Organize Your Year: Schedule Planning

In conclusion to my Organize Your Year Series, what would it be without a new planner? My mom and I are cut from the same cloth and she told me that she always loved to get a new planner for the year. It's all fresh and clean and ready to be tackled with new to-dos and plans. It's true, there is nothing like organizing your planner and getting it ready to fit to you. No matter what kind of planner you use, the only way it will work for you is if you use it! 

If you're like me, you have started many a planner at the beginning of the year and failed to continue it through the year. Over Thanksgiving, I was talking to some of my relatives and one woman was teasing another woman about how her van was broken into and everything was stolen. The one thing she was worried about? Her planner. She explained that her whole life was in it, if she didn't have her planner, things did not flow smoothly. After the teasing was over, I asked her how she made it all work and she said, "That's simple! It goes with me, everywhere!" and she pulled it out. 

I contemplated this idea and I decided to adopt it and began to take my planner everywhere with me. In my purse, in the car, to the doctor's office, even to church. And guess what! My mind is much more at ease! HUH? 

I know! I wasn't expecting that bi-product either! When I am able to immediately write down an appointment or a to-do, it doesn't have to swim around IN MY MIND until I get it done, it waits until the day it is written on! I purchased "The Time Keeper: Finding Joy in a Well-Kept Life" planner and I love it! It functions the way my mind works and it got me excited about the lists, the to-do lists for: the year, the month, the week, and the day! Not to mention the other places to put lists like clothing sizes, books I want to read, items I want to look for at thrift stores, ideas for birthday gifts and Christmas gifts that occur to me throughout the year, you name it! On our five-hour trip to Iowa for Christmas, my hubbie said, "We should make a list of mini vacations that we can do throughout the year!" And boom, pulled out the planner and made a list as we thought of them! Here are my guidelines for my planner that I know will help plan out the year and make my mind more at ease and a less-stressful year! 

• Bring my planner with me EVERYWHERE - just like my cell phone, if my cell goes, the planner goes! 
• Write everything in pencil - God's plans are not the same as my plans, therefore HE is the only one that can write in ink! 
• Call and make appointments in BULK - well child appointments, dentist appointments, eye doctor appointments, WHATEVER! 
• Whenever I commit to doing something, it gets written down in the planner, or I don't commit to doing it. This is a hard thing for me, because I don't like to say no to people, but if I don't have my planner and if I cannot commit to a time and a place in my schedule, I should not commit to it. 

That's it! These are my rules and I'm still working on carrying them out but this is my plan of attack for the year and we will see how it goes. 

Do you have any tips or tricks or lists that help you organize your year? Share them! I would love to hear them!

In HIS Grip, 

               

Organize Your Year: House Cleaning

Ahhh cleaning schedule how I love you and yet do not spend time FOLLOWING you. So how much do I love you? Hmmm. . .

Well if I start thinking that way then I start thinking how much do I love Christ and yet how much time do I spend FOLLOWING Him? Hmmm....

Something to think about anyway! But back to cleaning schedules. I worked really hard on my cleaning schedule and I LOVE it! It's AWESOME! And it works great for me. When I follow it that is! I'm going to walk you through the steps that I did when coming up with my cleaning schedule.

1. Make a list of the chores you need to do DAILY. Mine includes: 
• Devotions
• Dishes
• General Pickup
• Clean My Room
• Trash
2. Make a list of the chores you need to do WEEKLY. Mine includes: 
• Laundry (Twice a week!) 
• Clean Bathroom
• Help Kids Clean their Rooms
• Kids Bathroom
• Baking
• Menu Plan
3. Make a list of the chores you need to do MONTHLY. Mine includes:
• Pay Bills (Twice)
• Microwave (Twice)
• Wash Bedding (Twice)
• Dusting/Cobwebs
• Mirrors/Doors
• Wash Toys
• Clean Vehicles
• Wash Rugs
• Wash Baby Stuff (Bouncy Seat, etc.) 
• Mop Floors
• Clean Oven
• Clean Fridge
• Clean Schoolroom
• Clean Basement
4. Make a list of the chores you need to do every FOUR MONTHS. Mine includes: 
• Wash Furniture (Couches, Recliners, anything upholstered, kitchen chairs, etc.)
• Wash Windows
• Wash Curtains
• Clean Garage
• Organize Chest Freezer
• Major Yardwork
• Clean Gutters
5. Make a list of the chores you need to do ANNUALLY. Mine includes: 
• Check Smoke Detector
• Check Carbon Monoxide Detector
6. Grab a piece of paper and plan out a 4-week schedule. Fill in your daily chores first then your weekly and monthly. Leave the four month list and annual list for later. For my week Monday Tuesday and Wednesday are the days that are really heavy in doing my housework because Thursday is our day off as a family and Friday and Saturday are spent doing more things for ministry. So just plan it all out as your schedule works. If Mondays are really difficult you may not want to plan ANY housework for that day to smooth it all out and MAKE IT WORK for YOUR family. If you are not a heavy computer user you can stop here and just print this out and a list of your four month jobs and annual chores and post them on your refrigerator or inside your kitchen cupboard. Wherever you will see it! 

