Hello friends! I hope your morning is going well. I have been working hard to try to catch up with videos and blog posts. :) Today I am sharing a new plan with me video that takes you through my October pages and then we do some planning in November too. This is a overview where I share my planning in the Inkwell Press Live Better Planner. Hope you enjoy!
Happy Saturday to you all! I hope you are having a wonderful weekend. Honestly since this morning I haven't done much of anything that I haven't wanted to do. How nice is that!? :) I have actually been learning all about Windows10 today. I just got it installed in the very late hours of the night and woke up to a bunch of new changes. It's interesting and I do like the layout. Still their browser does not support blogger so I am going to stick to chrome but I am still loving the changes. It's got Cortana which is pretty much like suri on the iphone. So I get to talk right into my laptop with the click of a button to get the fastest answers possible. Isn't that amazing within itself? Lots of new features to get use to. Anyway, I am back with a new planner video. It is the first of the month after all! So I am taking you through planning in my Inkwell Press Planner and one of my Erin Condren Calendars. It's a bit long so get a cup of tea and settle in to watch how I planned things out for a new month. Hope you enjoy!
As you can see I do love stickers a lot for planning but you certainly do not need them. As you saw, this past week in my Inkwell Press I did not use stickers. It didn't seem like I had enough time to decorate so I just stuck to the basics. Pen and Paper is ALWAYS enough. So don't worry if you don't have a ton of stickers...instead, just start making a roadmap of your month, your week and your day. It's more important to know what you have coming up and what you need to get done than where to place a sticker. I just simply like them and like the color they add. But again.. you don't need stickers at all.
If you are sticker person, I tried to share where I got most of the stickers I used and where I got them. However, if you need further information on any of the stickers that you saw in the video, just let me know and I will be happy to help! Also in this planning video I share with you a lot of other supplies I love too. I normally buy stickers off etsy once a month or so but remember it takes a while for a lot of those stickers to arrive. I also order a lot of stickers from Erin Condren. Just because I don't use their planners at this time doesn't mean I don't like their stickers.
Here are some of the stickers I shared in the video above: BTW...I listed out the Sticker and then it's linked to the etsy store. You will have to scroll through and find which one you are using.
If I missed any just let me know if you need help finding them. I also find stickers out and about when I am shopping too. So be sure to check your local stores too. :) I would love to know what kind of planner person you are! If you plan weekly, daily, or even never! Let me know! :) Thanks for stopping by. Have a great weekend and don't forget to get subscribed!
Hello friends! I hope all is well. I feel like I am running behind but I working hard to catch up only to go on vacation in a few days! When that happens, I won't be able to update the blog until after I get back. It might be a good idea to get subscribed on my youtube channel so you will see the videos that go live while I am gone. Once I get back, I will update this happy internet space! :) So right now I am back sharing the new 2016 Erin CondrenHorizontal Life Planner. I know a lot of people are sharing their thoughts on this particular planner, so I thought I would as well. BUT....I am not stopping there! I am also hosting a giveaway where one of you guys can win a Life Planner as well. In order to enter, you will need to watch the video below. Look out for the 5 questions you need to answer to get entered and then use the form below. I know that sounds like a little bit of a hassle but I only want people who really love planners to enter and win. I hate it when people just see giveaway in the title and head to the form to enter without ever watching the video. So this time...YOU HAVE TO WATCH...just listening will not work. So find the questions...and let me know your answers on this blog post and or thecomments on the video on my youtube channel.
Here's more about the planner:
This year the team at Erin Condren really seem to have listened to the planner community and made some big changes. First the planner came packed beautifully and came with plenty of samples of stickers, quotes and post cards.When you start moving through the pages of the planner you will find a couple new goal/planning pages that are new but I think the biggest of all is the new horizontal weekly planner layout. They still have the vertical with a lot of new changes there too. I choose the horizontal layout because I have 3 vertical Erin Condren planners from the past years and thought it was a nice change to try out. Also they have changed up the monthly section of the life planners with less quotes, added moon phases, and a more muted color scheme. The wire binding is much larger this time around to make room for items you add to the planner yourself with the coil clips and such. Also the ruler that comes on the front of the planner is now easier to see through. Last year it was also clear but the white design was a little big and now it is less so we can see through it more.
