There are certain things every family needs, specific pieces of information.  Sometimes the information changes often and sometimes, once it happens, it’s the law.  Some things we need to inform other about and some we keep confidential.  All of this information can be confusing and it’s easy to loose pieces of it with so much floating around.  We just made a trip to the Social Security Office last week to replace lost cards after months of searching for them… trust me, I know how easy it is to lose things.  Let me help you get some of these pieces of information organized.  I’m going to show you how to set up a basic Family Information Binder.

What you will need:
–  A Three Ring Binder (size will depend how much you decide to put in it)
–  Sheet protectors
–  Tabbed Dividers
–  Pen

I’m just going to stick with the basic stuff, the less personal stuff, right now.  I have a different filing method for things like our birth certificates, passports and social security cards.  Things I don’t want others to have easy access to.  I’ll revisit filing more personal documentation some other time.

Here’s the How:
–  First, decide what information you want in your binder.  Some ideas include:

– Family Information
– Emergency Information
– Menu Plan
– Calendars for the family and for school
– Gift Ideas
– Things To Do (in your area)
– Family Savings Plan
– Household Chores Lists
– Contact Information for Family and Friends
– Child Tracker Sheets
– Sitter Information
– Frequented Take Out Menus

–  Decide how you are going to organize your binder.  I suggest having labeled, divided tabs to separate your sections.  Be as specific as you’d like.  I don’t have tabs. Instead, I organized it so that the information flows.  For example, our monthly meal calendar is on one side and the weekly, more detailed pages are on the other.

–  Begin dividing up the information by category and placing it in the binder.  For information that changes frequently, you may want to consider buying some wet erase markers (like teachers use on overhead projectors) and writing on the plastic sheet cover.  You can re-use the same page (like the baby sitter info sheet) over and over again without having to print off a hundred and three copies. 

 
–  I keep extra page protectors at the back of the binder, in case I want to add something else.  You could keep all the take out menus in one protector, but I’d probably have each page of emergency contact info in it’s own protector.

 
–  Once you have everything all divided up and in your binder, make sure all the information is filled in, up-to-date and accurate.  Having emergency numbers won’t help if it’s for the wrong hospital.

PRE-MADE INFORMATION SHEETS:
I wrote up 17 pages of information that I wanted to include in my binder.  If you would like a copy of my Family Binder worksheets, you can download them HERE.  It is a 17 page Word document.  The file is read-only, which means you won’t be able to put any of the information in electronically, you’ll have to print the pages and write the info in.

You are free to send your family and friends copies, use them for church activities, or girl’s nights or whatever your little heart desires.  All I ask is that you please don’t remove the watermark at the bottom of each page.  This way anyone you send them to will know where to get extras if they need them.  At this point there are 17 pages in the booklet and it took me some time to put it together, so please just be respectful of those terms.  Thanks!
   
This is just your basic, boring binder.  Eventually, I will probably cutesty it up, but that in no way effects the usefulness, so it will have to wait for another day…  Next on my to-do list:  72 hour kits!

If you want more information on family organization binders, check out these great sites:
http://zenhabits.net/organize-your-family-with-a-family-binder/
http://organizedhome.com/household-notebook
http://neverbored08.blogspot.com/2010/07/wfmw-family-information-binder.html
http://www.noordinarymomentsblog.com/2009/04/emergency-binder-family-information.html
http://www.noordinarymomentsblog.com/search/label/Emergency%20Binder
http://houseoforder.com/family/organize-family-family-information-binder/

Vinegar is a powerhouse product.  You can clean with it, cook with it, deodorize smelly man clothes with it.  It does almost everything.  Want proof, check this out!  It got me thinking, though.  Uh-oh, right?  What other common products make good cleansers?  Wanna know what I found?  Well, sit down and hang on to your seats, because here we go…

Baking Soda is mildly abrasive and naturally deodorizes.  Got a box in the fridge?  I have started using baking soda to clean my sinks and toilets.  I have also used it in dishes that have baked-on food.  You can also make a paste with water or vinegar (I prefer vinegar, seems to clean a little better) that you can set for 10-20 minutes on tougher grime.

