Catalogue · MC classification
Collections
Twelve subject collections hold the working catalogue. Each collection opens with an overview of how the subject is treated here, then lists featured resources, a reading list and the topics it connects to. Use the search field in the header to filter this page, or jump to a collection from the sidebar.
Home Organization
Systems for storing, maintaining and sharing the work of a household.
Overview
Household organisation is usually described as a matter of tidiness. In practice it is a matter of decision-making: where an object lives, who is responsible for it, and how often it is reviewed. This collection gathers material that treats the home as a small system with inputs, storage and maintenance cycles, and that assumes limited time rather than unlimited motivation.
Material has been selected for climates and housing types common in Canada, including small apartments, shared accommodation, and houses with seasonal storage demands. Where a method requires specific equipment or spending, the entry says so plainly so that readers can judge whether it applies to them.
Featured resources
- Room-by-room sorting sequence Guide · 18 min
- Storage decisions for small apartments Guide · 14 min
- Shared household chore agreements Worksheet · Print
- Seasonal changeover checklist Checklist · Print
Recommended reading
- Managing Objects You Rarely Use, Moolmes Reference Series
- The Maintenance Calendar: Twelve Months of Small Repairs
- Rented Homes: What You Can Change and What You Cannot
Related topics
Storage Cleaning routines Repairs Shared living Seasonal preparation
Last catalogue review: June 2026
Digital Skills
Practical competence with the tools people are required to use.
Overview
Digital literacy is often taught as a list of applications. This collection takes a different approach and organises material around tasks: finding reliable information, keeping records, protecting accounts, communicating clearly, and recognising manipulation. The underlying skills transfer between devices and outlive individual products.
Entries assume no prior technical vocabulary. Terms are defined at first use, and each guide states what a reader should be able to do after working through it. Screenshots are avoided because interfaces change; descriptions of what to look for are used instead.
Featured resources
- Evaluating a source in four questions Guide · 11 min
- Account security without a password manager Guide · 16 min
- Backing up documents that matter Guide · 13 min
- Device handover checklist Checklist · Print
Recommended reading
- Reading Search Results Critically, Moolmes Reference Series
- A Plain Guide to File Formats and Why They Matter
- Recognising Common Online Manipulation Patterns
Related topics
Information literacy Online safety File management Accessibility settings
Last catalogue review: June 2026
Community Resources
How local services, boards and volunteer bodies actually work.
Overview
Most communities contain more public infrastructure than residents are aware of: libraries, recreation boards, neighbourhood associations, school councils, tenant groups and municipal committees. This collection describes what these bodies do, how decisions are made within them, and how a resident can take part without prior experience.
Because service names and structures differ between provinces and municipalities, entries explain the general pattern first and then describe how to confirm local details. Nothing here replaces advice from the service itself; the aim is to make first contact easier.
Featured resources
- How a municipal committee meeting works Guide · 15 min
- Finding services in a new city Guide · 12 min
- Preparing a five-minute public comment Worksheet · Print
- Neighbourhood project planning sheet Template · Print
Recommended reading
- Public Meetings: Agendas, Minutes and Motions Explained
- Volunteering Well: Commitment, Boundaries and Handover
- Community Notice Boards and Local Information Networks
Related topics
Local government Volunteering Public meetings Neighbourhood groups
Last catalogue review: June 2026
Practical Planning
Turning intentions into schedules, budgets and reviewable plans.
Overview
Planning material tends to promise transformation. This collection is deliberately modest: it covers estimating how long work takes, writing plans that survive interruption, sequencing tasks that depend on each other, and reviewing a plan honestly once it has met reality.
The methods here are drawn from project practice, household management and adult education. Each entry identifies the conditions under which the method works and, equally important, the conditions under which it fails.
