October 2011 Family Command Center part two: Reference Binder This is a continuation of the September 2011 Terri's Tip for an Organized Life covering Family Calendar. In your Family Command Center area (desk in the kitchen; corner of the counter designated especially for it; tabletop or shelf mounted in a central place in the hallway), you'll need a large 3-ring binder, plastic sheet protectors, and labeled page dividers. On the spine and front, label it Family Reference Binder. (If you don't have a label maker, use masking tape and a marker.) In this binder, you should correctly label one of the page dividers and then hole punch your kids' sports schedules—and include contact information for the coach. You can do this for important school and other extra-curricular activities as well. Don't forget the contact information for teachers/coaches/carpoolers so they can always be found easily and quickly. A separate page divider can separate hole punched restaurant take-out menus. Think about other categories where important papers tend to pile-up and label the page dividers correctly. Go through your home to fill up your binder. Here are some possible categories: • place of worship • daycare/babysitting • gift-giving/birthdays/party planning • home improvement • meal planning • medical/health and fitness • restaurant menus and coupons • phone numbers • school/lunch menus • sports/extra-curricular • vacation/travel/fun activities This is always going to be changing so go through the binder regularly to add papers; delete some; make changes. The page protectors will keep the pages from ripping or getting misplaced. Good luck!