Simple living series - Organising your information

It's like studying for a degree all over again.  All the subjects are there, we search each other's blogs for pieces of unusual and valuable information, we collect recipes to add to our armoury of healthy meals, we teach and learn from each other, we rip out old magazine articles, have catalogues sent to us, draw maps of borders and gardens, and save conversion charts for temperatures and measurement.  So how do we organise it.  Just how do you make this mingle-mangle of torn edges, handwritten papers and professional printed material into an easy to use and tidy resource.  Enter the homemaker's almanac  I used to call this my homemaker's journal, but I realised it's more than that.  I review it each year and update with the coming year's calendar and information, so it's more an almanac than a journal.  Whatever it's called though, it's a must have.

I realised very early on my journey to a simpler life that what I wanted to know was not in any one book and that part of what I had to do was to actively search for material that would teach me what I needed to know and motivate me towards life-long learning. It didn't take long to see that cutting out bits and pieces, downloading from the internet and handwriting notes and recipes created the kind of mess I'd already left behind.

So I got myself an old binder with plastic sleeves and started loading it up with my mad collection of information.  It's not necessary for it to be fancy or new, use what you already have.  I'm still using that folder to this day and it's been a resource that's saved me time and time again.  Gone are the days when I'd write a unique and treasured recipe on a slip of paper, only to lose it.  Now they're all tucked away in their own section of my almanac. A book such as this, with recipes for all your homemade cleaners and soaps is important for everyone but especially so for parents of your children.  If you happen to have the terrible circumstance of one of your little ones swallowing something you've made, you'll have all your recipes in the one spot.  Grab your folder as you go and show the recipe to the doctor.  It's a much better option than having to waste valuable time looking for your recipe, or worse still, saying you don't remember what you put in the concoction.

In addition to your cleaning recipes and food recipes, you could also store your menu plans that are not currently being used and stuck on the fridge.  It can hold the instructions for craft projects and patterns for dresses, skirts. nightdresses and cardigans.  It can hold your lists of birthdays, important dates and school functions, your weekly or monthly planner, price lists, coupons and vouchers, your water and electricity meter readings.

If you're serious about your life change, mark it by storing all your information in one place.  Add to your almanac frequently, update it every year, compost old papers and add new ones.  That way you'll stay up to date, have your information in one place and the mere act of making an almanac and working with it, will indicate to you and others that you live a unique life.

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Thank you for your visits this week, it's been another busy one for me, and probably for most of you too.  Next week in our simple living series, we'll move outside to the garden.  Spring is moving closer for many of my northern hemisphere friends, and Hanno and I are almost ready to start building our new season garden.  The chooks have done a wonderful job for us weeding, eating insect eggs and grasshoppers and turning compost.  Soon it will be our turn to work the garden.  I'm looking froward to it, and to the cooler weather.

I'll be featuring two readers' kitchens on the weekend.  I'm not accepting new photos until I have used all those already sent in.  I'll let you know when I need a new batch, I think it will be the end of the month.  Whatever you do this weekend, I hope you enjoy it.    ♥