Just Make Stuff

Keeping track...

This summer I read "Dinner: A Love Story" and was amazed that the author had kept a journal where she listed every family dinner for more than a decade.

I am very strategic about cooking each week, so we always have leftovers around here. Therefore a dinner journal would be pretty boring. However, it occurred to me it would be fun (and handy) to keep track of the gifts we give. 

I decided on these notebooks and simply stamped "gifts" on the cover. The end.

Or at least the end of any craftiness, it's just the beginning of keeping track. My hope is to have a list that is years and years and pretty much the rest of my life long.

Since the notebooks came as a set, I broke out the letter stamps again and made a place to keep track of cooking ideas. Mostly for the tips and tricks I hear when we watch a few of our favorite cooking shows...like mixing teriyaki sauce with mayo for a Hawaiian burger. I don't necessarily need the whole recipe (I'll save that for Pinterest), just the idea...especially if it helps me think of even more ideas. 

A new kind of class planner...

For six out of my seven semesters teaching I have made a class planner. It started when Mac asked me to make him one for high school...little did I know his request would end up being one of the best things I could do to help myself be a better teacher. 

In the past, I have had the covers laminated and the book spiral bound. But the last couple times it hasn't been done very well, (even though I tried more than one place to have it done) which left me wondering how to solve the problem. 

The solution came in an entirely different direction. The Arc planner (just like the Happy Planner).

I bought a notebook with a clear cover and invested in the puncher. I was worried that it might not hold together well, but I started using it this summer and it's been perfect.

Right behind the cover I usually have fun with a title page. I discovered this design from Drew Ellis and loved the humor that in a year where my dream of a full-time position was a bust, it's time to re-focus on creating coursework for my students.

I print out my syllabus for each course with a few extra pages to keep track of participation assignments and office hour meetings. Then each week of the semester has two pages...one to brainstorm class plans and the other to write all the things I need to get done.

The index tabs take me to the course schedule for each class. 

And of course there had to be a patterned paper bookmark too. I also bought the clear Arc planner pockets to store my notes and worksheets for class. Before I always had a file folder for each course, now it's all together in one item in my school bag. I just put in what I need for the day.

I always print note pages for each power point lecture where I add all the extra bits I want to tell my students...you can see a pink and blue lecture on gender tucked away. 

In the past I was at the office supply store the night before the semester started begging to have this spiral bound with no time to spare. Now I can put in whatever extra things I can think of (or don't want to forget) and I can take out whatever I am not using. 

So not to be overly dramatic or anything, but this class planner switch has been life changing.

Don't forget notes...

For the last year or so, I have been pretty obsessed with putting together a stripe of colors. It started when I was making a banner image (one of my favorite class planning details) for one of my course's online website and now pretty much all my courses have them on their homepage. They have been around here too...like the current banner and I am sure there will be more.

I decided to take the stripes I made for this semester's courses and make myself little notes for my class planner. Here's the file in case you'd like to print some out... download don't forget striped notes

I made a big change in class planners this summer and it's working so much better. I'll share more soon.

Closet Before & After...

We are lucky to have a big bedroom in the front of the house that we've jokingly named the, "guest-wrap-gym", since it's our guest room, my place to wrap gifts and we have a treadmill with other little bits of exercise equipment in there.

We also had a pretty messy closet...

But not anymore! I worked hard to clean it out, categorize and organize the contents, then Sean worked hard on rebuilding the shelves and giving the closet a fresh coat of (white) paint. There are white curtains that usually hang on the rod you can see at the top, but we took them down so I could get pictures of our pretty, pretty closet.

The left-side corner has a shelf holding exercise stuff and the right corner has a shelf that holds extra frames for when I switch stuff around the house (usually the mantle)...

Then the middle is holding extra craft supplies, our family files, and new document boxes I got to hold keepsakes. I use the baskets and hounds-tooth rolling bag when I am taking lots of stuff with me for my students to use in class. I think my favorite part might be the mini shelf Sean installed to hold weights...now I should maybe lift them more often.

This upcoming week the room will be a guest room since Sean's dad, brother, sister-in-law and niece arrive tomorrow from Iowa. We have seen Sean's dad every couple of years, but we haven't seen anyone else in six years. It doesn't feel like it with the four of us constantly emailing and texting, but it has been long, long time. Our family is pretty different than it was six years ago, but it is filled with a happiness, love and strength that I am really grateful to be a part of...and we cannot wait to spend the next seven days together.

