory List; Movie Inventory (I will never again forget who I loaned a movie to!); Movie Wish List; Book Inventory; Book Wish List; Party Planning Guide; Party Guest list; Dinner Menu Plan; Favorite Recipes (Great way to remember which cookbook your favorite recipes are in!); Recipes to Try; Important Phone Numbers; Contact List.  Lists, lists, lists!  I was in heaven when I received the PDF!  Since I purchased my kit, she has also added an itemized grocery list & recipe page to her shop.

The "Master To-Do" list has been my best friend these past few weeks.  I printed several...a master list for me, a master list for Michael, a master list for summer fun (ie: the bucket list) and a master list of projects I want need to complete this summer.

Here's a few more sample pages...I took these pix the day I got the kit, so they are not blank anymore ;) 

I love this kit.  I love it so much I emailed Shannon to ask her if she could share some goodies with my readers, and she agreed!  She gave me FIVE sets of the "Household Organizational Notebook Printable Pages" to give to five lucky winners AND she gave me a discount code for her shop to share with my readers!  {GIVEAWAY CLOSED}  And please note, her shop is not limited to lists and such!  She has hair bows for little girls, art work, tutus, and other cool stuff!

So run, don't walk to the Life on Purpose etsy store and check out all of her cool items, and if you feel like shopping (those bows & tutus would make great gifts for any little girl in your life) then use the special code to get 20% off!  LITTLETHINGS20 ~ this code will give you 20% off anything in the store.  PLEASE NOTE, THIS COUPON CODE IS EXPIRED.

Now...on to the exciting stuff...everyone loves a giveaway!

{GIVEAWAY CLOSED}

Congrats to our FIVE winners of the Organizational Notebook Pages!  Donna Z ~ The Endicott's ~ RoseMamie ~ Jaelynnie Badinnie ~ Tara

Email me at Katie(at)Cards-by-Katie(dot)com with your email address and I'll send it along to Shannon so she can email you the PDF. 

Thanks to everyone who participated!  If you didn't win, be sure to take advantage of the discount code for my blog readers, and you can buy your own copy!  Go to the Life on Purpose etsy store and check out all of her cool items, and if you feel like shopping (those bows & tutus would make great gifts for any little girl in your life) then use the special code to get 20% off! LITTLETHINGS20 ~ this code will give you 20% off anything in her store!

The Household Organizational Notebook Printable Pages Giveaway

FIVE lucky readers will win a set of these cool pages in a handy dandy PDF.  Entering is quite simple, and I'm giving you several opportunities to enter, but please keep in mind, leave SEPERATE comments for each entry!  And don't forget to leave contact info.  I will be drawing FIVE winners using random.org on Tuesday, July 5th at 1pm.  I will announce the winner here, on the blog, and also on my blog's facebook page:  the little things blog.  Tell your friends, tell your family, tell anyone you know who loves lists, or just needs a nudge to get organized.  I'm telling you that this binder has really helped me get my stuff together. 

Here's how to enter:
1.  Leave a comment below telling me WHY you need these pages!
2.  Share an organizing tip with me (leave a 2nd comment)
3.  Share this giveaway via text, twitter, facebook, email, phone call or even old fashioned snail mail, then leave a 3rd comment telling me how you shared the news.

And please, stay tuned this summer...more cool giveaways, recipes, crafts & organizational ideas to come!