Renovation binder & home bibles.

I am not, by nature, an organized person.

So, when reading Cynthia Kling's Domino article many months ago about running a super-organized house, I was admittedly turned on by the idea of maintaining a house bible - some kind of binder with all kinds of useful information. I have a habit of scribbling things down only to lose them later. My life is a never-ending hunt for that one Post-It note with that one important phone number.

Well, I did it. I created a binder for the house which has all kinds of info, like the recipes and timeline for making Thanksgiving dinner (since I had only done it once - the year before - I knew I didn't want to reinvent the wheel on that little project). It also includes names of repairmen, the insurance guy, take-out menus, and big lists of recommended contractors, landscapers.



But so far, the best use of a big ol' binder has been to devote one entirely to our kitchen remodel.

I started it with tear sheets from magazines of the kitchen I wanted, photos I had been collecting for years. And the best part of organizing the inspiration part first is that the decisions are then easy to make. So many of the kitchens I've seen and lusted after included the same elements. So when I started to get overwhelmed at the tile store, Lowe's, Ann Sacks, or even at home when shopping for materials online, I just flipped through the binder and it gave me a way to make sure that what I was selection was as good or better as the many photos that I'd been collecting as inspiration for years. Plus, when I know I will need to make a quick call to deal with something while traveling for work or at the office, I just grab the whole binder and take it with me. That way I am never stuck guessing about my counter dimensions or some appliance spec. I have the whole project at my fingertips, including the budget, invoices, even details on the tile grout.



Anyway, I recommend it. Of course, I have never done anything like this. I've never done any serious home improvement project, so what works for everyone else? If you're done a small or large remodel, how did you keep your project on track & organized? I am sure people will love to hear your advice.