An Exhaustive List of Contents For Your Homemaking Notebook

The homemaking notebook should not just be a copy of some other family’s homemaking notebook.  It should be custom-tailored for the particular needs and preferences of your very own household.  To get you started, here is a comprehensive list of what should go into that family book which could very well be your best resource for home management.

1.  Inspirational Section

Most seasoned homemakers feature an inspirational section right at the first pages of their homemaking notebooks.   This could either be a favorite verse, a quote on cleaning, an inspiring story on homemaking or a picture of a dream house.  This serves as a warm “welcome page” of the notebook.

2.  Goals

A list of goals in the first few pages of a homemaking notebook serves as a constant reminder to keep doing the necessary tasks.  Goals could be divided into personal, family, health, financial and career goals.

3.  Schedule

Most schedules are divided into daily, weekly, monthly, seasonal and yearly schedules of all activities of the family.  Some also feature morning, afternoon and bedtime routines.

4.  Chore Chart

Aside from the big chore chart in the kitchen corkboard, the homemaker should have a copy of the kids’ chore chart in the homemaking notebook for quick reference and for updating/tweaking purposes.

5.  Menu Plan

This section of the homemaking notebook is considerably thick as it covers weekly menus, grocery lists, farm market lists, errand lists and some recipes.

6.  Coupon Organizer

It does help to have a coupon organizer or pocket in the homemaking notebook, especially if it follows the menu plan and grocery lists.

7.  Family Holidays

A section which features the preparation and planning ideas for birthdays, anniversaries and outings is a very helpful reference.  Party themes, menus, party favors and list of expenses would go into this section.

8.  Inventory

This is more than just the grocery list.  This is a comprehensive inventory of everything the family needs—personal care, house maintenance, clothes for the whole family, accessories, school and office supplies, health supplements, etc.

9.  Financial Matters

This section contains the schedule for paying financial obligations such as electric bills, water bills, kids’ tuition, taxes, insurance and debts.  It also helps to have a budget which controls spending in order to help the family live within its income.

10.  Important Numbers

The telephone numbers of the sheriff or police department, the physician, hospital, fire department, plumber, computer technician, babysitter, pastor, and other important personages should all be in this section.

11.  Seasonal Household Maintenance

Some tasks that are not included in the daily chores should be jot down in this section lest they be forgotten.  Basic repairs, gutter cleaning, pest control, car maintenance, license renewal and other seasonal tasks fall into this category.

12.  Emergency Preparedness

This section could prove to be life-saving during emergencies.  This could include illustrations on how to do first-aid for choking, prescription for family members’ medicines and emergency preparedness plan for fires, earthquakes and other catastrophes.

13.  Family Projects

To get the family out of the rut, there should be worthwhile projects to take on.  Examples of occasional family projects would be garage sale, charity work, community work, tending a herbal garden or taking a family retreat.