Ah, my home notebook.  I love it.  It’s nothing spectacular, but I am happy with a notebook in my hand.  I always have been.  I like lists and organization and I like to jot things down that are important to me in the moment.  Where better than a notebook to keep my lists and goals and plans and stuff?

Isn’t it pretty?  Doesn’t it make you want to sit down right now and make a list of some kind?  It’s actually just a plain white notebook.  I have taken pages from one of my old Victoriana calendars (by Cynthia Hart) and cut pieces to fit into the front cover…

the back cover…

and even the spine. 

You might wonder what goes into the notebook.  My notebook is actually one of the big things that keeps me sane as I try to work and homeschool and keep a home.  I have always kept a notebook of sorts, and I actually have different planners and notebooks for different things, but this is the MAIN notebook that has information that is nearest to my heart each day.

Let’s take a look:

Inside the front cover are two pockets. One holds our attendance records. The other holds projects I am working on currently, usually a test or paper of some kind that I need to have at my fingertips for easy access. Right now it’s several Saxon placement tests that I’ve been using to make sure we remember everything we should in math.  And to see if Michaela should really be in a higher grade level.  

In the very front of the notebook itself is the Five In A Row calendar I ordered.  I love the pretty pages and quotations.   It is where I work out when we’ll “row” which books. 

From there the notebook is broken into sections.  HOMESCHOOL is the first one.  I have a list each for Joseph and Michaela that shows what I would like for them to cover every school day.  You’d be amazed what I can forget!  There are also things like my BOOK LIST where I keep the names of books that I want to either check out from the library or buy.  Many of them are recommendations from on-line friends.  Thank you.  When I go shopping for books I just take this list out and it goes with me.   There’s also a MUSIC LIST.  There are also blank pages for me to write out goals and thoughts and long-term plans. 

I have a section in my notebook called PRAYER JOURNAL.  I don’t necessarily have to have this section.  I think the Lord is perfectly capable of putting things on my heart to pray about.  But sometimes I read a verse, such as the ones about praying for our leaders, and I feel bad that I have not remembered it well enough.  Or a family member or friend will have a need.  Or someone will ask me to pray about something.  It just helps me to make notes to myself about prayer.   Like I said before, you’d be amazed at what I can forget.

There is a section for HOME.  In a clear cover, I have routines written out for each day of the week.   It might sound silly, but since I work and homeschool they remind me of how my life works so much better if I have certain things done on certain days.   For example, you might remember that after being off during the week and enjoying homeschool adventures, I have to be at my work desk on Friday, so this is one of the notes on my THURSDAY page:

Note:  Friday is frequently a hard transition day.  On Thursday evenings make sure the house is tidy and anything computer-wise or bill-wise is already done.  You need to have a clean slate on Friday morning.

The HOME section of my notebook also contains a list of DAILIES such as wiping down the bathrooms, washing one load of clothes, knowing what will be for supper,  etc.

Then there’s a section on HEALTH AND BODY.  I keep little tidbits I read about vitamins and nutrition.  For example I was recently reading about zinc and bone health.  Who knew?  Next week I won’t.  Except that I jotted it down in the handy-dandy health and body section of my prettily decorated notebook. 

My exercise schedule (uh, reminder) is also in here.

This last section, pictured above, is one of my favorites.  It is the HERB / NUTRITION section of my notebook.  There is an A-Z index where I can store information about various herbs.  For example, under C there’s cleavers where I have written “gentle lymphatic & urinary.”  I’ll add more as I learn. 

After the last section is a nice big 3-hole pocket.  It holds stuff.  “Whatever” kind of stuff.  Right now it’s got paper dolls in it that I will get around to cutting out soon.  Inside the back cover are two more pockets that hold more STUFF, like a current edition of The Greenhouse Report and a small timeline project that I will be introducing Princess of the Universe to.

I hope I have helped you.  Because of my website, I do get questions from time to time from readers about working and homeschooling and staying organized.  I know this is one of the things that helps me to at least keep my thoughts straight and keep my ideas in a safe place for when I need them.

Lynn