My Brain - aka My Organizer

I have a similar 3 ring notebook in Hot Pink, that I call "Mom's Brain."  It is called that because if I don't put in it what I need to remember, then it may not exist, according to my real brain.  I shared the notebook at a recent Mom's Coffee that my homeschool group hosts each month. and it was a mini-hit so I thought I would share it here.  Here is what it looks like most days.  Notice the reams of paper.  I have seen pictures of other mom's binders and lesson planners and I think, "How do they keep it so tidy?"  I stuff and jam everything I can into mine and every once in a while, I purge it and it looks a little better, but tidy isn't a description I would use to describe it, ever.  Uh, my desk is the same way.

Upon opening the first thing inside is a pencil pouch, also hot pink (it's my favorite color, obviously).  I have pens, pencils, highlighters, extra tabs and my voter registration card.  Don't ask why the voter registration card is in there, I don't remember why I stuck it there and now I am afraid to move it.

Behind the pouch is my calendar.  It isn't fancy and it was free.  I printed it from Donna Young

 After my calendar, there is a year at a glance calendar that I got free with an order from Christian Light Publications.  It allows me to find a far off date quickly.

Behind the calendar I keep a page of websites and my usernames and passwords.  Typically I use the same password for everything, but they do vary and I don't want the hassle of trying to remember.  So this page has a list of all the sites I access online where I need a password - from homeschool message boards to bills I need to pay.  It's all there.  Which means I am "done" if I ever lose this binder, but I would never be able to log in to anything  if I didn't have the list. 

 The first tab of my Brain is the homeschool group section, the homeschool group I belong to.  I keep a list of our events, member roster of phone numbers and emails, notes from our meetings and Co-op information in this section.

This is the Homeschool tab.  I have sub-tabs in this section, one for each of my boys.  Immediately behind the tab I have general information that I want to keep at my fingertips.  In the pocket on the left you can see I have some articles printed out from The Well Trained Mind and a flyer from the library we use.  That pocket is stuffed.  On the right is a scope and sequence I printed from World Book I only use it as a reference, I don't follow it.  After that,. I keep a list of books I want the boys to read and I keep curriculum planning lists and wish lists.

Behind the tab for each boy I have things that pertain directly to them.  Bear's high school plans, course descriptions, etc.  Noodle's has book lists and project ideas.  I also keep goal lists and resource lists.

Tab 3 is the Household section.  Below is page one of my cleaning list.  Back when life was less chaotic for me I had a cleaning lady.  This was the list I put together for her.  Now I am a mom without an income of my own and the kids and I follow this list.  Ahem, sometimes.

Also in the household section I keep plans and wishlists.  Below is a design I drew for the future wall unit (sort of a built in, but not really).  I have priced the wood, but I have no idea when my husband and I will have the time to build it.  So, in the Brain it stays.

Household also has local political information, my budget, recipes, calorie information sheets from fast food restaurants, and pet vet information.

The next section is my Mary Kay section.  I have been with MK since 1996.  I keep a catalog, order forms, customer lists and team member lists in this section.  Sadly, I am not the consultant I once was so this section has a layer of dust.

The last tab is for Scouts. I have a Cub Scout and a Boy Scout.  I keep calendars, flyers, camp information, den and troop phone lists etc., in this section.  I also have a separate binder for scouts where I house all the worksheets with belt loop, pins and merit badge requirements and worksheets. 

In the front and back pockets I keep stuff that I can't really decide what to do with or I don't know what category to put it in.  I really am not as organized as I want to be, but this (messy) binder helps me to believe I am.  I tweak it every now and then and I have been known to completely disassemble and start over when I feel it isn't working right for me.

For the organizationally challenged out there, trust me, I can relate and I hope this has inspired you in some way.