Planner Supply Organizing...

This was the way I had my planner supplies "organized". I used each zipper pouch to group together similar items like stamps or sticky notes. And then everything else was tossed in there. 

So I bought a big storage box and divided trays. Now all cute planner items are truly organized. Stamps are not in here, I have another box for them and an organizational idea I have not made happen yet, but everything else is and it makes the box super fun to dig into. Now if only life could be a little less busy, so I could spend more time planning it.

Part of this whole reorganization project was gathering a few bunches of supplies to share since I could never use it all. I have three pouches filled with various items to send to three people. If you would like one leave a "pick me" comment by Wednesday evening. Please make sure the email address linked to your comment is current since I will email three people for their addresses. 

Expiring...

I was making this tortellini soup earlier today to have for dinner tonight. Instead of frozen vegetables, I added onion, garlic, carrots and spinach. Oh and I added beef...because I am shamefully lost in this world without meat. 

I used a squeeze of tomato paste and immediately grabbed a sharpie to write the date that I opened it on it...which I do with pretty much every condiment in our fridge. I should do it with more items in our pantry too. 

I don't know if everyone does this too or no one does, but I'll admit it has been an incredibly handy reference when cleaning out the fridge. Because even though the italian dressing might not expire for a couple more weeks, it helps to know it's been cracked open for three months or something.

Lids...

Over holiday break the only house "project" I got done was switching the cabinet the leftover containers & lids were stored in. It took 18 or so minutes total.

This weekend was part two in this intense project...lid organization. We have spent the better part of a decade digging around in a haphazard mess of lids, but now that they reside in a much more convenient spot (you no longer have to practically be hanging upside down to dig them out of a dark cabinet next to the ground) keeping like lids together is entirely possible. 

Is this a photo worthy project? No.

Is sharing this blog worthy? Not really. 

Does it make me unreasonably happy and slightly satisfy my insatiable need to reorganized the most random stuff when I should be writing a syllabus?

Heck yes.

Just in case you haven't seen one of my favorite house projects ever...here's the rest of our kitchen. 

2016 Planner Calendars...

I needed two different versions of a 2016 calendar for my planner, right? I printed months horizontally on thick cardstock to have at the beginning of weekly pages since I only store one month's worth of weekly pages at a time. I figured I could decorate it will all the cute planner supplies I continually cannot resist.

Then I updated a vertical version I had made before, printed it on my usual paper, so I can keep the entire thing in my planner for the year. 

And, in case you need more calendar options too, here are the files... 2016 Vertical Months A5 Planner Pages & 2016 Horizontal Months A5 Planner Pages 

Fifteen binders...

This is not exactly the most bloggerly (that's a word, right?) pretty photo, but this has been a key aspect of my life as a mom. Mac's binders...one for every year of school...started all the way back when he began preschool through the school district in 1999. The set of dividers has changed over the years from things like PT & OT to Cheer, but much has remained the same...the IEPs, a bunch of medical paperwork, and important stuff from school. Before any it can ever sit around (like today after we got his, thankfully all good news, progress report in the mail), these things get three-hole-punched and are easily filed away. Yay for compulsiveness.

Always be prepared...

Three years ago I shared about my purse organization. I usually carry a pretty large purse in case I need to toss extra stuff in, however this summer I got a small cross-body bag for just the essentials. Granted my definition of "essential" clearly comes from a deep internalization of the "be prepared" lesson from my time as a Girl Scout.

It probably should be noted that my "time" as a Girl Scout was a single school year...third grade...Troop 227...but apparently it made an impact.

So if you need a measuring tape or something to floss your teeth, please know I'll be prepared to help.

My mom taught me...

My mom has taught me to always write down the name of who you spoke with and what date/time you spoke to them for any important phone call. When I put together a planner for her birthday gift this year I made her a couple different kinds of pages, including one for phone call notes.

You can print your own from this PDF... Download Phone Call Notes

Party Planning...

Earlier this week we brainstormed this year's 4th of July party menu so grocery shopping could be done. We always have hot dogs, baked beans and potato salad, but I also like to check my Pinterest boards for a couple new ideas and couldn't remember what couple new ideas I tried last year. That's when I realized I really need to start keeping track of parties...since I often run into this issue with the different parties we host each year.

