Somehow I feel this post needs to come with a disclaimer because although I’m going to be discussing planners and calendars today I also need you to keep in mind that I might not necessarily be the best source of information for you. Why you might ask? Well that would be because I LOVE them and each year I purchase MANY calendars for my home. Let’s just say this year it edged close to 15. I know, I know, it’s part of the overindulgence for sure but here is where I remind you of the “junkie” in the title “I’m an Organizing Junkie”. I can’t help myself and clearly I’m addicted to all little squares with numbers in them.
Let me walk you through my obsession. First of all I buy most of my calendars at the Dollar Store for $1.00 or during Boxing Day sales for 50% off. That’s the justification part of my addiction.
In my kitchen resides my MAIN calendar better known as grand central station. This calendar is displayed in a very prominent position of the kitchen where it can be seen and USED BY ALL. This is the key. EVERYTHING is written down on this calendar from birthdays to events. Everyone checks this calendar before scheduling anything, that’s the rule. The kids even check it. The other rule we have is whoever gets their activity on the calendar first wins. In other words if I want to do something with the girls one evening and my husband has already got something scheduled in (ha!) then it’s up to me to pick a different night (although we’ve been known to compromise when I whine when necessary).
After much deliberation and selection this is my kitchen calendar pick of 2008 (purchased at Shopper’s Drug Mart for $1.99):
As you can see, I’m going with a different style this year just to be wild and crazy. It’s a family planner which uses both the top and bottom portions of the calendar making more space to write on each day. And yes I know it shows February but I already wrote on January so I had to flip the page for the picture.
Next is my personal day planner. This year for my blogging notes and other goals I’ve decided to try out the Polestar Family Calendar that I’ve heard so much about. It’s very popular with my homeschooling friends. I just purchased it yesterday (had to wait for the sale!) and so far I’m very pleased with what I see. It’s got a lot of nice features. Stephanie from A Keeper of the Home just did a review about it here if you are interested.
So now on to the “freak” part. I also have two calendars in my office, one by my hubbie’s computer and one by mine. I don’t write on them but I love to look at them.
This one below is my Whomi calendar that sits beside hubbie’s computer and the only reason I didn’t use it for my MAIN calendar is it was too wide for my space.
I also have a small one by my bed but I don’t write on it either but it sure is pretty to look at.
I also carry one a small one in my purse and another small one resides by the computer to record our financial information including paydays and when all our bills are due. Each of my bigger kids also like to keep calendars in their rooms as well and my hubbie has one in his workshop.
Oh and I almost forgot the magnetic weekly wipe off calendar I keep on my fridge for menu planning!!
It’s a sickness I tell you.
And after all that, this would be my reject pile, otherwise known as the poor suckers that didn’t get picked:
But don’t feel too sorry for them, I’ll give them away to good homes, I promise.
I’m also finalizing the family weekly cleaning schedule and will probably use one of these calendars for that. I’ll post about this soon once it’s completed.
So if you didn’t get it before or perhaps for whatever reason thought I was just putting you on all this time, nope it’s true.
I AM AN ORGANIZING JUNKIE!
So my only advice at this point other than to run for your lives is that it doesn’t matter so much what type of calendar you decide on as long as you are using one. There are so many variations and methods out there that are all wonderful and trust me I know it is hard to decide but once you do, stick with it. Your household will run much smoother for it. Also for those of you that prefer to go paperless, Daily Home Planner is an excellent software calendar/planner program to help you do just that.
My “small thing” for today is to record all the birthdays for the year on my kitchen calendar. You can read in more detail about how I go about that here.
So now won’t you help feed my addiction and tell me what kind of planners/calendars you are using. I’d love to hear about YOUR favorites!
Katy says
oh…those family planners are the best. they are the only ones i use! I find that the normal sized calendars don’t leave me enough room to write! 🙂
Multi-tasking Mommy says
WOW! That’s a lot of calendars!!!!
Jessica says
Have a few calendars :o)
I use a couple of calendars. I have a dry erase one on the calendar. I also have my pocket PDA (cell phone and calendar in one) and a mouse pad calendar at my office.
Jill says
I too love calendars. But, how on earth do you keep on top of them all? I’ve always heard you should just keep one main calendar and put EVERYTHING on it–at tops, two, a personal one and a family one in a cental location (as you’ve done). I know I’d be out of control crazy with all those calendars. Five calendars with January 4th, all with myself scheduled to be someplace different at the same time…yep it’d happen to me.
Avlor says
Wow – you do have a ton of calendars!
