The Farm Binder...

How do you keep information organized and accessible when you need it?  That is what I had to figure out recently.  With all the details I needed to keep track of with these farm projects I needed a central location to organize everything.  I am not a naturally organized person, it is something I had to learn and force myself into at first.  Now I appreciate the work in setting it up, because I am confident where the information is at all times.  It takes about 30 mins. to 1 hour per week updating it to keep things current and organized.

I set up a farm binder.  It helps me manage the farm projects quite well.  Actually, I make it help me manage things, since the binder doesn't do anything if I don't.   This 3" binder has everything we need...

 Goals are the first page to keep us focused!  We have a giving record/farm tour record inside the front flap to keep track of how we've been able to do with our #1 goal of blessing others by giving, sharing experiences, sharing the bounty, donating cash etc.   That giving log is my very favorite to add entries into!

There is a calendar so I can keep track of when I need to order things, how old the meat birds are, when to move them onto pasture, when our chicken processing dates are, when we planted what seeds, when to plant what into the garden according to last frost date etc.  It really feels a little like my 2nd brain some days.

Each farm category has it's own balance sheet where I keep track of expenses and income.  There is one for broilers, turkeys, rabbits, laying hens, garden, fruits, hay/pasture, horses, pigs, and farm improvements.

We also have a large envelope hole punched and put in the binder to keep track of all our receipts for the year.  So when tax time comes around we aren't scrambling!  We write a quick note on each receipt before popping it into the envelope.

We keep track of a few memories and farm improvements with picture pages.  I can see this being a keepsake as well as record of important info.  We will always have this 2013 binder to look back on our first official year with our farm adventure!

 The most valuable part is this handy little log I started around the first of the year.  This is the daily log where I keep track of what we are learning, some issues we run into and how we solved them, what the animals are being fed and how much, figures for future projects.  It serves as a journal of what we've accomplished as well.

Here is the daily log.

I put tabs along the bottom to section it off into the farm project categories.

Here is a page from the pig section.

Hopefully I stay on track and keep track of all the info for the year.  It has been enjoyable so far so I expect I will be able to keep it up.

Hope you enjoyed the peek into how I keep things organized around here!