My Planner System. How I organize my life with kids + FREE printables

Share away friends!

Have a planner or organizer and simply don’t use it? Or feel like you’re not using it effectively? I was in the same boat my friend.

See, I love (with a passion) organizers, planners, stationary, binders, you name it. So, you think I’d be on top of my ish right? I really try, I have all these grand plans but after a few weeks my planner sits idly by, collecting dust, and I feel like a loser because I’m just as confused and disorganized as ever. Anyone else know the feeling? Well, after years (seriously) I think I’ve figured out what works best for me, and I want to share the info! Plus, I have more FREE printables. I’m on a printable making kick lately, so let’s just go along with it shall we? 😉

Sad thing is, I use to make fun of my mom for writing everything down and keeping a pretty intense schedule. I was always telling her to “live a little” and just “go with the flow”. But you know what I realized after getting married and having two kids? Just “going with the flow” is madness, complete mayhem!

Reasons why I can’t “go with the flow”:

• My husband’s work days are not set, they change weekly
• He has one late shift a week
• I have kids, and they run better with a schedule
• Tyrion is now doing preschool (with me at home)
• I need to feel somewhat in control (it’s a thing)
• I have my business that gets thrown in between everything else
• Plus parties, shopping, events, and just plain life

If I didn’t have a schedule we’d go to bed different times every night, wake up at who knows what time, the kids would be tired, I’d be stressed, and my husband would work late to avoid us all. I wouldn’t blame him for that either. No, we needed more strict guidelines. Let me tell you, as a stay at home mom, those are hard for me to follow! Get in the shower at 7am?! Why? I want to stay in my pj’s and drink coffee til noon my rebellious self yells. But the smaller, sane part of me knows how much better I feel when it’s lights out by 9:30, up by 4:30, workout, shower, and ready for the day by 8. I love life much more when I’m showered and put together. Not to mention way more productive!

So what’s the secret you ask? Keep it visual! My day and week need to be written in a place that’s in front of my face continuously! But, it can’t be sloppy and all thrown on a monthly calendar. I need it broken down more than that. I’m very spacey and get confused easily. (Me, laughing as I write that because I’m totally calling myself out, but it’s so true!) I get distracted at the drop of a hat and find myself in the middle of a project that’s way less pressing because I forgot what I was originally suppose to be doing! #welcometomylife

I needed it all in one spot so I could look and quickly get back on track. And it needed to be pretty, because did I mention I’m very visual? (This is sarcasm people) It makes me happy to have a beautiful space. I have this wall you see above that Travis recently cedar planked and I whitewashed. It was a gross old wall with cracked plaster that needed some TLC. It was also a wall I walk by hundreds of times each day because it’s in the center of everything. Perfect I thought, this will be my command center.  I’m still working on the layout, but liking it so far. This is how I have my schedule set on the wall:

The month printable came from my FREE 27 page printable binder system “The Overwhelmed Mom’s Guide To Getting It All Done” that you can access here. The other two I made recently and you can download below!

 

FREE Weekly Plan Printable

FREE Daily Planner Printable

I do include a daily planner page in the Overwhelmed Mom’s Guide, and the one above is super similar, just a little more detailed. The weekly guide is new, but you could easily add it the Mom’s Guide Binder System.

And yes, I have the day time blocked by every half hour. Intense? Maybe. But it really works for me!

This is where you might start thinking I’m crazy . . . and honestly, you’d be right. I keep the Mom’s Binder system I mentioned above in a small three ring binder and that’s what I refer to when I’m working on long term goals, events, parties, etc.

I also have an Erin Condren planner that goes with me everywhere! (Get $10 off your first Erin Condren order here.) As in, I don’t leave the house without it. It’s smaller and easier to tote around town.

I’ll transfer the info I place in my Erin Condren into my Mom’s Guide when I get home, and once a week look them both over to make sure I’m not missing any info. Then every Sunday I’ll erase the printables on my wall and update them will next week’s to-do’s. Did I lose you yet? If not keep strong, I’m almost done!

I didn’t want to waste paper and ink printing off my weekly and daily sheets constantly, so I DIY home lamented them!

I suppose you could take them to a office store and have someone laminate them for you, but I like doing things the cheap, hard way so there you have it. I simply sealed the sheets with clear packing tape and then xacto knifed the sides for clean edges and hung them up! Bam!

Now I can erase each day and week as needed quickly and without waste.

That’s it!!! Finally. How I attempt to keep my life in order. Some days I’m 100% on track, others the command center might as well go up in a pile of smoke. But! It makes me happy knowing tomorrow I can always try again, and it’s right there at my fingertips, all I have to do is follow it!

How to you keep your life in order? What planner do you use? Do you love printables?

 

 

Share away friends!