Over the years, I have tried many ways to cut household planning and organisation down. After all, an organised home frees up time to enjoy the better things in life. I used to rely on folders that contained all of the important information. However, I found it too time consuming and messy to have many so folders that are opened as well as flicking back and forth between folders to find documents. Therefore, I read some blog articles, looked at ideas on Pinterest and decided that I would have a go at making my own.
The first thing that I decided was to make my life planner into one book. A book that was bound and easy to flick through. Everything in one easy book. No more writing things in different folders or switching folders. Easy to carry and store. The fun part was picking a theme. As I wanted my husband to get involved, I asked him to select the theme and he selected Circus. Next, I made a list of what I would like in my life planner. I wanted a section at the front full of important documents as well as a weekly overview at a glance. Having room to write and organise each day was also important to me. Here is the list that I came up with:
The first thing that I decided was to make my life planner into one book. A book that was bound and easy to flick through. Everything in one easy book. No more writing things in different folders or switching folders. Easy to carry and store. The fun part was picking a theme. As I wanted my husband to get involved, I asked him to select the theme and he selected Circus. Next, I made a list of what I would like in my life planner. I wanted a section at the front full of important documents as well as a weekly overview at a glance. Having room to write and organise each day was also important to me. Here is the list that I came up with:
1. Emergency details: two simple pages that contained important emergency details
2. Yearly bill tracker: a sheet that reminded me at a glance what bills need to pay regularly and when
3. Birthdays: a yearly overview of whose birthday is when
4. Password tracker: I needed website, banking etc. passwords in one central spot
5. Contacts: a list of family contact numbers, emails etc.
6. Things that I want to do: A list of dreams and wishes that I have for that year. Almost a yearly bucket list!
7. Monthly front covers: A front cover that separates each month
8. Monthly calendar overview: what events are on each month at a glance
9. Weekly overview: This was the most important one for me. I wanted a design that broke down each day into three blocks morning, afternoon and night. I also wanted to add a general meal box, notes, calls to make and bills to pay section for the week.
10. Weekly shopping list and menu: a sheet that contained the meals that I planned for the week as well as quick shopping list
11. To do list: a list of weekly jobs that needed to be completed
12. Project design sheet: This was important to my husband and I as we try to complete one team task a month to keep the household running smoothly
13. Exercise tick sheet: a sheet that ticked or left space to record what exercise I had done for the month
14. Goal sheet: A quick sheet that had the goals for the month and a tick box to see how I am going
Once I decided on exactly what I wanted in my life planner, I got to work designing each element to my liking. The best part of this was that I could create and design things how I needed them. Some planners had too little space to record what I needed.
2. Yearly bill tracker: a sheet that reminded me at a glance what bills need to pay regularly and when
3. Birthdays: a yearly overview of whose birthday is when
4. Password tracker: I needed website, banking etc. passwords in one central spot
5. Contacts: a list of family contact numbers, emails etc.
6. Things that I want to do: A list of dreams and wishes that I have for that year. Almost a yearly bucket list!
7. Monthly front covers: A front cover that separates each month
8. Monthly calendar overview: what events are on each month at a glance
9. Weekly overview: This was the most important one for me. I wanted a design that broke down each day into three blocks morning, afternoon and night. I also wanted to add a general meal box, notes, calls to make and bills to pay section for the week.
10. Weekly shopping list and menu: a sheet that contained the meals that I planned for the week as well as quick shopping list
11. To do list: a list of weekly jobs that needed to be completed
12. Project design sheet: This was important to my husband and I as we try to complete one team task a month to keep the household running smoothly
13. Exercise tick sheet: a sheet that ticked or left space to record what exercise I had done for the month
14. Goal sheet: A quick sheet that had the goals for the month and a tick box to see how I am going
Once I decided on exactly what I wanted in my life planner, I got to work designing each element to my liking. The best part of this was that I could create and design things how I needed them. Some planners had too little space to record what I needed.
Once I had designed each sheet, I simply then photocopied them all. The colour part was expensive for the initial start-up cost, as I wanted the cover pages in colour. You could simply print them in black and white if you wanted. Then I organised the important events section first. Next, I arranged each month and made sure that it had each of the elements that I needed. I had to be careful with the dates as some months went into a fifth week. Finally, when I had the shell put together, I went to Officeworks and had a folder bound. I also created one for my husband. It was a grand total of $6 each to have the folders bound. Gee, I was excited when my life planner was handed back and beautifully bound! When I got home, I simply added divided tabs to ensure that I could find each month quickly. Then I recorded all of the dates for the year.
I decided to strengthen my own binder by creating small stickers to label important bill reminders, events, birthdays etc. This also helped make my binder look pretty! I simply designed the stickers and printed them on label paper. I cut them out and then stick them on when I am planning a week or month.
So after all of that effort, would I go back to folders? No way! When we touch base each week, my husband and I have a quick meeting for 15 minutes to create our weekly overview or sometimes half an hour for the month. Depending on time of course. I found that designing my life planner made it easier to write information as there was more space. As everything is in one spot, it cuts down time. We simply go plan our bills, calls to make, budget and then slide in the weekly events and things to do. I prefer a large weekly overview. I can also print more pages if needed or cut things out that I do not need.The other added benefit is that if I see a shopping list or some other cute little element from Kikki K that I like, I can simply clip it in. I have included the Circus theme life planner in our store for $6.00 if you wanted to use the one that I created. You can email us if you want a page added. So happy life planning and I hope that you get time to enjoy the better things in life!
#lifeplanner #twocreativeteachers #organisation #home #printables
I decided to strengthen my own binder by creating small stickers to label important bill reminders, events, birthdays etc. This also helped make my binder look pretty! I simply designed the stickers and printed them on label paper. I cut them out and then stick them on when I am planning a week or month.
So after all of that effort, would I go back to folders? No way! When we touch base each week, my husband and I have a quick meeting for 15 minutes to create our weekly overview or sometimes half an hour for the month. Depending on time of course. I found that designing my life planner made it easier to write information as there was more space. As everything is in one spot, it cuts down time. We simply go plan our bills, calls to make, budget and then slide in the weekly events and things to do. I prefer a large weekly overview. I can also print more pages if needed or cut things out that I do not need.The other added benefit is that if I see a shopping list or some other cute little element from Kikki K that I like, I can simply clip it in. I have included the Circus theme life planner in our store for $6.00 if you wanted to use the one that I created. You can email us if you want a page added. So happy life planning and I hope that you get time to enjoy the better things in life!
#lifeplanner #twocreativeteachers #organisation #home #printables
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