I should know better, because my Thanksgiving book is surprisingly helpful each year. Each party I always write lists, menus and notes anyway, but now they will be cuter and I'm saving them to refer back to. I also made a little spot to jot down anything I should change in the future. 

I'll share each one as I make them. Here's the first one, barely in time, if you're hosting a celebration this weekend...Download 4th of July Party Planner Page

A solid surface...

One of the things I made for my mom for her Filofax birthday gift was a board for the back of the planner so there was a more even writing surface. I cut apart a cardboard box and covered it with patterned paper on both sides so it was reversible.

Did I mention when I purchased my mom a pocket planner that I also ordered myself an aqua patent leather one? I couldn't resist.

I actually made one for my full size planner too, since the board creates a much better writing surface.

A pocket sized gift...

My love of planners comes from my mom, so a couple of months ago I decided she needed a totally gratuitous, but completely adorable Filofax pocket sized planner for her birthday in May. It is not exactly a practical calendar since it's so tiny, but I thought it be cute to have for shopping lists and various ideas while she is out.

I ordered these planner pages to print out, made a couple different pages of my own for her, assembled some miniature patterned paper dividers, and made a front page with a little note for her.

I also shopped my little organizer loving heart out and bought a bunch of stickers, pens, a pen case and a box to store all this stuff in.

Since I started a couple months in advance, I was ridiculously excited to finally get to give this to her. 

It worked...

A photo popped up somewhere on Instagram a few months ago showing that someone had spray painted their plastic trashcans. After the work we did in the kitchen this past summer, I really wanted nicer looking trashcans, but couldn't find sizes that fit...and oh my goodness, are some of them pricey.

Sean was skeptical, but willing to take a can of spray paint to them for me. And it totally worked. The paint went on smoothly and has held up almost perfectly with daily wear and tear (the edge of the green lid has a tiny bit of chipped paint). It's nice to have two different colors too, green is recycle and gray is trash.

I think I need to spend some more time figuring out what else I can spray paint around here...

Write it down...

One of my desk drawers holds too many pens. My mom taught me to love pens...and planners and stamps among other things. 

This particular drawer was opened a lot today, since I all of a sudden had to organize the calendar for this summer...figuring out Sean's summer school schedule, Mac's cheer practices and the summer class that I was offered the opportunity to teach today.

The pens in upper right hand corner are my current favorites...they are a thin marker like version of these erasable pens. They are making my planner a much cuter place...that I can erase if I need to.

Targeting forgetfulness...

Please tell me it happens to you too...

You get home from Target and then manage to immediately remember what you completely forgot to buy.

Around here it occurs way more often than it should. So I have gone so far as to make a specific list to combat the forgetfulness...

In case it's not just a problem for me, here is a PDF of the lists... Download Target Shopping Lists

Rainbow order...

I spent the day organizing school and life back together after the last week. 

This project was actually completed a couple weeks ago, but I hadn't shared. After years of being stuffed together as a jumbled pile, my stamp pads have relocated to the card catalog organized by color.

There are few things better than rainbow order.

A year later...

In February 2013 I shared the before photo of our laundry room...and I never shared the after. When we first purchased the new washer and dryer we planned to leave them side by side. A week later we went back and purchased the hardware to stack them and it turned out to be a great decision. Our laundry room is small to begin with, and most of the space in it has is taken-up by the endlessly used walkway between the garage and the house. With the changes, the tiny room feels much more open and the shelves are much easier to reach. 

In addition to desperately needing the new washer and dryer, the entire idea of a new laundry room was inspired by one yellow storage box. The box now stores a Costco sized portion of laundry soap. We have Borax in the mint green cookie jar. I splurged on a couple big laundry baskets that sit on the floor for sorting. The gray box bin is for dirty dish towels, rags and cloth napkins that get used throughout the week. The polka dot box holds clean rags. The striped plastic boxes at the bottom hold take-out containers, the one at the very top is a first aid kit. Other than that, it's pretty much cleaning supplies.

Sean painted the garage door over and over with magnetic paint and then a couple coats of gray chalkboard paint. In the fall when we were a little extra busy, I made big calendars to write on and hang on the door.

