A Fresh Notebook Is A Beautiful Thing

I'm a Word Nerd.  I fully admit to loving notebooks, lists, schedules, routines and the grandmama of them all - The Household Notebook.  I've tried various electronic means of managing household tasks (including apps galore), but nothing sticks for me like good, old-fashioned paper and pen.  And I've fallen in love with the freedom a schedule gives me.  Yup, you read that right.  Freedom.

You see, I'm not what you would call an 'intuitive housekeeper'.  I simply don't notice clutter when it has been there for a while - it becomes part of the landscape (sad, but true).  So keeping a mental list of what household tasks need to get done when is never going to work for me.  I'd forget to empty the trash, or go three weeks without changing the sheets, or leave the laundry until 10pm for the eighth day in a row.  And then I'm genuinely shocked when I realize how far behind I've gotten in the housekeeping.

Lists, routines and schedules have saved my home.

There really is something delightful in seeing your plans in hard copy.  My personal preference is, of course, the Household Notebook (or Home Management Binder, or Control Journal, or Homekeeping Record, or....) for anything permanent and referred to often, but I also use a faux-Moleskine like notebook for everyday jotting.  I adore my little black notebook.  It's simple, classic and - don't laugh when I share this - the pages feel smooth against the side of my hand when I write, LOL.  I splurged on a couple of four-dollar pens (they write like a dream) and this is what I use to write notes, changes to my schedule, to-do lists, and anything else that catches my fancy.  These little black numbers are large enough (larger than A5, not as big as A4) to use as a journal too, and I could totally see a whole shelf of identical books filled with years of hopes and dreams. You just don't get the same feeling from a tiny electronic smartphone screen.

Over the next few days, I'll be taking you on a tour of some of my favourite ways to keep track of my housekeeping routines, including the routines themselves and the methods I use to record them.  I also hope to be putting up an updated Household Notebook tour and a bonus tour of a Recipe Binder I set up that has really changed the way I menu plan.  Hope to see you then!

(image credit)