If you are a heavy computer user - GOOGLE CALENDAR it! I LOVE Google calendar and I love using Google Chrome web browser. Seriously, if you use Blogger and you don't use Google Chrome, you are in for a life change. You will need a Google account to use these things but it is soooo worth it to streamline everything you do. (Once you start in Google Chrome go to the little wrench up in the right hand corner and go to tools then extensions! Trust me you will LOVE! My faves are Facebook Notifications, RSS Subscriber, Feed Reader, Picnik, Gmail Checker, and Google Calendar. Just a little side note there!) If you use Google Calendar you can use apps like Jorte for Android that sync with Google Calendar. 

Another way you could use this way of making a list is to make a checklist that you can put somewhere obvious and laminate it. This is my new method that I am going to be trying out this year. I'm hoping that because it is right on my refrigerator - I have a daily and a weekly cleaning schedule that I laminated and I use a dry erase marker to check things off as I do them. So I will never miss a chore again! yea, right! 

Other parts to the Organize Your Year include: 

Organize Your Year: Bible Reading

Organize Your Year: Card Writing

Organize Your Year: Bill Paying


Don't forget to enter the Giveaway for this series! It ends on Friday!

In HIS Grip, 
               

I am linked up with: 

Organize Your Year: Bill Paying

I hate late fees when paying bills. B.C (Before Children) I had NEVER, EVER received a late fee. It was UNTHINKABLE. Even after having one child it was unthinkable. After two children, I'll admit it happened but rarely. With three children. It's happening and often. Sigh. There is my confession to you. I'm not going to confess how much we spent last year in late fees but let me just say, it was WAY out of my comfort zone! 

When I get the mail it has become habit to immediately sort out the mail. If I don't have time to sort out the mail, I don't GET the mail. It stays in the mailbox. I open all bills, letters, statements and I throw away the opened envelopes and anything else I will not need. I file away the bill portions that I need to keep and I place the bills that need to be paid in this by the back door. This organizer has been a LIFE saver. As you can see, cell phones, cash and keys all rest here so we can grab them on our way out the door! 

That worked perfectly for years, no problem! When it was time to pay the bills, I just wrote them out and sent them. Ahem. Once again that was B.C. Or at least Before THREE Children. I'm still doing that part like clockwork because I formed a habit with it. But those bills were slipping and I was forgetting to get them actually INTO the mailbox or for us, the Post Office. Too many other things (a.k.a. PEOPLE!) to get out the door too! 

So here is my solution! When the bills come into the house and I am sorting through and throwing away the trash, I now will make time to write out and pay for the bills RIGHT AWAY. I just won't send them. right away. Let me elaborate. I'll write out the checks and only pay by checks, no more paying by phone unless I do that right away as I'm opening up the bill. When I'm putting the bill and payment into the envelope, I turn the envelope upside down and write the due date and the amount in small letters. 

By doing this, I can see at a glance when the bill is due and whether or not I have the money in the bank to cover it. So as I'm heading out the door, I scan the dates and grab the ones I need to mail and cross off the amounts. Done! No more late fees! I hope!

For more in the series: 

Organize Your Year: Bible Reading

Organize Your Year: Card Writing


Don't forget to enter the Giveaway for this series! It ends on Friday!

In HIS Grip, 
               

I am linked up with: 

   

Organize Your Year: Card Writing

I was in trouble. I had FORGOTTEN my father-in-law's birthday. Do you have any idea how much that bothered me! I really had no excuse - I just simply forgot and my hubbie was blamed. Of course I know he forgot too but really it's somewhat my role to remember those things for him! Sigh.

I needed to do something but I was lost. As a Pastor's wife, it's somewhat important to give birthday cards and anniversary cards to the people in your church. Now I know, I don't HAVE to do everything as a Pastor's wife but when you are in a small church of less than 30, I really feel as though this is something I should make a priority!

Since being here I have to say that I have neglected a few people's birthdays in our church but I've been saved by the thrift store!! I found THIS for $0.99! Can't beat that!

If I had known about this idea, I probably could have made my own or purchased one at this site that I found.