When you get to the back of the planner, you have a note area that has ruled pages, graft paper, and blank sheets for all the notes you want to add. Then you move back to the pocket folder that is better and more stronger than in any of my previous life planners. You have your stickers that come in every planner including a new VOTE sticker that I love. And some of the stickers are labeled for you but you also have 2 sheets of blank stickers that you can write anything you wish and add them to the weekly or monthly sections of the planner. Perfect for those of you who love color coding. You also have a clear ziplock pouch that has a lot of different samples from Erin Condren that we all love. There is also a perpetual calendar that you can move planner to planner if you wish.
I also ordered a few extras including this Life Planner Launch Bundle which included a large clear envelope which I love, some new stickers that are super nice and their pen set. Why not!?
Another new feature of the 2016 Erin Condren planners is they are finally offering a ready to ship planner that you don't have to wait around on. I found it a little odd that they had to run my order through the standard process as before and even had to print it but they are probably super busy right now with the new launch. However, it was less than a week from my order to until it arrived at my door. Also with the ready to ship planners, they are offering a free cover that you can order for your planner. How nice is that!? There is also a rose gold planner that is truly beautiful but I skipped that version because I am still loving my Inkwell Press Planner and I am guessing I will stick to that for life and use the Erin Condren for my blog and youtube work.
So over all, I love the changes in they have made this year. I really do think they are listening more to their customers, and trying to keep up with what we want. They have got so much better with customer service too. The planner is super nice. The paper is thick and the colors are not as bright and bold as before. I actually like the muted colors a little better myself.
So since so many of you have used my referral link, I am not only sharing the new planner I got for myself, I am also giving one away! I love sharing with you guys. However, like I mentioned above and in the video, there are 5 questions within the video that have to be answered on this blog post or on the video on my youtube channel and then you can come back and enter through the rafflecopter form below. I just want people who love planning and actually watching the full video to win! What you will get is: One Ready to Ship Life Planner 15 month vertical or horizontal layout. This giveaway is open to everyone but you must be 18 years or older to enter. This giveaway is going to go on until July 08, 2015 to get entered. I wanted to give everyone plenty of time to watch and get entered. Good Luck! Oh and if you want to go ahead and order one, use this this link to get $10 off your order. And I use the credits and share planners with you guys in these giveaways.
Sometimes Rafflecopter experiences technical difficulties. If you can’t enter for some reason, try again later and it will probably work. If not, let me know and I'll see if I can help.
Hello friends! Happy happy Tuesday to you all. I hope your day is going well. Can you believe we are already into May of 2015!? This is the month of my moms birthday, Mothers day, my oldest son's birthday....and so much more. I think it's crazy how time is flying by. Anyway, I am back today sharing my latest planning session for our new month. I can't do a ton of planning on film because it takes a lot of time....and it's really not that productive in my case. Instead, I am walking you through my May 2015 planners and calendars. Hope you enjoy!
I normally don't plan all in one big setting. For me, I do the majority of my monthly planning during the evenings when things are less crazy...and then I add to it through out the week/month. I do spend a lot of time inside my planner but it's checking things off and road mapping our days to get in as much as possible. I feel a lot better when I know what to expect and know what I want to get done. Let me know how you plan! I'll be back with a Tuesday Truths blog post later this afternoon...be sure to come back! xx If you are new here, I'd love it you took a second to subscribe!
