Part of what I would like to start doing in the new year is being more organized and finding better ways to be more efficient and effective in all the things that I do on a daily basis. I'm sure many of you have had that as a New Year's Resolution as well. So every Sunday, I will share with you a tip, website, or other thing that I think might help us in this area. Of course, I am open to suggestions, so please leave a comment or send me an e-mail if you have any suggestions or ideas.
That's why I'm calling it "Sanity Savers Sunday," because I'm hoping that by becoming more organized, I will regain some sanity - okay, so one can only hope! :)
My biggest task is usually keeping track of what's going on with everyone in my household of six. The one calendar that I have used for the past few years that's perfect for my family is the Mom's Plan-It Calendar (shown below):
It has room for me to list the daily things going on with each family member. It also comes with stickers so I don't have to do as much writing for certain activities and it also serves a great visual reminder. Having the pocket on the bottom is great for the flyers, invitations, postcards, and other things that I need to keep in one handy spot. There is also a section where you can note the phone numbers of your children's friends, as well as emergency phone numbers. They've changed the format for this year's calendar so that you only have to write your family members' names one time. The prior calendars required you to write down every family member's name for each week. With six people in my family, it took me such a long time just to write down their names that I actually like this feature.
As far as my own personal calendar that I carry around with me, I have been using the Busy Body Book, which I received courtesy of RedPlum. I love it because it has columns that you can customize to your needs. You can use a column per family member, or in my case, I use each column for an area of my life that needs attention (family, home, My Chicago Mommy, BeCentsAble, other, etc.). It has helped me in clarifying my to-do lists based on my personal vs. business needs. I used to use one general calendar to write down all of my tasks and that got to be overwhelming because it would show all my tasks for all areas of my life and looking at a long list can be scary. But, once I separated it out in these categories, it became more manageable. It also has pockets and a small address book area in the back so I can keep those handy in one place. Who hasn't written down a phone number or address on a random piece of paper only to lose it when you most need it? This has helped me to keep it in one place until I can enter it onto my computer or phone.
You can download free Busy Body Book weekly sample pages here. So, give it a try and see if you like the format before purchasing it!
I would love to hear how you keep your family's daily activities organized. Please leave a comment and share your tips and experiences with us!
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