I only have a measly 2 – a wall calendar in the kitchen (with birthdays and anniversaries, I think just out of tradition) and I use Google calendar (weekly events for whole family – each person in a different color). I print out the week from Google and post it by the wall calendar. (I’d rather print it out and have 2 calendars than copy stuff. Just a pet peeve.) I’ve started to put much of my paperwork stuff (menus and recipes, daily tasks, notes, etc) on my computer and its helped me keep down paper clutter. I just back it up to my thumb drive so if the computer would die I won’t pass out.
Rachel Anne says
I keep going back and forth between computer calendar and purse calendar…..unfortunately stuff gets lost in the mix! I needed this nudge to get my planners TOGETHER!! Love it!
Tickled Pink says
Whew – I could never keep up with all those calendars. We have a family calendar posted near the phone in the kitchen for quick reference, and I’ve learned to write things down immediately. Our kids have a full load of activities, and some of them have erratic schedules (ice hockey practices and games are completely crazy with 6 am practice one day and an 8 pm game the next). We try to never commit to anything else before checking the calendar first because I always think I have more free time than I do in real time.
Thank you for sharing your passion for organizing. You are an inspiration!
Twisted Cinderella says
I love your Family Planner Calendar! I want one too! I only have two calendars (one for Princess’s school stuff and one for family stuff) but I could easily see me going your route!
jen says
You have alot of calenders. I ordered my planner on Monday…expecting it anyday now. I have another calender at our desk….and that is it. I used to do the one you talked about……the big one…Madison would write all over it so I quit doing it…after it drove me nuts. Great post though….
Courtney says
We have a main “central station” calendar also, it is a FLYlady one and has the month spread over the entire top & bottom with big squares like yours. Then I have a calendar hanging upstairs in our bedroom near my scrapping area and computer. It is just for “show”, we don’t write on it. Then, at the end of each month I type up and print out a calendar on the computer of the next month for my older son (he’s 7). It just has his activities on it, with little graphics on the days he has activities (basketball, Cub Scouts, Tae Kwon Do, Swimming, visits to grandparents, days of no school, holidays, etc). That is taped on the door of his desk at his eye level, where he can see what he has each day, and he marks an X through each day as it ends.
Those are the calendars at home. At work, I have a big desk calendar on my desk that I use constantly & has writing all over it. I also have a decorative one hanging on the wall that I don’t write on.
Jamie says
So glad I’m not the only one with a thing for calenders!!! I just got a family calender VERY similar to yours for Christmas and it’s on my fridge. I use it for everything, but especially for my menu planning. My other main calender that EVERYTHING is on is Google Calender which I LOVE. My husband and I “share” our calenders, so we can see what the other is doing and everything is all color-coded so nicely and it sends me reminders to my phone and e-mail… I could go on and on…
I also have a calender in my music studio, a daily planner in my purse for menu planning (grocery list for each day), my son’s school calender by my computer, a birthday calender and a craft/gift calender. The last one is new – more like a journal to help keep track of all my birthdays and when I need to be making stuff and what I need to make it. I think that’s all – for now…
Yep, I’m anal.
Jodi says
My absolute favorite is the week-over-week dry erase calendar. Each week is a separate magnet so at the end of the week you erase and move the top one to the bottom. You always have the next 4 weeks showing – no flipping or redoing at the end of the month!
Each week, my husband and I fill in the stuff for what is happening 4 weeks from now and figure out when we need babysitters, etc.
Kath says
Love all your calendars. I found that for me a wall calendar and a planner is all I can write in, or I am in utter chaos… :~)
I have a wall calendar from Gooseberry Patch, bought this past week when they were 80% off, and a planner by Marmee Dear & Co. http://www.marmeedear.com. I love her Yearbook for the Homekeeper.
Cindy says
I switched to a PDA for my calendar back in November and I LOVE it! I would be lost without it. Our family calendar is now kept on the computer in my study and on the PDA. This way I always have a backup. It is wonderful. We have a calendar in the mudroom that we get from the school the littles attend. It has all the school dates already on it. We also have a calendar hanging in the office and the study just for quick reference. We don’t use them to write anything on.
Leann says
I love calendars, too!!! Bought five yesterday and want more!!!!!!!!!! LOL
Laura says
Hi everyone, just wanted to clarify that I don’t actually keep up with all those calendars. I only actually write everything on the MAIN calendar and my family day planner I just use for goal setting and blogging notes. The others well are really only for show 🙂 I don’t even write on the one in my purse. If I’m out and need to book something I always wait until I get home to check the MAIN calendar. We keep things pretty simple around here so I don’t really have a lot to schedule in.
Becky says
I too am obsessed with calenders. My fettish lies in Planners though. Even as a teenager, I had MANY planners! I still have many AND a PDA! I love that there are others who are obsessed with these things as well!
debbiem says
I use my momME planner from LobotoME.com and love it! Space for wekkly to do’s, errands, grocery lists, meal planning, exercise tracking, ME time, etc.