Hello friends! I know it is late but I wanted to go ahead and share this fun planner supply haul video with you guys! I had hoped to get it up earlier today but my computer was installing updates and such which made it basically useless all day. Opps! Anyway, I love planners. I have seen the changes they have made in my everyday life and I love to know how the days are going to go. This haul is fun but it's not necessary to plan. A planner of your choice, a pen or pencil and your all set. But sometimes it's fun to add a few stickers and such to make it more you. If you want to see what I got, enjoy the video below! Also there are pictures and links to where I found all the new items at. Hope you enjoy.
A lot of times when I post a planning sessions video, I get a lot of questions about where I found certain items. So below you can find out where I got everything shown in the video.
I placed a order with Joanne Fabrics for some inks. I am pretty new in the stamp world and I want to get some inks that would not stain my stamps and that would work great. I watched a lot of youtube videos and figured out which ones I wanted to try.
I got the Memento Dew Drop package with 16 different colors. I also got some Distress Ink to mess with and also some Avery Elle Pigment ink. Maybe later I will come back and explain the differences. I also got some clear postal stamps. I just liked them. But everything in this haul came from Joanne Fabrics.
I also did some shopping on etsy. There are some amazing planning products there and I have a bunch of favorite shops.
Bella Creations has some amazing stamps. I got another planning packet because my first one got stained up when I used the wrong inks. Told ya I was new to stamping! I also got a summer pack that I thought would be nice to use in the coming months. While I was browsing around, I also got some thank you stickers that I wanted for the back of thank you notes. They were also super kind to include some free samples of other products...which is pretty normal on etsy!
I also shopped around on plan it on paper and got some mini page flags. I have a bunch of larger ones but none this size. While I was there I also got some different color box stickers. I expected them to be a bit smaller but I am sure they will come in handy at some point!
I placed a big order through station stickers. There were many I liked from the to do arrows I got some little computers, to do arrows, trash can stickers, video camera stickers, washer and dryer stickers, pet paws, pay day stickers and some little rounds.
I placed another order through planner frenzy where I got some treadmill stickers, paw prints, little cars, weekend stickers and some little check marks.
From Gingerly Done I got some run stickers. I found these first and I actually like the ones above more. But I will still use these in time.
I also placed an order with Erin Condren to get some other stickers. I got some customized stickers to add to my planner and I also got some photo stickers too. I am not sure I would buy the photo stickers again but I love the others.
Again, these items are fun but not necessary. I find planning relaxing and fun which is why I put so much into it. I totally understand if it's not your thing. A simple planner and pen totally works too. :) I plan on sharing in planning sessions videos how I am using all these stickers and I also plan sharing how I store them. I hope you guys are having a beautiful night. I am going to take a long hot bath and get myself to bed. I'll see ya tomorrow! If you are new here, please take a second to get subscribed so you don't miss any new videos or pictures. Have a beautiful night. ♥
Hello friends! I hope your evening is going well. Since we are moving into a new month tomorrow I thought today I would share a little bit of my planning with you guys. Now please remember, I do not spend this kind of time planning every day. I normally do a big planning session at the beginning of a new month and then fill it in as needed as we go through the days. If planners are not your thing, I totally understand you skipping this video. However, even for you who don't like planners, this might just inspire you!
Planning is so individual and all of us have to find what works best for ourselves and our families. I found while I love the Erin Condren Life Planners the Inkwell Press Planner is really more fitting for my life. I would love to know what you plan with if you care to share! If you are new here I would love it if you took a second to subscribe.
Hello friends! I hope your having a great Thursday. I recorded this video yesterday in hopes of catching up a little bit! We have had company for a little while and it's so easy to fall behind when things get busy. Our oldest daughter came to visit with a couple of the kids. I totally have a new respect of how much she goes through on a daily basis....and we only had 2 of the 3 of the grand children. I got a comment on this video saying it made it sound like it was just an awful experience and she probably wouldn't feel right coming back. First off...Laura is just as much aware of the stress that we all experienced. I mean, she lives with all 3 kids everyday. She got hit in the face 2x with different toys, she had little to no breaks because the 2 year old is attached to her at the hip, and the new baby is easy but still was a little whiny. It was a new place and none of them or us were on our regular schedules. It was insane at times. At the end of the first full day after the kids were finally asleep we just fell out on the couch together and couldn't help but to laugh at how crazy it was. Then the next day, we had sick kids. After the 3rd time Harper got sick on her mom...I just started praying out loud.