So a year later everything is working great. We have a little extra plan for the laundry room in the next couple weeks, and hopefully it won't take quite as long to share.

Bathroom Cabinet Clean Out...

This was a way overdue project that finally got tackled over the weekend.

The cabinet under my bathroom sink had become a disaster, but nothing that a trashbag and a trip to Target couldn't fix...

I used the label maker + washi tape trick again.

The drawers weren't safe...the medicine cabinets were attacked...and it was inevitable that the cabinet under Sean's sink would have to be overhauled too. 

Is it me, or is cleaning out and reorganizing just the best feeling ever? 

The Sunday nights start again...

School night Sunday evenings always seem to end up as a race against the clock...go, go, go!

It's 10:08pm and I am trying to cram in as much school work as I can before heading to bed.

Of course Saturday night is the party night...you know it's a good time when the label maker is out.

Keeping on task...

This morning I needed to put something away in the guest room.

I walked in there, put away the item, straightened the bed, opened the blinds a little more, remembered that I didn't make my bed, went into my room, but put away my hairdryer, and straightened up the bathroom counter, saw my water glass and realized I needed to water the plants, then I made my bed, then I went and wrote down this list of tasks so I could document for myself that I can really let my mind be a mess.

So I originally went to put something away in the guest room...I ended up doing six more tasks. Great for my house staying neat...not so great for my over all mental organization.

That's what I do though...a little bit of this, and oh wait that, and maybe back to this...and then there was that too...not even including the fifty breaks I decide I need or deserve or can easily melt my day away with. 

Part of the reason I am thinking of this is because I am currently faced with organizing the upcoming semester for myself and last semester really left me feeling like I could not handle life no matter how hard I tried. As I really began to realize last spring, I have chosen a career with the potential for a ridiculously heavy workload, but with an extraordinary amount of freedom. Which means the time is there, it's just waiting for some good management. 

The other reason that I am thinking about this is because I am currently reading this book (after devouring this one) and it's super inspiring...

"A wealth of information creates a poverty of attention”

"Studies show that the human mind can only truly multitask when it comes to highly automatic behaviors like walking. For activities that require conscious attention, there is really no such thing as multitasking, only task switching"

"Committing to ignore distractions is rarely enough...we must strive to remove them entirely from our field of attention. Otherwise, we’ll end up using half our mental energy just keeping ourselves from breaking our own rules."

"While it feels easy enough to put one task on hold to start another, studies like this are a reminder that we find it very difficult to let go of unfinished challenges. They continue to draw on our mental resources even after we think we’ve switched focus. What’s more, attempting to ignore this mental tug drains us even further. If you can, it’s best to find a good stopping point on a project— one that frees your mind from nagging questions—before moving on to another task. That way, you’ll find it easier to achieve mental closure and apply all your energy to the next challenge"

I have always thought this print was super cute (from this Etsy shop) and a never-ending theme in my life. 

Sure, I work hard, I work a lot, and I absolutely thrive on ideas...they are truly what drives me more than any other aspect of life. However, I am so ridiculously dumb and careless about productivity. I allow myself to jump around with reckless abandon and then kick myself when a dozen tasks are in process and barely one gets completed. 

So, I am going to try to be much more cognizant about sticking to task, without distractions. No more leaving my in-box (or three including school accounts) open all day...no more ten minutes of this...four minutes of Instagram...and so on. 

Today I tried to really use the concepts I am learning in the book and finished a task completely, so it could stop taking up mental energy. I finished my little December Daily-ish album. I ran out of page protectors and was missing one photo, but I just finished absolutely everything else and then I sat down and ordered the last photo and set of page protectors.

And there we have it. I can scrapbook uninterrupted and get something accomplished. Not even close to resembling a full day of disciplined work, and it sadly took more effort to stay on task than it probably should. But it's a start...and a fun way to practice what I can hopefully begin to master. One task at a time.

Planner planning...

I have spent the last few days prepping the purple planner for an extra organized 2015.

It's always good to look at a calendar and realize that you have barely a week left to plan an in-service for fifty people that you were asked to lead months ago. Or that a couple weeks later you have two community college training/meetings scheduled the same day for almost eight hours straight.

Yes, 2015 is really off to a great organizational start. 

Regardless of my upcoming schedule, the first step in planner planning was to make some fresh new page dividers. I grabbed some of my favorite patterns, these index tabs, and printed some titles out.  