Dot says
I have 5 calendars. And I “don’t” draw the line at the bathroom..LOL. I have one in my bedroom (free from church), one in the family bathroom (free from bank), a small daily planner in my makeup drawer (free from my workplace), one in the kitchen (HUGE desk planner), and I carry a small daily planner in my purse (free from my workplace).
I couldn’t live without a single one!
Angie says
I love calendars! I have a large dry erase board in my office for business stuff, one calendar hanging by my desk, one hanging by hubby’s desk, and a dated planner on my desk. Oh and then the purse one too. Hubby also brings home tiny pocket calendars that he gets free at work.
I never thought to use a separate calendar for bill paying info but now that you mention it, I think I’ll head back to the Dollar Tree to grab an extra calendar.
This week, I actually kinda went a little crazy at Calendars.com (are you an affiliate? if not you should be one LOL). They have some sales and I got a few calendars with an Island theme and another with a Basset Hound puppy theme.
I noticed that you can also make your own calendars at Cafe Press so hubby and I are going to do that too.
I guess you can say I’m a calendar addict too but like you I don’t use them all.
Happy Friday!
Sandra says
LOL Laura, I have a sick obsession with calendars and I buy tons, but I also don’t keep up with them, I have to admit that most of the time I write nothing on them *embarassed*
BTW, I got your card, thank you so much 🙂 Love it!
Hugs,
Sandra
Susanne says
I usually always have one of those big squared calendars like yours for family plans too. This year I missed out those, though. I bought another one, but older daughter commented how plain it was so I put up the one from Costco which has small squares but wonderful pics of food. Ah, so I’ll print smaller.
I tried one of those calendars that didn’t have squares but had the dates printed down the left side with 5 columns for different persons activities but found I couldn’t get used it. I just couldn’t tell where in the month I was. :v)
The Chatty Housewife says
That’s just crazy! If I had that many calendars I would go crazy. I am not a time/day oriented person at all. We have one calendar in our living room beside our computer desk. Everything gets written on that. Then I have a purse planner, and everything gets written on that as well.
NancyB says
Can you believe there’s someone who keeps a calendar in their bathroom?? Well, it would be me! I keep a small one on my counter to track my weight. Crazy I know but it helps me be accountable; there’s something about writing it down! I live and die by my personal calendar; I go nowhere without it!
Homemaker05 says
Well… my life is on the computer… and my computer is in my living room! So despite the fact that I have a calendar (the one my township prints and sends everyone free with adds and coupons in it) hanging inside my pantry door with birthdays etc on it, I use my computer for my regular things. The computer is always on, and I’m almost always in front of it (even when I’m not in the desk chair ~ the house is that little). So… that said, I find that Outlook has been working for me. I don’t keep that busy of a schedule most of the year and my little ones are 1 and not quite born, so this works for me. 🙂
Forgetfulone says
I have my spiral day planner which I would be lost without. I have a tiny calendar in my checkbook which is always in my purse. There is a calendar by my desk at work. The chore chart calendar is on the refrigerator. And I use the Yahoo calendar feature to pretty much duplicate what’s in my day planner. There is a calendar in my bedroom and in two of the kids’ rooms as well. See? You’re not the only one who has lots of calendars!
Charity says
I have two calendars:
*MAIN calendar that is currently beside my desk (Household Central). This is the calendar that appointments, birthdays, anniversaries, everything goes on…it’s one of those desk calendars.
*PERSONAL calendar is my wire bound calendar that I keep with me recording bills, appointments, addresses, etc. The difference is the desk calendar is monthly, my personal calendar is monthly/weekly.
Vader's Mom says
I have two calendars. A personal one for my office at work with everyones birthday listed on it and another for our fridge here at home. I list all the birthdays on this one as well so that hubby can see it and call his friends on their special day. It contains the few appointments we have throughout the month, but we aren’t the most social people, so it doesn’t usually have a lot on it.
Granny says
What? No calendar in the bathroom? Oh. Okay, well I just put one up in my bathroom for the first time and I love it. No, I won’t WRITE on it or anything, but it’s pretty and I like having one in EVERY room so I can always be planning in my head…
Love all your calendars!
Kim says
Hey Laura,
I have a planner/calendar addiction also. I just switched from Polestar (after several years) to MomAgenda and I am absolutely thrilled with it. I think I’m converted forever! I also have the moretimemoms.com family calendar in the kitchen for the whole crew.
have a good weekend. It does me a world of good to know there’s someone as crazy as me out there..LOL.