It's just a hard age and hard to watch Laura go through so much. No wonder that woman is stressed out. Her husband too. I think as the years pass and the kids get older, she will get more breaks but Laura didn't really stop...and we were helping. I think if we could clone her....it would be so much easier! It's a young family who really is struggling in a lot of ways raising younger kids. I did it already but only with 2! I am hoping that she will get back into her normal routine that they are now back home and the stress level will go down. It's so hard and I really wish we all lived closer together so we could help out a little more. Maybe one day!
Anyway, I thought I would catch up in a quick little vlog:
I didn't get a chance to get up a WIR on Monday but here's a few of my to do's that I need to work on the rest of the week and weekend!
Check emails....so so many to go through.
Get list together for trip to the store.
Call dmv for a little question and answer session.
Scoop cat boxes. Yuck..Yuck..Yuck.
Take time to clean and organize the frig.
I need to do a detailed cleaning of all the bathrooms in our house.
Get to the po box this weekend.
Clean up files on laptop.
Get back to walking and yoga.
Try to catch up on filming videos.
Brush out the cats.
Toss laundry around.
Work in planner and calendars.
And to be honest, there are so many more things I need to done. But I am taking things one step at a time right now. Next up.. shopping! :) We need a few things around here so I am going to get that job done today. Hope you have a beautiful and blessed Thursday.
Happy Wednesday friends! I hope you are having a great day. I am back sharing another Planning Sessions video showing you how I am getting ready for this new month. I know many of you guys enjoy planning videos...so sit back and spend some time with me while I go over my monthly planning. Hope you enjoy!
As I mentioned in the video above, you don't have to have any of the items I showed to have a efficient calendar. I think all the stickers and washi tape are great but not necessary. You can totally grab any calendar or organizer with a pen or pencil and get started. I happen to like a little color for reminders and such but you can do everything you need to do by just being minimal. It's not about how to decorate a planner...even though those videos are great. Its about making your life easier for yourself and your family using your planner.
I have tons of other videos that you can check out all my other planning videos right here or on the playlist on my youtube channel. I would love to hear how you plan, what calendars or planners you like best.. if you care like sharing! If you are new here, I'd love it if you took a few seconds and subscribed so you don't miss anything. :)
Hello friends! I hop you are having a great evening. I am back with my January planning sessions video. So many of you guys are fans of these kinds of videos. I am a huge lover of all things Erin Condren but you can totally use any calendar or planner you have. The point of this video is to inspire you to break out those planners and put them to use in 2015. I promise it will make your life easier if you do! Here's a look at my January planners and calendars...hope you enjoy.
I find the only way life goes smoothly is to really plan things out. I will forget this or that and not get near as much done if I just go at the day with no plan.
Also here is my December Planning Session that I apparently forgot to share on here. So sorry... Vlogidays got the best of me in December.
Thanks for watching. :) Do you use a planner of family calendar? I would love to see if if you care to share. Be sure to let me know if you have any questions about anything you saw in the video. Don't forget to subscribe so you don't miss any new videos! I upload pretty much every day something new.
Hello friends! I hope you are having a wonderful day! I am back with a fun planner tag video sharing some fun facts about my planners. You guys know by now how much I love planning....so I thought this tag would be a lot of fun!
Thank you so much Donatella Manucci for tagging me! Planning is such a part of life for me. I am including a few other videos just in case you are interested in watching! If you want to answer this questions in a video or blog post... go ahead and come back and leave me a link the comments! :)
***QUESTIONS***
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1. What planner are you currently using?
