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My household management style resembles that of a pint size fanatical dictator – an unfortunate management style left over from my days of consulting. If I was hit by a bus, no one would know how to pay the bills, repaint the foyer, know who our contractors are or be able to take the children to their many after-school activities unless they found my household management book. (Strike that, my husband is an intelligent man, an active contributor to our family management and he could figure it all out…in time, but why put him to all the trouble?) My household management book is a written manual for everything that has to do with our house, family and way of life.
In addition to the mundane contents of daily life, my household management books hold the memories of daily life and act as a special reminder of those tasks, events and activities that make our house a home. With the long days of winter upon us, and the dawn of a new year growing brighter, this is the perfect time to put pen to paper and start your own household management book.
When creating your own book, start with a bound book comprised of blank or ruled pages, then add these essential elements:
The Rolodex. Long gone are those fabulous desk top rolodex’s that hold the contacts we all hold dear. Having all your contacts in one place, right along side your to-do lists, activities and daily notes make it easy to get the job done. Yes, technology has this covered, but I find having them written down in a book has saved my neck many times.
Mother of all to-do lists. We all have them, we all strive to finish them, and we all need a place to watch these lists grow, shrink and stand still. I call my list a ‘running list’ for the simple fact that is is always running: as my list shrinks and those pesky undone actions linger, I start a new list with the left-overs right on top, if I find that the same items remain on top, I evaluate their importance.
The Decorators Log. Every room has a dedicated page that notes the flooring, paint, paper, door hardware, window fittings, textile and every other hard to remember detail that you need to put somewhere for those touch up moments in life. I make note of the last time the carpet was cleaned & the walls painted, who made the window fittings, room measurements, and what lot the paper came from to ensure that my rooms stay as fresh as when I first decorated them.
The Gardner’s Diary. Everything ever planted in my yard and all the information associated with its care is listed here.
The Project List. Every year I start the year with a few key projects I want to tackle knowing that not all of them will see the light of day, and hoping that one or two of them will become a reality. I take a few pages to work out a plan for how to ensure my projects get done, list the people, places and things that will help make it a reality and set about planning the execution of my project. Like my running list, if the project moves from year to year, I evaluate its importance.
The Daily Post it. Nothing against post-it notes (after all didn’t Romy & Michele invent them?) but who has time to remember where you put that slip of paper? Keep everything you need to write down in one place and you will never loose it again.
The Weekly Grind. What happens when, where and why. Regardless of how you run your home, we all have a weekly routine that works like clock work, to ensure that it keeps running that way when you are on holiday sipping Champers by the pool (we can all dream right?), make a note of your routine and every detail associated with it.
The Annual Reminder. Much like a calendar, this holds your annual reminders in one place. Set aside a 2 facing pages that separate the year into months. Make a note of special occasions, vacations, when you are due to clean your gutters, service your car, renew the warranty on your dishwasher and any other event that will take place in the year ahead.
The Party Planner. I suggest keeping a separate entertaining journal, however if one book is more your style, keep all your party planning in one place to ensure that you can refer back to it a later date.
As I write this, I am looking at my last 3 years of household management books, they are worn, tattered and in most cased the spine is hanging on by a thread. When I fist brought them home, they were empty bound books with a plethora of blank pages waiting for me to fill them, they have since evolved and become a record of my time as a housewife. While I am normally quick to file things in the rubbish bin, I will always hold on to these books. They are a catalogue of my efforts, a record of my hopes and evidence of a job well done.