Lets look today at the reasons why every house needs a Home Management Binder. If you agree with them, then you should definitely have one in your home too!
Have you read about my A.D.O.R.E method for sorting out any area as yet?. (A = assess the area, D = declutter and clean, O = organise, R = real life (live with it for a while), and E = evaluate and work out whether it’s working.)
So – if you’re working on your whole house, you may now have worked out how you want your home to be (looks and functions), have decluttered and cleaned – and are ready to start getting organised.
But where DO you start?!
As you’re probably well aware by now (having seen how much information is on this site!), organising your home is a massive undertaking.
The key is knowing where to start is key to keeping momentum up for the longer term, and so you don’t get too overwhelmed at the start.
My advice? – I always suggest making a Home Management Binder as one of the first tasks to do when getting organised – and I wanted to look with you today at to exactly why I think they are so very crucial to every home.
Related: What is a Home Management Binder?
In short – it’s truly one of the most useful (if not THE most useful) item you can create in your home to get (and stay) organised, and I hope this run down of reasons why I think this way helps you to decide if you should have one in your own home.
Let’s take a look, shall we?
Reasons Why You Should Consider A Home Management Binder
#1 – One Place For All Your Home Information
Living in any home (renting or owning, it doesn’t matter), means there is a lot of information to keep track of.
Things like family information and schedules, trades and home maintenance, important dates, contact details, budgeting and finances etc…
It’s all too easy to lose track of everything and that makes you feel out of control, and overwhelmed.
A Home Management Binder is simply a place where you can put all that information so it’s there when you need it.
It becomes the hub of your home, sort of like your homes’ very own P.A.
Having a file like this means that you will be able to access all that information easily, when you need it.
#2 – Totally Cuts Paper Clutter
Take a look around your home.
Do you have random pieces of paper with important details on, post it notes stuck on cupboard doors, business cards and leaflets for trades, random papers that are piling up as they have some information on that you need to keep….
I could go on – but the point is that papers pile up – and become unmanageable.
Even with the very best of intentions, when it comes to finding that specific bit of information that you just KNOW is there somewhere – it can become a mammoth task that takes a huge amount of time and hassle.
Instead – if you created one place where all this information could be written down – one place where you can update things as necessary – then you will naturally cut that paper clutter.
No need for a cluttered noticeboard or those random paper piles – just one place where everything is kept, and all that excess paperwork can be recycled instead of staying around…
#3 – Saves Heaps Of Time
I already talked about how much time you can save by not having to search through piles of paperwork for important information when you need it, but the truth is this…
Even if you are really organised and file everything away – it STILL takes more time to go to the filing cabinet and sort through paperwork to find what you need.
For example – you open your post and something needs to be actioned. It’s a call to your energy company, and should take a couple of minutes. However, you know you need their telephone number and your customer reference number to make the call, and that information in filed away. As such you add that call to your TO DO list for when you have more time to sort it out.
I really do find it MUCH easier, and much quicker, to just grab my Home File from the shelf and flick to the right page for what I’m looking for.
There’s less to go through – it feels like a quicker task – and so I’m more likely to get it done right then and there rather than leaving it on my TO DO list for when I have more time.
#4 – The Perfect Backup In Illness Or Emergencies
If you were in an accident, or fell ill – then your home and family would still need to be sorted.
Having the Home File ready to go, with all the information in it, means that anyone who has offered to help you out (or even the rest of your family), can simply pick it up and use it as a manual to keep things ticking over.
This is good for two main reasons: –
Firstly – anyone who is trying to help you at home will be able to do it much more easily, and know they are doing it the way it needs to be done.
Secondly – you can relax knowing that they can find the information easily. You can concentrate instead on getting better quickly.
#5 – It Gets Things Truly Organised
Not only do I mean that your paperwork is more organised, but when you’re filling out your binder, you’ll start to focus on all the different areas of running your home.
This is something you may not have really done before….
As such – you can spend a bit of time creating your folder, working through it and producing something that really works for you – and you can identify areas that need you to add in / change / focus on.
It’s a chance to FINALLY get on top of everything, once and for all – and it feels GREAT to have it all sorted!
#6 – Easy To Update
If a phone number or address changes, or your budget needs looking at because you’ve changed jobs, or you change energy suppliers – then this is the one main place that needs to stay updated.
You can always be sure that this folder has the most up to date information, and it’s quick and easy to grab and make those changes as and when they crop up.
But There’s Only One Person In My House – Is It Really Worth It?
As a quick aside, you may still be thinking that that’s all very well and good, but there’s only one or two people in our home – do we REALLY need one?
Well – my answer, simply, is YES – ABSOLUTELY.
You see – it really doesn’t matter whether there’s one of you living in a one bedroom flat, or 10 living in a mansion – the fact is that every home and every person needs a place to house the important details about their home – and this is the perfect place to do it easily.
Just as you would have a diary to keep track of your own life and schedule and personal information – your home needs a file for all of IT’S important stuff.
No matter how big or small your home is.
Interested in creating one for yourself?
If you agree with me that every home should have a Home Management Binder, and you’d like to get started yourself, then I’d suggest reading my mini series of posts all about Home Management Binders, so you can really tackle it well. I go through what a Home Management Binder is, What you should put in one, and exactly how to make your own (step by step).
Remember – it doesn’t have to be complicated – it just has to work for you.
Good luck, and I’d love to know how you get on x