2. What planner(s) have given you planner peace?
3. Filofax, Midori or Erin Condren?
4. Pocket, personal, A5, or binder?
5. Where do you get inspired the most?
YouTube, Instagram or Pinterest?
6. What's your go to pen?
7. What are your favorite inserts?
8. Stickers, post-it's, or page flags?
9. Keep it simple or deck it out?
10. How many sections do you have in your planner?
11. Do you use a planner for school?
12. Rings, spiral bound, discbound or other? Why?
13. Do you use a dashboard? How?
This video shows a lot of the supplies I use when Planning! Click here for the full corresponding blog post.
This video shows how I am currently managing my time. Click here for the corresponding blog post!
This is my latest planning sessions video for November. I just show how I get things together for a new month and a new week. Click here for the corresponding blog post!
I love planners and I love sticking to a schedule to accomplish more. Feel free to let me know your thoughts on planners in the comments!
Hello friends! I hope you are having a great night! I am back with another one of my planning session videos for the month of November! This video is kinda long, so grab a cup of coffee or tea and have a watch at how I get us all set up for the month and week! Tons more info below! Oh.. please forgive the bad editing. I thought I uploaded the final cut but I guess not! I don't think it effects the video though!
So I know the video was pretty long but I am going to share it even more in pictures. I also know it seems like a lot to do but its a new month which means getting things on the November Family Calendar and also in my own personal Erin Condren Life Planner. Then every Sunday I get our weekly schedule written out that goes right on the frig for everyone to see.
In my life planner at the start of any new month, I get the the main monthly calendar section filled in as much as possible. As the month goes on this gets filled in more. I have posted tons of other videos just click right here to see them. You will find the supplies I like to use and such in my last Planning Sessions Video.
I normally always start with my own planner. That's just to insure that everything is down rather the other calendars in the house are updated or not. My Erin Condren Life Planner is a total home keeping, schedule, blog planner, life planner all in one. It's the 18 month layout that you can see right here and is one of the most important parts of my life. To be very honest, I am the only one in the house that really cares about schedules. My husband and kids don't really care about any kind of schedule. So it's my job to keep up on things to keep them all running smoothly.
So in this area I keep the busiest parts of my life. I tend to use a lot of stickers and such as you saw in the video to make this planner work better for me. Its actually been a process that is ever changing. I recently found these Date Stickers from the same place I found sticker to do list that have been working great. I am trying to make the most of my days and planning by time works really good for me at the moment. In the picture above, its only a quarter filled in. As I actually get into the new week, it will get more and more busy.In this area at the top I keep my videos and blog post for that week. In the middle holds my 12-5pm stickers and the same with the bottom going from 6-11. Now they do include 6-11 stickers for morning too but I don't get a lot done in the early hours. I am a night owl so I give myself mornings to wake up, watch the news with coffee, get dressed and make the beds. Then my day really starts at noon unless we have an early appointment or plans.
Moving on into the November family calendar, I did my best to get everything I knew of on there from Jackson tests to Scott's off days. We also have 2 birthday's this month ( that I know of ) and even the Thanksgiving Holidays. So I have some additional sticky notes that will start filling up fast with pre Thanksgiving reminders in the days before. We have family coming in and Jackson out of school. So all that is listed right on the family calendar that everyone can reference. Once we get going into the month, more will be added such as bills due and other appointments that will get added on. So the majority of the work on this calendar is at the first of the month.
Finally we get to the family weekly calendar. This is more of a scribbly kind of page that just reminds us of the details about what is happening that week. Some of it is repetitive because I want Jackson to see his tests dates in a couple of places, I put this schedule up on the frig and they see it all the time! :)
Again... this is more of a rough breakdown of the week at the start of the week. It also fills up with each passing day with new notes.....new appointments....new to do's and its working in my home! It helps me too. I really don't need to write the menu down there because we have a chalkboard in the kitchen that we use already for meal planning so I might start using it for Scott's new schedule which is changing every week.
