How to Create a Home Notebook

Owning, decorating and keeping up with a home is work, plain and simple. However, there are ways to make this job much easier and less time consuming. The best way to start is by creating a “Home Notebook.” With this in hand, you’ll never wonder if the drapes you saw on sale will match your color scheme, or if the sink needs a 2- or 3-hole faucet replacement. All the information you’ll need is there at your fingertips. Here’s how to start.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• 5-by-7-by-3 inch 3-ring binder
• Dividers
• Binder pockets
• Glue or rubber cement
• Notebook paper
• Cardboard
• 3-hole punch
• Tape measure
• Pencil

1. Divide your binder into rooms. Make labels for the dividers including each room of the house, plus a section for General House, Maintenance, Appliances, Heating/Cooling and Outside Misc. Once the sections are made and added to the binder, add sheets of notebook paper and at least one binder pocket page to each section and you’re ready to begin.
2. Taking pictures and adding the measurements is a great idea! Take measurements for each room of the house. Include placement of windows and doors, as well as ceiling height. If there is a closet, add the dimensions. It might help to draw a rough diagram of the room for future reference. Be sure to not forget the hallways, as they should be considered rooms as well.
3. Use rubber cement to glue fabric samples and paint chips to your notebook. For each room, if possible, add swatches of fabrics, drapes, curtains, bed linens, carpets and paint colors. Make sure you date the pages, so that the updates are current. You can add sizes of current furniture as well, and add the placement of them to the diagram.
4. Add flooring samples with correct color or pigment to your notebook. Add samples of flooring, whether wood or tile, to rooms where appropriate. Small samples of tile or laminate from countertops or baths can also be glued onto stiff cardboard and inserted into the binder.
5. Take photos of current room setups and any artwork or wall hangings. Placing these photos into the Home Notebook will help with coordinating color schemes, etc.
6. Watch for ideas, furniture, paintings, colors, etc that you might want to incorporate into your home design. Cut out pictures from magazines or sales ads and place them in the section pockets for later. Remember, the more you put into your Home Notebook, the more you’ll get out of it.
7. Add house and landscaping plans, appliance info and more to your notebook. The additional sections are for the miscellaneous bits of information needed to run, decorate and maintain the home properly. The General House section, for example, could contain the house plans, and property boundaries, while the Maintenance section can include dates maintenance is performed, any random repairs, etc. The Outside Misc. section of your notebook should include any information on the outside of your home as well as any landscaping, etc., done on your property.

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