In this crazy, chaotic world that is Gleeful Peacock, things are always happening, deadlines looming and goals are being fulfilled. Not to mention all the painting, making, packing, shipping and serving our customers that we do. In an attempt to save space, pare down, and be more "efficient", I attempted to make a small, off the shelf calendar from Target meet my needs. Then it started happening - things were falling through the cracks and my small planner was busting at the seams. I knew it was time for a change.
I remembered reading a post by Jennifer Jones of I Heart Organizing last year sometime on her
blog (which by the way - if you
heart organizing like I do - you need to read her blog). She was tired of trying to find a planner that was already made that fit her needs, and decided to create her own. She sells these planner inserts in her
Etsy Shop, along with so many other awesome printables to keep you organized. At the bottom of this post, I'll link to each individual items I purchased so you can find them yourself also!
I read Jennifer's posts
here and
here and that's where I started. I also purchased the Martha Stewart Discbound cover at Staples for my planner. See that adorable vinyl? One of our super sweet fans made those for Nichole and I, so we can tell our planners apart. :)
When you open the front cover - you'll see that I stuck in some post-its for easy access. We just used the adorable Martha Stewart Post-Its, and used some Scotch brand removable sticky tabs to secure them in there nice and tight.
Next, I ordered Jennifer's 2013-2014 planner, with weekly pages that include the meal planning option - I'm so excited to have a place to really plan my ENTIRE life, not just my work life. I also have really enjoyed the "goals" column on the planner - it really sets the tone for my week and lets me catch a glimpse of some things I'd really like to accomplish, without it taking over my daily to-do lists.
To keep all the months easily accessible, I made monthly tabs using Martha Stewart's tabs (which I have yet to be able to find again) and our label maker.
To give my monthly pages a touch of fun, I used washi tape to mark out days where there is either something big going on - hello Tulsey Awards!, traveling to be done, or the shop being closed for Thanksgiving. Everytime I open my planner, it makes me smile. You'll notice the teardrop shaped stickers - I am also using those for appointments for different family members. Each family member gets a designated color, and then I just write the time and place directly on the sticker - it keeps things looking neat and fresh!
I've tried a couple of other pen types, and my favorite is still my beloved Sharpie pens. I like using different colors to designate different things. I also purchased a business card holder and some pocket folders for the back of my planner. I really like when everything has a place; it seems to keep me from throwing random items in between pages. I also got the Martha Steward tabs for my planner, so I can keep notes, lists, etc. separated by topic.
So, there you have it - how we're managing to stay organized here at Gleeful Peacock. How do you stay organized, are there any must-have products we should know about?
Here are the links to the items I used to create this awesome planner:
Planner Pages
Contact Pages
Special Dates Pages
Custom Cover Page
Martha Stewart Planner Cover
Martha Stewart Planner Tabs
Martha Stewart Pockets
Martha Stewart Task Pads
Martha Stewart Post-Its
Martha Stewart Color Coding Labels
Martha Stewart Tabs (similar)
Staples Business Card Holder
Sharpie Pens
Papermate Inkjoy Pens - I'm enjoying these too!