I might be a bit of a mess from time to time, but at least I will have cute patterned paper dividing everything up.

Making a list...

This past weekend included yet another edition of my to-do list creating as a form of procrastination. This time it's a holiday version made with a free printable reindeer from Cathy Zeilske's newsletter and digital patterned papers I could not resist buying.

Here's a PDF in case you need a seasonal task list too... download Holiday To Do List

Purple Planner...

I have never really liked purple. It's pretty much the only color I do not like. Well, I take that back, growing up Mr. Pine's Purple House was one of my favorite books. Other than that...no purple. 

Lately though I have found myself a little drawn to it...to the point where I took a coupon and bought a purple patent leather planner...after studying all the choices for months. I am not usually a fan of patent leather either, so I really do not know myself at this point. 

I have more to set up (and a lot more holes to punch), however I made a couple of items so far. I took an old Hambly transparency for a cover and took a piece of patterned paper, trimmed and sewn into a pocket.

Since I was a teenager, my mom has taught me a love of planners and Filofax has always seemed to be the ultimate. Therefore the purple planner is pretty darn exciting.

Here's the to-do list printable.

Fresh & Clean...

Tuesday and Thursday mornings I am home in the mornings before teaching a class at the community college in the afternoons. Often this means I am scrubbing down the kitchen sink, cleaning the counters, and wiping down the fridge (our new-ish stainless steel fridge is my cleaning nemesis). I used to always microwave the sponges we have to keep them clean, but the boiling hot water coming out of them was tricky and if you waited for it to cool, it kind of defeated the purpose of cleaning it.

This summer I came up with a super fancy sponge cleaner. Vinegar in a squeeze bottle from Target. I squeeze out the sponges really well, fill them with vinegar and let them sit for awhile...done.

How my brain works...

Over the weekend I was stressed and trying crank through all of the stuff that needed to be done for this week. I was prepping for my classes and digging into the haphazard pile of boxes all my supplies are stuffed into.

Despite having no time for such an undertaking, I spent a half hour consolidating and clearing three drawers in a dresser in our guest room so that I can get all my class supplies organized and easily accessible. Made perfect sense to me...take time you don't have and complete an unnecessary re-organizational project. The results made me a little too happy. 

Looking at all this together seems pretty crazy. I have a gender neutral doll for when we discuss raising a genderless child. I have large dice to play a game about social inequalities. I have a coloring book to contrast to students making a their own feminist coloring book. I have prisms. I have supplies for when I pack my "Invisible Knapsack of White Privilege". And I have lots and lots of crayons.

More washi love...

I love to check the Timehop app for a few seconds in the morning to see what happened on this date in years past. It just reminded me about this washi tape discovery from back in 2012. Coincidentally it was just a couple of days ago that I tried my next new favorite use of washi tape...file folder labels. I got the idea from IHeart Organizing...along with the need for my first new label maker in over a dozen years (the cute font choices sucked me in).

Looking back through the archives, it was almost five years ago that I discovered washi tape and I am still majorly in love.

Life changing...

A couple weeks ago I mentioned my new favorite pens (at the time) which were thick, colorful and cheap. Then last week I couldn't resist signing up for this planner class and erasable pens were on the supply list. I decided to order some this past weekend and my mind is completely blown. As much as I love pens, I don't write with them too often in case I make a mistake...

However these pens, and their seemingly magic eraser, really work. I actually graded student work with a pen for the first time tonight. I may have also ordered a second set to have one with me at school.

From now on my favorite pencils are going to be lonely.

Our kitchen update...

We are so, so happy that all kitchen updating wrapped up a few weeks ago now. 

Here's the before and after...

Thankfully I had help to pick a cabinet color a couple months ago now (I went with #5). Sean did a fantastic job painting and rehanging the doors. He also built a box to hide the ductwork for the hood (we painted it with #8), hung up several shelves, and spray painted the legs of our new (super cheap) kitchen table.

All I did was clean out and reorganize our cabinets, shop for jars, strung a little fabric banner for the hood cover, had a print made, tried not to cry, and decided that the numerous years I spent collecting latte bowls in all different colors meant I needed a rainbow display.

Both Sean and I love how open it feels...technically we do not have any additional counter space, but it sure feels like we do.

