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My new planner

K.  You all know my deep, undying love for planners.  I’m so obsessed with planners that I tend to switch them up often.  Always coming up with new systems to attempt to organize my time better. 

For years I used my Time Management Binder and it worked so well for me.  I still use the sticky note shopping list system!  So easy to grab a sticky note and head to the store.

Then building my house became all consuming so I switched to my Time Management Notepad because I needed more space for writing list after list of house to-do’s.  I’ve since dropped the additional tabs for other things and have labeled the whole notebook NEW HOUSE since I don’t have time for anything else anyway.  I’ve gone through about three of these babies to date.  Thank goodness the house is almost finished.  I seriously fear for our forests if my to-do lists don’t cease at some point.  :) 
Since the notepad holds my new house lists, I needed a smaller planner to keep in my purse to calendar our every day stuff.  I bought the new Martha Stewart Planner because it’s cute and matched my ever growing heap of Martha Stewart organizers…
but I didn’t really feel like it met my needs for all I wanted it to hold without tweaking it and adding things to it which I just don’t have time for right now.  So when I received an e-mail from the folks at Day Timer asking if I wanted to pick something from their site to review on my blog I said YES!  PLEASE!  Which is funny because my usual response to emails like that is thanks, but no thanks.  Bottom line is that I just can’t resist a good planner.  And this is a good one!
I looked at everything they had on-line (so many fun organizing solutions) and chose the “Family Plus Solution Set.”  It comes in two colors: blue and purple and much to El’s dismay, I chose the blue.  I like the fun pop of color and how nicely it snaps shut.  It’s small enough to fit in my purse, but big enough for me to have room to write.  
I also like all of the happy colored tabs.  
And the notepad in the back for additional notes.  Moms always have additional notes.  
Monthly calendar spread.  
And a section to the side of each month for goals.  I like that.  I always have a few things I try to work on each month.  Little things like drink more water, etc.  Plus I jot down goals I’ve set for the kids so I remember what I’m working on with them for the month.  (Yes – I set goals for the kids too – they love me for that.)  Example: El – master multiplication fact sheet in under two minutes.  Ad – finish all books on reading contract.  Kole – pronouns (speech therapy goal).  And Kenny – hang wet towels up after shower.  Kidding.  I don’t write a goal for Kenny.  I just politely remind him.  Daily.  ;)
Here is the section that I am really loving and the reason I chose this planner.  
I love seeing the week laid out in front of me.  

It has a small section at the top for to-do’s.  

Room to write down important appointments/activities for each day of the week.  
Or the weekend. 

And a big section in the middle where you can write the weeks’ dinner menu.  LOVE this.  I am really trying to plan our dinners a week at a time because I don’t have time to run to the grocery store as often as I used to.  Even if our meal for the evening is chicken nuggets and corn on the cob – writing it down and making sure I have everything ready a week at a time has been a big time saver for me lately.

This is my planner right now.  I recognize it looks ridiculous with everything blocked out so you can’t read it.  I had no choice since I work for the CIA and my daily assignments (a.k.a missions) are top secret.  You can see how I am using the left side for appointments/activities and the right side for meal planning and notes.  I divide my notes into two sections (CIA agents do that) – a section for miscellaneous to-do’s and one for house stuff that needs to be taken care of ASAP.  Anything house related that needs to be done but not right at this second goes into my notebook.  Which I appropriately refer to as “the motherload.”

End of story is that I’m really loving my new planner!  It’s a great solution for busy moms (and anyone else trying to save the world).  Plus you can get it for a great price.  You can check out the details (and other fun planners) at Day Timer.

Happy planning!  And happy Friday.  

:)

xoxo, Erin
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17 thoughts on “My new planner

  1. I have the same one but in the purple croc pattern that I found at Walmart last year! I love it, too! It’s just the right size. I’ve added some Martha Stewart tab dividers for all my extras. I had a hard time finding just the refill for 2014 so I had to buy the one you have just to get the calendar out of it :)
    Have a wonderful weekend!

  2. I am a planner gal, too–love to see everything written out so I can plan my days/weeks/months. You picked out a really cute one and it looks very functional, too. I’ll have to hop on over to their website and check it out. Thanks for sharing!

  3. I LOVE Daytimers- don’t laugh, but I’ve had a Franklin Planner/Daytimer since before they were Franklin Covey. Actually – I got my first one in 7th grade! Haha. (My mom got it for me for my 1st day of junior high).

    anyhoo- I don’t think I could have survived law school without it! I need to go dust it off because I have the most gorgeous binder sitting in a box- i just need to get my refills. franklin/coveys are the BEST (at least I think so!)

  4. I have that same Planner (in blue too!) and I love it!! I love the little ruler/bookmark that allows me to flip straight to today’s date, as well as the little perforated Grocery Lists!! So much better to just buy the refill pack then to go in search of another planner once this one is full!! Oh and Love your new home and Blog!! -Teryn

  5. I’m a total tech geek so I use my iPhone calendar and notepad a lot. However I’m big on lists and use a planner for blog posts and ideas and such. BUT I LOVE your post-it note idea for lists…grab-n-go. Gonna give it a try! Thanks!
    And good luck with the house…we’ve built and moved 3 times and I HATE moving. In 2 years when both my kids have gone off to college we will build again our final house and right now I’m having anxiety (panic attack) thinking of all the stuff I have to move again LOL!!
    hugz,
    Suzanne

  6. I love the planner. My current system is a large desk calendar I keep at my kitchen desk where I make appts plan meals , etc. However, I haven’t been able to find my favorite desk calendar a t Target the last 2 times I have been there. It had a section each day for the daily menu, and I loved that. It was the OrganizHer brand. The trouble is I don’t have a calendar with me when I am out and about. Maybe I will try this one!

  7. I got the same planner at Walmart and actually thought of you when I got it… Don’t know you personally but knew you would live this color! Too funny I am so loving mine!

  8. Ciara Feltham-

    Hello, I’m a new mom and new to planning out my days lol Up until this point, through college, work, family, clubs, etc., I’ve been able to keep track of things once I got into a routine. BUT… wow, how things have changed in my life! I’m getting ready to go back to work AND breastfeed AND continue on down the debt free/minimalist path we’ve chosen and I’m literally about to lose my mind. Plus my partner is a server while finishing up his degree, so we never really know how much $ he is going to make… which adds another element to work through when trying to nail down the chaos of adapting to a whole new way of living with a baby (maybe it’s just me?).

    Anyway, I just googled “best day planner for moms” and searched down the results to try to find a blog about someones opinion… and found yours! This is also the first comment I’ve ever left on a blog… well, at least one like this anytime in the past few years.

    I really like your review of this planner- I’m doing my best to try to think of everything I need in a planner before I buy because the few that I’ve seen are kind of expensive! I love the dinner planning section and having everything visible in one 2 page layout. Right now, the only thing I would appreciate would be a budgeting section of some kind. And I have NO clue how I would incorporate it in the layout if I were to be the designer. We’ve been really trying to make some life changes this past year (our son was born 10 weeks ago) and I’m really starting to learn I just need to get my mind organized, and our daily finances (like, down to the dollar) are a huge part of how we plan everything else- dinner, birthday gifts, baby pictures, weddings this summer, taxes, etc.

    Sorry this was so long!

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