Jennifer, Snapshot says
I love my Busy Body Book (and we’re giving one away at 5minutesformom.com). It’s the first planner I’ve really used consistently.
I also have a wall calendar (which I too just ordered–after the sale, so I don’t have one now). I had one that had a magnet and went on my fridge, and I liked that a LOT. I don’t think my new one goes that way.
Actually I think it’s funny that Ms. Organized has lots of calendars, when the key rule by “the experts” is to usually have only one calendar, but I agree that I need (or like) to have more than one for different purposes.
Janelle says
I won a Bizzimom calendar http://www.bizzimom.com/
off of bloggygiveaways and I really like it! One of these days I’m going to design my own planner and sell it.
Bonnie says
That’s what I’m talkin’ about !!! (but .. . I have been known to have a calendar in my bathroom as well ! ha ha)You know, the ones that you can flip each day and they have a scripture or inpirational or funny saying … I like those on the bathroom counter to read as I brush my teeth !
I have been to your blog once before but my computer was so old and slow that I couldn’t view it. This week, I got a new computer. This was one of the first “new” blogs I came to !! AND I love it ! I can’t wait to go and read through the whole thing !!!
I’m a bit of an organizing freak myself. I do it for fun. Friends have asked me to come do their pantry or office or kids closets … they are like “Is it ok ? You don’t mind ?” I’m like ” Please let me do it ! I have organized and re-organized and re-re-organized my own home ! ”
Anyway … I’m rambling … how’s that for an introduction ?!
A Chelsea Morning says
When my girls were growing up they were so busy and involved in so many school and extracurricular activities, I literally taped those huge desk calendar sheets all across the dining room wall. It was the only way I could possibly keep it all straight.
These days, I get by with one teenie tiny calendar – this year, it’s Paula Deen’s 2008 calendar. And it’s not in my bathroom. LOL
Love your snow photos, Laura. We’re about to get blasted, beginning tomorrow night, and I can’t wait, but that’s only because I can go see PS I Love You tomorrow and be home before it starts. Then I can stay inside. And watch the snow falling as I drink hot tea and crochet. 🙂
Ginger says
I don’t have nearly as many calendars as you, but I live, eat, breathe…and die…by my day planner. It’s a red leather planner made by Dayspring and has a gold emossed cross on the front cover and my name of course! Inside it has a month at a glance and then each week broke down and each day into 30 minute increments. If it’s not in the calendar…it doesn’t exist! LOL! We also have a dry erase calendar that hangs in the kitchen area that I transfer everything to each month. Oh, and I have a couple of those flip calendars with the cute inspirational quotes on them. I think that’s it. So, 5 all together!
The Organizing Muse says
I love calendars too! I had to limit myself to 2 though because I end up missing stuff or over booking. I keep a family dry-erase style in the kitchen and I broke down last year and got a Palm Pilot for my purse. Seems they only last about a year too though, because my screen is starting to go out. I may end up investing in a good “old fashioned” paper style before the year’s up after all!
Queen B says
Oh, you speak my language…planners! I have been a groupie of the MomAgenda for the past few years. I leave it on my kitchen counter. I have a big dry erase board in the mudroom with major events written for the family. I am searching for a purse planner…the search is much of the fun, though!!
Ornery's Wife says
My brain is all contained in one spiral bound week at a glance desk sized calendar. I write lists, events, my weight, and just about anything else you can think of on it. I also write the menu items, birthdays, and to-do for the week. It works as a Party planner for my business, and keeps me on target for my goals. It doesn’t have any pictures or quotes to distract me–which is a very real problem! It is what works for me.
TM
sandy says
wow, girl, that is a lot of calendars!
happy new year
sandy
Sue says
I just need to come and read your blog regularly. I so need to get organised this year. You would cry if you saw my house. 🙂
I have actually bought a calendar, I just need to use it now.
Andrea says
Your ideas were really helpful! I always have extra calendars around and never used them bcuz I couldn’t keep up w/ keeping the info updated in ALL of them. But now I am using our main planner (w/ awesome seasonal timelines in the front for tracking weekly activities for each of the kids) for grand central on the kitchen counter (familytime.mine calendars at http://www.timemine.com), while using another for the special allergen-free rotation diet for our 2-yr old and another for tracking school assignments.
Thanks for the ideas!
Andrea
Yolanda says
What in the world do you do with all those calendars when the year is over?
🙂
Amy Shipp says
I love calendars too! I keep all my old ones because I always write this important things down on the calendar.
Gina says
I have several calendars, but don’t always use them the way I should. You gave me some good ideas here!
I just found a great way to keep track of birthdays! http://www.birthdayalarm.com/
I just email my friends and loved ones and THEY add their birthdays! It saved me a ton of time!