Our kitchen has always been a happy place for us to be, no matter how dated it may have been. Now though it really feels like us...and by us I mean my ideas and Sean's amazing efforts to actually make it all happen.

Dots...

Last spring I started using tiny dot stickers on my monthly planner calendar. 

I use one color for all the journal assignments I need to grade for my classes and another color for all the tests I need to grade. This way I can quickly glance down to see how many stacks I'll need to get through each week.

Although my first thought when typing that last sentence was, "so I can quickly see how screwed I am". Let's just say, I have yet to figure out how to develop multiple class schedules that create a well-spaced work load. 

Today I started loading the dots up for this semester...and added one more color (red) to mark the days that Sean is working as an assistant coach after school.

I just roughly started adding up how much grading all these tiny dots mean...roughly 490 journals and tests. Yikes.

Family calendar...

The next couple of months are going to be a new level of busy since we added in being the phone bank chairs for the first school improvement bond ever for Mac's school district. It runs four days a week for the next two months...not that we have to be at every single one...just a lot and we need to make sure each night has plenty of volunteers signed-up.

We also still have CASA trainings to finish and it's football season for the cheer team. And you know as teachers, Sean and I never have to bring work home...let alone piles and piles of it. 

Moral of the story, it's going to be a little nuts. That is why we have been trying to plan ahead to be organized.

One thing I decided we needed was a humongous calendar to keep track of it all. I made them for the next three months and had them blown up to 18"x24" at Staples for less than six dollars altogether. I originally made color versions, but those were going to cost way more, so I stuck with black and white. 

Here are both versions in case they might help you keep track of everything this fall...

Download September Calendar

Download September Calendar-Color

Download October Calendar

Download October Calendar-Color

Download November Calendar

Download November Calendar-Color

Last spring Sean painted the door in our laundry room that goes to the garage with magnetic primer and then chalkboard paint in the same color as the walls. That's now home to each month's huge calendar. 

Hopefully it helps us not forget anything we have got scheduled. 

To Do List Procrastination...

I think I have officially hit a new procrastination low. Instead of tackling the scary to do list I have to accomplish to be ready for the school year, I spent time trying to make cute to do lists for no reason whatsoever.

Here's a PDF in case you want to write stuff down and actually get it done....download "Have To Get This Done Today" lists

Planting Notes...

The garden journal is growing, along with the way too many plants I could not resist this year.

I wanted to keep track of planting notes for the tomatoes to try to figure out what works best for them, so I made up a sheet with a place to staple the marker (I finally took them out of the ground when I put in the new garden markers) and write down how well they grow and produce.

So far, so good despite the hundred degree temps this week.

And if you are keeping track of some gardening this year, you can download these 2014 planting note forms too.

Marked...

This project sat on my work table for just over a month, but now this year's tomato plants are officially labeled.

I used wood slats from the craft store, some of my one dollar "wood stain", a staz-on stamp pad and this cute set of alphabet stamps.

Now I can correctly identify the thousands of tomatoes I hope to harvest this summer. 

Spring calendar...

Today I printed out the weekly sheets for the next three months and switched out my planner for April. I filled up to do lists and dates on the calendar. I also dug into my flowery fabric stash to put together a few fabric paper clips to switch between since I use them to mark the weekly page I am currently on. 

I figured since I was making some for me, I should make some for you too. I have three sets of three to share. Just leave a "pick me" if you would like one and I will email the randomly selected winners on Thursday.

You can see more planner posts here.

From A to Z...

I have shared the contents of my purse before and that one the zippered bags I keep in it holds coupons and gift cards. This past weekend this bag was out often as we ran various errands.

Recently I decided to take all of my reward cards out of my overfilled wallet and put them in a little yellow card holder inside my coupon pouch. We have so many of these darn things to keep track of nowadays that I loved the idea I found in a great Real Simple book to organize the cards in alphabetical order. It has been so helpful to keep them this way...Anthropologie right through to Yogurtland. 

This reminds me, my mom (who actually gave me that cute polka dotted pouch for Christmas) and I were out at lunch several weeks ago now and she happened to show me the contents of her purse saying it was as, "Nor-ganized" as it ever could be. Only my mom would think to combine my name with organized. 

To Do...

I am all about a good to do list. With check boxes...have to have a place to check stuff off. 

