Homemaking, homeschooling, blogging, church events, doctor appointments – it can all become overwhelming. I’m not always the best at staying organized either, so trying to “keep it all together” is definitely a challenge! Being able to keep a calendar, make notes, keep track of tasks, etc. can be helpful!
The Homemaker’s Daily Planner was created by someone who understands these needs. Sue Hooley, a mother of six, developed this planner after several years of motherhood and homemaking. She understands that our schedules don’t always fit into the neat little boxes offered by many planners. So she created a more detailed planner just for us!
For my review I received the 2014 and 2015 Daily Planners. This gave me a chance to really start using and get the feel for the planners and get prepared for 2015 as well! The planner is divided nicely into seven sections. There are a few pages at the beginning with information about how to use the Daily Planner. It describes each of the seven sections in detail and how to use them make the most of the planners (and your time)!
Each section is divided by small tabs to make each section easy to find and access. Certain pages like the Months and Weeks also have marks on the pages where you can cut to be able to see and easily access the pages you need most.
Yearly Calendar
The Yearly Calendar shows the full year in advance. It allows an area to make notes of important dates. You can write about six dates to remember for each month. I personally chose to circle the date in the mini calendar and then write the information on the line. This is a great area for making note of important yearly occurrences like birthdays and anniversaries.
Monthly Calendar
The Monthly Calendar offers a 2 page calendar of each month. It’s ideal for writing down events for the month and having a calendar view of each month’s events. Plus, it has an area for Notes on the side if you need additional space or need to make specific notes that you couldn’t fit in the calendar.
Weekly Planning
The Weekly Planning is definitely the section I use the most. Here I can write down tasks that need to be completed during the week as well as my every day tasks. For example, I focus on deep cleaning a specific area of the house on different days. So I write down “Bathroom Day” or “Kitchen Day” on the assigned day. We just moved and our room areas have changed, so I have to revamp my schedule, but this is the place to write it down!
It is suggested to write in pencil in case things need to be changed. I find this essential because with special needs kids and my chronic conditions, I find I have to change things more than I would like, but it’s just how things are for us, and this allows me to do so easily!
It also has a section for Menu planning. I do all my menu planning for the upcoming week on Saturday. The Weekly Tasks run Monday through Sunday, which makes it nice to have the meal planning done two days in advance instead of just one when the week would begin on Sunday! We try to make sure Sunday is Worship and Family day, so less stress is best!
Tasks Lists
The Tasks Lists offers an extensive area to just write down EVERYTHING. There are no dates, so this is where I just write down everything I need to do and want to do. Then, I take the most pressing tasks and plug them in to the smaller Task List area in the Weekly Planning Section and cross it off the list when I have moved it to the Weekly Planning. Of course, you can utilize it however it works best for you, but I have found this method to be very effective for me!
The Tasks Lists pages do have a line at the top so you can organize tasks accordingly like “Holiday Tasks,” “Foods to Freeze or Preserve,” etc. I do have a page titled “Blog Tasks” and “Homeschooling Tasks,” but I mostly use it for just all tasks that come to mind using the method above. I have Sensory Processing Disorder, so my attention span is compromised, and I can get overwhelmed if I’m thinking of too much at once, so having an outlet to just write it all down until I can better sort it out.
Projects and Events
The Projects and Events pages are similar to the Tasks Lists pages. They have a line at the top for the title and lines for filling in details. Each page is split in half, so you can add two projects and/or events per page.
I personally use this for making notes and brainstorming. For example, our daughter’s birthday is next month, so I titled it “Aurora’s Birthday” and made notes of possible dates, location, theme, ideas for the cake, decorations, etc. Then I can refer to it when planning her party!
Information:
The Information section is designed for writing down phone numbers and addresses you may need to refer back to. I don’t believe it is intended to replace an address book, and I don’t use it as such, but when I get information like a doctor referral, I write it down so I can easily access it when I need to call them or find the location.
Shopping Lists
I love shopping lists! If I don’t have shopping lists I find I don’t always get everything I need, and I spend too much on things I don’t need! The Shopping Lists are also flexible in that you’re not limited to just Meal Plans or everyday groceries, etc. You can make your shopping lists in whatever way you need! I personally use them in a combination for specific ingredients I may need for meals that I don’t already have, everyday needs like toilet paper, and ingredients I use regularly of which I’ve run out. Any time I am close to using up something we need regularly, I write it down on the list so it’s there for my next shopping run.
Each page contains a division of three shopping lists, and they are perforated, so you can easily tear out the one you need and go! Because of this, it’s best to start your list on the far right because if you start on the left, you have to tear out the whole page just to get your list, and you would still have the other two! It’s easier for me to keep track of where the lists are if they stay in the planner until I need them!
Overall:
Overall, I think the Homemaker’s Daily Planners are nice planners. They’re fairly compact in size, so they can fit easily in a medium or larger purse, they offer flexibility, and they contain pages for items many planners don’t. I love that you can look at the “big picture” or the “smaller picture” and they go together seamlessly. The encouraging Bible verses throughout are so nice to read over and over again on the harder days. Each verse contains a promise from God.
If you need help staying organized, the Daily Planner for 2015 is available now. It even contains December 2014, so you can wrap up the year feeling more organized and go into 2015 with your new organization system. It would also make a great gift for anyone that needs to stay organized (which is just about everyone, right?). Plus, if you purchase 3 or more you get free shipping, so you can pick one up for yourself and give 2 as gifts!
For More Information:
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