Managing a home the new age way

I have been a big follower of several blogs explaining how to manage a home. I find them really insightful but one thing I have found is that their methods are often from times where we didn't have alot of todays technology. I'm going to try and give you an idea how how we can manage everyday household duties in a much more straight forward method.

1. The home binder: This is basically a folder that you keep warranties, instruction manuals, emergency contact details like the plumber, instructions on how to get wine out of carper etc. While this is an effective method its also susceptible to getting lost or damaged and uses alot of paper and space and time in keeping it updated. 

Why not instead take a photo of your warranty and save it as an email? You can look up plumbers in your area on google in about 30seconds or just save their number in your phone. User manuals can also be viewed online as most are available in PDF with a simple google search. The one thing i would suggest keeping a hard copy of is one page of emergency details such a a back up of family numbers and addresses, your insurance policy number and phone number to make a claim etc. This I laminate and stick near the front door so I can grab it in an emergency or someone coming to the house can see who to call if im out cold.

I also suggest photographing each room of your home and saving them as an email for insurance purposes. If you need to make a claim they can see exactly what you own and you don't have to try and remember or provide a receipt for that $2000 stereo. As an email it can also be accessed from the library computer or your mates couch when your house burns down or gets flooded.

2. Money envelopes: While I support keeping some cash on you incase of a blackout when you are half way through filling up on petrol (its happened to me) having cash split into envelopes for bills isn't terribly helpful in the world of digital payments. First of all they can be easily lost or stolen (or little ones can miss place them for you) and most bills need to be paid online.

Instead many banks allow you to open several bank accounts and link them to one card. Open one for the electricity bill, one for groceries etc. Transfer the money for that period into the account then you can clearly see how much you have and it can accumulate if you don't use it. I have a savings account for electricity because I only use it once every 3 months so I actually earn interest on it in the mean time. I also have an account with a separate card, with the word Splurge written on the front in sharpie which is my spending money. Completely separate to any other money I have set aside for bills and that only I can access.I would also suggest this be a different bank to your regular account as if a bank goes down or your identity gets stolen you have a back up account.

3. Save $5 notes: I don't know about you but I never have cash so this doesn't work. I do however always seem to have coins...no idea where they come from. I'm sure the men just produce coins as they walk. All coins I put into a jar and when its full I take it to the bank and cash it in. Saves carrying the metal around with you, provides a surprising amount at the end (my last jar held $500 in 12months) and great for raiding when the icecream man drives up your street.

4. Recipes: I know those handed down recipe folders and hand written cards are really pritty to look at but the thing about cooking is things get mucky and hand writing isn't that easy to read. I save recipes to pinterest, Taste is another great website to look up recipes.

A few years ago I compiled all my favorite and most used recipes into a word document which I uploaded to a website called Blurb and had my very own hard cover cook book printed for about $40 (depending on how many pages you have). you can also use their software to design a book for you to just fill in the blanks. Its full of family pictures and you can take pictures of those recipe cards and never have to worry about accidental water damage or aunt May demanding it back or gods forbid your pinterest account gets wiped! My recipe book also included cleaning recipes and playdough and bath paint. Better yet you can get several printed and give them to your kids when they leave home so they will always know how to make mums spaghetti bolognaise.