Featured resources
- Estimating time you have never measured Guide · 17 min
- Weekly review in twenty minutes Guide · 9 min
- Annual planning grid Planner · Print
- Decision record sheet Worksheet · Print
Recommended reading
- Plans That Survive Interruption, Moolmes Reference Series
- Budgets as Planning Documents, Not Verdicts
- Checklists: When They Help and When They Hide Errors
Related topics
Scheduling Budgeting Goal setting Review practices
Last catalogue review: June 2026
Communication
Writing and speaking clearly in ordinary, consequential situations.
Overview
Everyday communication carries real consequences: a request to a landlord, a note to a teacher, a complaint to a service provider, a difficult conversation with a relative. This collection collects structures and worked examples for those situations, with attention to tone, evidence and record-keeping.
Plain-language principles run throughout. Entries show a weak version and a revised version of the same message so that the reasoning behind each change is visible rather than asserted.
Featured resources
- Writing a message that gets a useful reply Guide · 12 min
- Raising a problem without escalating it Guide · 14 min
- Formal letter structures Reference sheet · Print
- Difficult conversation preparation sheet Worksheet · Print
Recommended reading
- Plain Language in Everyday Correspondence
- Listening as a Recorded Skill: Notes, Summaries and Confirmation
- Keeping a Written Record of Verbal Agreements
Related topics
Plain language Correspondence Conflict Note-taking
Last catalogue review: June 2026
Everyday Learning
Study methods for adults learning outside a classroom.
Overview
Adults who return to study often carry school-era habits that were never very effective. This collection presents evidence-informed learning methods in a form usable without an instructor: spaced review, retrieval practice, worked examples, and deliberate difficulty.
Each method is described with its supporting rationale, an honest note on the strength of the evidence, and a small starting exercise. The collection also treats the practical side of adult study: finding time, sustaining attention, and deciding when to stop.
Featured resources
- Spaced review without an app Guide · 13 min
- Reading a difficult text in three passes Guide · 15 min
- Study log template Planner · Print
- Self-testing question bank sheet Worksheet · Print
Recommended reading
- What Adult Learners Get Wrong About Rereading
- Attention, Fatigue and the Limits of Study Time
- Building a Personal Reference Library
Related topics
Study methods Memory Reading Adult education
Last catalogue review: June 2026
Household Finance Basics
Neutral explanations of the documents and decisions households face.
Overview
This collection explains financial documents and mechanisms in plain terms: what a statement shows, how interest accumulates, what a credit report records, and how to compare two offers on the same basis.
Moolmes does not provide financial advice and recommends no product. Entries describe how things work and what questions to ask a qualified adviser or the institution itself.
Featured resources
- Reading a bank or credit statement line by line Guide · 16 min
- Comparing two offers on the same basis Guide · 12 min
- Monthly household budget sheet Planner · Print
- Bill and renewal calendar Template · Print
Recommended reading
- Interest, Fees and the Arithmetic Behind Them
- What a Credit Report Records and Who Sees It
- Household Money Conversations: Structure and Timing
Related topics
Budgeting Statements Consumer information Record-keeping
Last catalogue review: June 2026
Records and Documents
Keeping personal papers findable, current and secure.
Overview
Personal record-keeping fails quietly: papers are kept but cannot be found, or are found but are out of date. This collection covers retention periods, naming conventions, storage formats and the small routine that keeps a filing system alive.
Guidance distinguishes between records with legal significance and records kept for convenience, and notes where readers should confirm requirements with the issuing body rather than rely on a general rule.
Featured resources
- A filing system that fits in one drawer Guide · 14 min
- Naming files so you can find them later Guide · 8 min
- Document retention reference sheet Reference sheet · Print
- Important documents inventory Worksheet · Print
Recommended reading
- Paper, Scan or Both: Choosing a Storage Format
- Preparing Records for Someone Else to Use
- Safe Disposal of Documents Containing Personal Information
Related topics
Filing Retention Privacy Estate preparation
Last catalogue review: June 2026
Seasonal and Weather Readiness
Preparation for Canadian seasons and common local disruptions.