I keep a list every week in my planner. I'll also write an extra list for a weekend, holiday, or especially busy day. Then I saw the idea to have even more lists....you make category lists to brainstorm on and then you choose the items to put on your weekly to-do list.

Considering I can easily forget just about anything and everything, no matter how hard I try to remember it, having a sort-of staging area for to do lists sounds like an awesome idea. I can keep better track of tasks without making my weekly to do list seem like a relentlessly, never-ending nightmare. 

So, did you stopped reading awhile ago when I said, "list" for like the twelfth time in two sentences? Or do you love to do lists as much as I do?

Here are past planner ideas I love too...I'm unreasonably obsessed.

2014 Calendar...

We're several days into the new year and I finally have all of my calendar needs for 2014 ready. I purchased this calendar to hang next to my desk at home, this color wheel calendar that I printed out for my office at school, and this cute (free!) calendar to use in my planner. 

I have my new divider page for the year, I'm already filling in my monthly calendars, and have a few months of my weekly pages printed out. You can click the links to download the monthly and weekly sheets if you are still getting your 2014 calendar ready.

Wrapped up...

I finished the last batch of gift wrapping today. I can't believe Christmas is almost here!

I finished hostess gifts today too (I'll share them later this week after they've been given). Now the next Christmas crafting task is making thank you notes.

I'll be using these sheets to keep track...

You can download them here, Thank You Notes Planner Sheets, in case you need a place to keep a list too.

Lots of tea and hot chocolate...

This morning it was fifty-five degrees in our house, so we finally relented and turned on the heater to take the chill off. We all like it this time of year when we can bundle up a little and drink lots of warm drinks. To be ready for all this drinking, I reorganized the shelf we have for tea and hot chocolate a few weeks ago. I am such a nerd, but it just makes me so happy every time I open the cabinet. 

I have never really liked coffee, but I grew up drinking tea just like my mom and grandma.  Sean finally decided he liked tea also after we had high tea at the Empress Hotel back in 2010. Mac loves when I concoct a pitcher of hot chocolate with the frother my mom gave us. I got some weck jars to store hot chocolate in and a couple of shakers for crushed peppermint and fleur de sel to make salted caramel hot chocolate (love this caramel sauce too).

This is my current favorite hot chocolate mix. I also am loving this holiday blend tea and this vanilla tea (I make it in the summer too). 

I like to drink really strong tea, so I'll either use two tea bags or use a small little cup (this is the one I couldn't resist for the holidays...apparently it's a child's mug) to brew it in. It also keeps me from using the ton of sugar and half and half I like to have with tea. 

Christmas lists...

My planner has a new section...

I made a divider for it like the other ones I have.

I also printed out a few extra things to make the section a little cuter. And then I made up some sheets to start getting organized.

You can Download Gift List 2013 too if you need to get organized. Or you can also just tear photos out of catalogs and stick them in there with washi tape. I did that too.

I am trying not to think about the fact that I am usually way more ahead with Christmas shopping by this time of year...instead I'll just be happy that I have some ideas written down for now.

Wrapped...

Yesterday I mentioned trying to make anything and everything cuter...and cords are one of them. 

If they can't be hidden completely at least a little fabric or yarn can help.

Made my own...

When I made Mac's class planner a few weeks ago I couldn't resist starting my own too. During my many semesters as a student, I would make myself a "master syllabus" where I would combine the class schedule, readings and assignments for each class organized by each week. That way I could look at everything I needed to do each week all at once. I had planned to do that now that I am teaching four classes, but I decided I wanted more after putting together a planner for Mac.

I waited until I had my syllabus from my fourth class (that started a couple weeks into the semester) then printed out all four. One of the first assignments in every class was answering a couple of introduction questions and sharing a photo. I made myself "cheat sheet" photo rosters for each class...otherwise I have absolutely no chance at learning 170 students names. 

A few pages for notes, a calendar for each month and then a class planning page each week for the rest of the semester. Then I used a photo from my crazy crayon photo shoot for the cover. This was just spiral bound a couple of days ago and has already helped exponentially. I will never, ever teach another semester without one of these things.  

Class planner...

In case you were ever wondering if McIntosh was my son...this little whiteboard sits on his desk and outlined his schedule for the weekend. When he said "Disneyland" in the morning it meant he was up at 3:15 to be at school at 4am to cheer at the Disney half marathon this past weekend. Sean went as a chaperon too. I stayed in bed.

