Planner

This year I decided to make my own planner.   I usually have schedules for our homeschool, a calendar with all of our family obligations, and lots and lots of to do lists.  I've wanted to just make my own planner for years now, because pre-made ones never have all the stuff I need.  I was never sure how to bind one, though.  I know most people just use binders, but I'm not a big fan of binders ... especially for something I'll be using every day.  They're big and bulky and hard.

At the end of last year, I figured out that I can take my finished planner into any office supply store and have it bound for a little bit of nothing.   So I set out deciding what all I wanted in my binder and designing my pages.   I made all of my pages in pages (mac's version of Word).   I tried to think of all the different things I keep track of throughout the year.   Here's what I ended up with.

I used red cardstock for my covers.  I added a patterned paper and some pictures to make it pretty.  Then, I laminated both the front and back.  I have a cardstock divider for each section.  I added a tab (from my smash books) and added a bible verse to each divider.


The first section of my planner is calendar pages.  I just designed a page for each month of the year.  I added our immediate family's birthdays.  I think next year I'll start working on it earlier and add more birthdays and holidays.



The next section is my daily planner pages.  I made a two page spread for each week.  Across the top I have two small boxes for the date and my monthly cleaning area, and two larger boxes for notes.  The middle of the page consists of an area for each day of the week.  Here, I can add any outside commitments as well as my to do list for each day.  I designed the bottom with squares that were the perfect size to fit small post it notes.  This is my area for school planning.  I wanted the option of using post its so I could move things from week to week.  There are also two larger rectangles on each side that I can use for more notes.  You can download it for free, here.

The next section is my homeschool section.  This is where I can plan curriculum choices and activities for the next school year. 

Then, I have a section for my reading list.  I also try to keep a record of everything I read here on my blog, but I decided it would be nice to have a hard copy, also.    

The next Section is the Homemaking Section.  This is where I keep all of my cleaning lists and my blank menu planning pages.

I have a section for notes - just blank paper for any lists I decide I want to make during the year.  I also have one for addresses.  My last section is miscellaneous.  The miscellaneous contains my goals for the year, date night plans, vacation planning sheets, and all of my Christmas planning sheets.

After using it for a month, I am so excited about having a record for my year in one bound book.  I try to write down any cute things the little ones say or do throughout the day.  I also use the notes sections to record little notes about what we did and what I was thinking during the week.  I've already began making notes about pages I would like to add or remove for next year.  I really recommend making your own planner.  It was so much fun to make, and is designed perfectly for me!