So as you have guessed I do love Erin Condren products. I simply do. However, I like to add changes that make it work better for me. I don't just use it as it is. I think we all should personalize whatever planner or calendar we are using to fit our lives and our particular likes of planning. I hope this video inspires you to get out your planner and start planning more! I promise it makes life easier if you take time to do it.
Hello friends! I hope you are having a wonderful Friday. I thought today I would share with you my new simple fall schedule. I have been having the hardest time staying on any kind of schedule. And as I have expressed this over the past couple of weeks, many of you have let me know that I am not alone. I guess the new school year brought a lot of changes many of us were not ready for. In my search for happiness and productivity I made a simple daily schedule to try to stick to. I show you every thing in the video and there is more below. Hope you enjoy.
I recently found a schedule of a another blogger ( sadly her blog has been taken down or something) that inspired me. I took a good look at how much she was accomplishing during her days and felt so inspired to get things right again in my life. Nothing has felt right since we came back from our Myrtle Beach Vacation. Maybe my heart stayed there at the beach but life continued on shore. I just never got back into the fast paced school year groove and needed to fix it.
I started out on excel. You find find schedule templates within the program that make it easy to use even if you haven't been on excel much...such as myself. I liked it and printed it and started trying to make it work for me. I made some changes along the way until I really figured out what schedule I wanted and needed.
Once I got that figured out, I got my new Erin Condren Oh What a Week Desk Pad and my label maker to make my weekly schedule. I just love the colorful pad...the paper is sturdy and I put my schedule in time slots down each day's column.
Its not fancy and I did laminate it of sorts using clear packing tape across the front and back of the page to make sure it would stand up to the test of time. The first week like I was noticing where I could add more, take away something, make any changes needed. It was a day by day process the first week. The second week, I did my best to stick to the schedule but I also wanted to see what I was falling short on. Where I was going off schedule at. What I found was the phone calls coming in and going out were taking up a lot of my time through the day.
I didn't really shock me but it made me more aware of how I was truly spending my time. I have to be honest about it otherwise I won't be able to change it. Now some of the time, I can put the phone calls into the daily work areas but I still have to be careful and not spend so much time gabbing to friends and family. I had to really work hard at keeping the phone calls down during the day. Its hard because our kids and family along with many of our friends are not local so we are always talking to them. I love that but I still have to limit it. I can talk and work sometimes but that doesn't always happen. And sometimes its just plain rude to try to work and talk. Once I moved through the second week, by Thursday I was doing pretty good. As I said in the video the work area each day is based on that current week and what needs to be done. It can anything but its a time to be productive and get something done during that time. I have a lot to catch up on and its not going to be easy so I will have to use the work times appropriately to get things done.
I am now in my 3rd week of this new fall schedule and it really has been working pretty well. I have fallen short still a few times but its very simple to follow. Its really too simple it seems but right now its getting me back to normal with my life. I really needed the help. I am so thankful for that blog post that I read on Wanting what You Have totally inspired me to make some major changes. Maybe she will get it back up but I showed it in full in this vlog around 19:20. I love bloggers and other youtubers who inspire me. Her schedule hit me just at the right time. So far, I have done pretty well on it and I love how much I am accomplishing.
If you are someone who has fallen of the schedule wagon too, I hope maybe this inspires you to figure out a schedule slotted out by time increments and make more of your days. I know so many stay at home wives and moms have to follow some kind of personal schedule to really keep life running smoothly. This has made me feel better, treat my family better, and also take better care of the many obligations I have that have been getting pushed back.
If you have a daily schedule that you wouldn't mind sharing, I wish you would let me know in the comments on here or the video on youtube. Just like I was inspired by someone else's schedule, someone might just find yours as inspirational. So feel free to share! And if you are a blogger or youtuber write up a post, do a video and share it!
Have a beautiful and blessed Friday.
If you want to find me buzzing around online, here's where to go! :)
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