My point in sharing this little whiteboard is to introduce that, through nature and nurture, I have a son that loves some good organization like his mom. Granted, this isn't completely reflected in the typical status of his bedroom, but it still resides within his soul. This is why he has always been obsessed with the class planners the students at Sean's junior high receive. 

After seeing this year's version Mac asked me to make him his own class planner. How could I resist that kind of request?

The back to front printing was a little tricky, but there is a page for each month with room for notes on the back and then a double-page spread for each week of the school year that Mac can write the dates in himself. I made a cover, then took the stack to Staples to have it laminated and spiral bound.

And I had to get a little note to him hidden in the back too. I was so excited to give him this book. Such a small detail might seem ridiculously unimportant, but seeing Mac so happy to have this book will really be one of my very favorite moments as his mom. 

Stand up...

I decided months ago that I would rather stand when I am crafting things. So at the end of April I replaced the table in the closet of my craft room with a taller one. I bought a file cabinet off of Craigslist, which Sean spray painted green for me. 

The television set was mounted on the wall and one extra cord gave it the option to be a computer screen...because accessing ideas on Pinterest can be completely essential to the creative process.

I have made more stuff at this table in the last three weeks than I had made in the six months before it...maybe there is something to this whole standing up thing.

Command central...

One of the best organization items I have around this house are magnetic strips. I have one mounted under the cabinets in our kitchen to hold recipes up out of the way while we cook. I also have a couple on our "bar". This really used to be a wet bar with a never-used sink until my father-in-law took it out for us, but we still call it the bar for some reason. 

This is where we hang anything we don't want to forget...coupons, receipts for something we need to return, the bracket Sean totally beat me at this year, tickets for upcoming events, my brother-in-law's heating and air business cards, invitations, and a sheet with our neighbors phone numbers.

The neighbor list gets used a lot...for instance last week I called Mr. Kelly to let him know I had some homemade split pea soup for him and we called Todd to ask if we could borrow his ax.

In case you have your own command central somewhere in your house I put together a neighborhood contact sheet to download...

That way you can quickly get in touch for super important stuff like soup and axes.

It was inevitable...

Considering I rearranged absolutely nothing after the holidays, that pent up organizational energy was bound to escape sometime soon. It occurred in one swift realization on Saturday morning. Move my growing collection of plants closer to the window and not mind that the open shelving partially blocks the exceptionally boring view of the side of my neighbors house fifteen feet away. 

Then move my standing work table to the wall where the bookcase previously was and spend $20 for two new shelves. Okay and maybe I bought just one more plant for the new shelf. And maybe I couldn't resist a little clip-on light too, but that's it. 

You can see the way the room looked before it just had to be moved around. A little rearranging is just the best thing ever. 

Dividing things up...

This weekend I had yet another organizational epiphany. I can make my own planner dividers with these tabs and whatever patterned paper I want. I thought I'd would share on the off chance that you are also in pursuit of making every little bit of your life as cute as possible too.

Getting ready for next year...

In year's past I have lost my ever-loving mind the week after Christmas. Decorations have come down right away and I have been know to go on a hairbrained streak of house rearranging...bedroom furniture has ended up in the dining room, walls have been painted, and trips to Ikea have been seemingly inevitable. 

Then a shift began last year...there was an attempt to let the holidays linger a little and not stress about making something...or everything...new and fresh. Now this past week has been an immense accomplishment in doing nothing. Mac went to his dad's so it's been quiet around here. Very little time was spent sitting at my desk. Very much time was spent watching college football games. Christmas leftovers were munched on, there were cups of tea, magazines to flip through, evening walks and the fireplace keeping the house cozy. Sean and I actually used the holiday break we are lucky to have...as an actual break. 

Today the decorations are coming down and the 2013 calendar is coming together. Today thank you notes will be tucked into envelopes to mail. Today we will restock the pantry. And today I finally get back to sharing here. I am looking forward to reminiscing a little about 2012 and then moving on to the new year.

The calendar cards are from the In A Creative Bubble Shoppe. I also have the files to share from my 2013 planner pages. They are sized to fit into any 8.5"x5.5" binder. Here is each month... Download 2013 Planner Calendar and here are the weekly forms I've been using in some matching colors Download Weekly Pages.