Overview
Weather in Canada creates predictable, repeated demands: winter heating and travel, spring melt, summer heat and smoke, autumn maintenance. This collection organises preparation by season and by dwelling type rather than presenting a single generic kit list.
Entries reference the categories used by public emergency agencies but do not reproduce their material. Readers are directed to their provincial and municipal sources for current warnings and instructions.
Featured resources
- Winter readiness for renters Guide · 15 min
- Heat and air quality days at home Guide · 12 min
- 72-hour household preparation checklist Checklist · Print
- Seasonal maintenance calendar Planner · Print
Recommended reading
- Preparing a Home for a Multi-Day Power Interruption
- Travel and Transport in Winter Conditions
- Household Communication Plans for Disruptions
Related topics
Winter Emergency preparation Home maintenance Public safety information
Last catalogue review: June 2026
Food and Kitchen Systems
Planning, storage and food safety as a repeatable routine.
Overview
This collection treats the kitchen as a system of purchasing, storage, preparation and waste. It covers meal planning that tolerates a changed schedule, safe storage temperatures and times, stock rotation, and cooking from a small standing inventory.
Food safety guidance follows the general principles published by Canadian public health authorities. Readers are advised to confirm specific times and temperatures against current official guidance.
Featured resources
- Planning meals around a variable week Guide · 13 min
- Storing food safely at home Guide · 16 min
- Pantry inventory sheet Worksheet · Print
- Weekly meal plan and shopping grid Planner · Print
Recommended reading
- Cooking from a Standing Inventory
- Reducing Household Food Waste: Measurement First
- Kitchen Equipment: What Earns Its Space
Related topics
Meal planning Food safety Storage Waste reduction
Last catalogue review: June 2026
Care and Caregiving
Organisational support for people caring for others.
Overview
Caregiving generates administrative work that is rarely acknowledged: appointments, medication schedules, correspondence with services, and coordination between family members. This collection provides structures for that work and for the caregiver's own sustainability.
Nothing in this collection is medical advice. Entries describe organisation, communication and record-keeping, and consistently direct readers to health professionals for clinical questions.
Featured resources
- Setting up a care information binder Guide · 17 min
- Coordinating care across family members Guide · 14 min
- Appointment and question log Worksheet · Print
- Care handover summary Template · Print
Recommended reading
- Keeping a Usable Record of Appointments and Decisions
- Respite, Boundaries and the Long View
- Talking with Services: Preparation and Follow-Up
Related topics
Caregiving Health records Family coordination Support services
Last catalogue review: June 2026
Reading and Study Skills
Reading with purpose, and keeping what you read.
Overview
Reading for information is a different skill from reading for pleasure, and it can be practised. This collection covers previewing, question-led reading, note-making systems, and building a personal index of material you expect to return to.
It also addresses the practical question of what to read: how to choose between sources, how to read across disagreement, and how to record where a fact came from.
Featured resources
- Question-led reading in three passes Guide · 14 min
- Note-making systems compared Guide · 18 min
- Reading log and citation sheet Worksheet · Print
- Personal index card format Template · Print
Recommended reading
- Marginalia, Summaries and Structured Notes
- Choosing Between Two Sources That Disagree
- Building a Personal Reference Library
Related topics
Reading Note-taking Research Citation
Last catalogue review: June 2026
How collections are built
A collection is opened when the desk holds at least twelve reviewed entries on a subject and can describe a clear boundary for it. Entries are assigned a shelf mark from the Moolmes classification, which borrows its broad structure from general library practice but uses subdivisions suited to household and community subjects. Where an entry could sit in two collections it is catalogued once and cross-referenced from the other, so that the count of entries in the header is not inflated.
Collections are reviewed twice a year. A review checks that links still resolve, that any figures quoted from public bodies remain current, and that the reading list reflects what the desk would now recommend. The date of the most recent review is shown on each collection.