Baking soda and lemon juice is an excellent deodorizer and smells less than vinegar.  Place equal amounts in a small dish, mix well and set around your home in smelly areas (like the bathroom or laundry room…).

Baking soda can be used to remove marks from walls and other painted surfaces.  Sprinkle a damp sponge lightly and gently rub on the affected area.  Rinse and dry.

I have only ever cleaned an oven once.  When we moved last year and it was, by far, the thing I hated the most about all the cleaning we had to do.  Wish I had known this one… Wipe down your oven with a damp sponge. Min 3/4cup baking soda, 1/4cup salt and 1/4cup water to make a thick paste, and spread around inside your oven. Be careful not to get any on bare metal and watch around the openings. Let the paste sit overnight. Remove with butter knife and wipe clean.  Tough spots may need to be scrubbed.  I haven’t tried this one, but I will the next time I have to clean an oven.  If nothing else, it would smell better than the chemical spray I used last year.

Hydrogen Peroxide and water make a great combo for killing and getting rid of mold.  Does your shower grout get moldy?  Mix 1:2 ration of hydrogen peroxide and water in a spray bottle.  Thoroughly coat the surface and let it sit for at least an hour.  Rinse well and let dry.

Rubbing Alcohol is another solution I didn’t know much about.  I’ve used it to removed stickiness that price tags have left behind and permanent marker from the bathroom counters, but I didn’t know about using it on glass, mirrors, windows and chrome fixtures.    Use a 1:1 ratio of rubbing alcohol and water.  Add 1 tbs of vinegar to every cup of alcohol for an added cleaning punch.  You can also use this recipe to make glass cleaning wipes.  Just add paper towels in a container.

Lemons are one of nature’s strongest cleaning agents.  To disinfect and clean your cutting boards, squeeze lemon juice on the cutting surface.  Let it sit for a couple minutes.  Rinse.  I really like that it won’t hurt my family if I happen to miss rinsing a spot, just add a little zing to dinner.

For a bleach-less dishwashing soap, mix equal parts of borax and washing soda.  You’ll have to increase the washing soda if your water is hard.  I do a one part borax and two parts washing soda to combat hard water stains.

Laundry detergent is expensive!  I haven’t had the chance to compare costs yet, but this recipe for a homemade detergent leaves me happy.  It cleans just as well as the Tide we used, but doesn’t have as many harsh chemicals in it.  I mix 1 cup Ivory soap, 1/2 cup washing soda and 1/2 cup borax. Use 1 tbsp for light loads; 2 tbsp for heavy loads.

I haven’t tried this one, but had to share it.  If you do try it, let us know if it works.  To remove water rings on a wooden table or counter top apply toothpaste or mayonnaise to a damp cloth and rub into the ring. Once the ring is removed, buff the entire wood surface.

Olive oil and lemon juice make a great furniture polish.  This is one recipe I am now hooked on.  We have a coffee table that gets grimy really easy.  Especially with Little Monkey around.  I’ve tried tons of products to help protect it, but I usually had to polish it about twice a week.  I tried this solution and now only polish every 7-10 days.  It’s easy and effective.  Mix 1.5 cups of olive oil to .5 cups of lemon juice in a spray bottle.  Shake well and spray a little on a soft rag.  Polish as usual.

I got the above recipe ideas from organizedhome.com and easyearth.com.  I have tried most of them, and the ones I haven’t tried I said as much.  Some of the recipes I have tweaked to my liking and others I used straight off the sites I found them on.  There are tons of other recipes out there to clean just about anything you could possibly imagine.  All of these products are easy to find in stores, cost far less than other cleaning supplies and are safer for the environment and your family.  Try some of them and you may decide it’s worth the effort to save some money and use safer cleaners in your home.

Do you have any homemade cleaning solutions you use?