Here is how the system works! Each page has a pocket. One pocket for each month and on the pocket is a number for each day of the month (29, 30, or 31 days). You write the name of the person who is having a birthday, anniversary, or the anniversary of a miscarriage or death of a spouse, really anything that you want to send a card for on a yearly basis on the date corresponding to the event. 

This is how you carry it out - okay this is how I am going to carry it out because I struggle SOOO much in this area! 

1. Buy cards or make cards for EVERY event that I want to send a card out for.

2. Write the name on the envelope and "Dear. . ." inside the card. Leave the writing of the message inside for just before sending it out.

3. Tuck the card with the envelope in the corresponding pocket.

4. Every week or every time I go to the post office, check to see if something needs to be mailed out!

5. NEVER FORGET A BIRTHDAY AGAIN! I hope. 

If I had not found this genius system I completely would have made one with a three-ring binder and cardstock for pockets. It would be pretty easy! If you decide to or have already made one, tell me about it! Put a link in the comments to your own blog post about it! 

For the other parts in the series: 

Organize Your Year: Bible Reading

Don't forget to enter the Giveaway for this series! It ends on Friday! 

In HIS grip,                

I am linked up with: 

    

Organize Your Year: Bible Reading and Giveaway!

Nothing like the beginning of a new year to plan out your spiritual journey! There are MANY MANY people (myself included) who strive to read the Bible in a year. To be honest, I never succeed. So I gave up on that goal. Then my goal became to read the Bible every day. That was MUCH better but I STILL struggled. 

But I am not striving for a perfect calendar. I am striving for growing my relationship with God. That is my true goal. So if I mess it up and miss a day it's okay because my GOAL is not to read every day but to grow closer to God so that at the end of this year, I can look back and say:

"God, thank you for allowing me to grow closer to You!"

With that in mind, obviously there are several different ways to do this. The best way is to spend time in His Word! My favorite way is via EMAIL! I know crazy right? The first thing I do when I get up in the morning is read my email and every day I receive a passage of Scripture emailed directly to me. If you go to  http://www.bibleplan.org  you can customize your own daily reading plan. I always leave the email in my inbox until I get it read. I love it - you will have to check it out! 

Another one I really enjoy using is http://www.esvbible.org. I like the clear cut website - I use it for searching for Bible passages for my blogging too. There are devotional plans that you can set up so it will go to the next day automatically.

And of course there are other Bible devotionals written by man that would be wonderful ADDITIONAL resources that can greatly enhance your spiritual growth. Some that I have truly been amazed at how God has used them to shape and grow me are "Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World," "Loving God with All Your Mind" and "Me, Myself, and Lies."

A resource that I have used in the past is this "It's Personal" Daily Journal. It's a $15, 90-day devotional guide that I found very helpful. It uses 5 different forms of communication with God. If you are interested in truly jump starting your devotional life this would be a great resource! I must warn you though - it takes TIME to fill it out but trust me, it definitely grows you closer to God if you put forth the effort. 

Here is a picture I took of my journal - this was given to me several years ago so it make have changed a bit in appearance but they don't seem to have any other pictures on the website so I thought I would help you out with that! 

Those are a few ideas to get you going! Whatever you decide to do - do it for His glory! He wants to spend time with His child because like any "Parent" He loves you very very much.  

What have you decided to plan out for your spiritual journey this year? Please share in the comments below!

GIVEAWAY!

I contacted the makers of "It's Personal Daily Journal" and they gave me a free journal just for you! So if this journal piqued your interest but you're not sure if you want to plunge in and buy it,

leave a comment below with the title of your favorite devotional

(the Bible is fine but I'm thinking OTHER book ;0) ) and you just might win one!

If you don't want to wait use this code:

FREE SHIPPING - A9ZV3698LSJJ

Make sure you check back this week because I'm explaining a lot of ways to Organize Your Year! 

In HIS Grip, 

               

Organize Your Year Series!

I'm on a mission this New Year. Unless God deems otherwise (it can always happen I suppose!), I am not moving or having a baby (or both!) this coming year. THEREFORE. . . I am striving to make this year function more smoothly than the past few years because it is possible!

So I'm writing a series about the different ways I am organizing my year and I'm hoping that you will join in on the "fun" too! Starting on Monday I will be starting the series and the topics are:

Organize Your Year: Bible Reading

Organize Your Year: Card Writing

Organize Your Year: House Cleaning
Organize Your Year: Bill Paying

Organize Your Year: Time Maintaining

I'm starting up the New Year with a focus on Bible Reading and a special giveaway that will help give a jump start to your personal relationship with God. Just so you know, the item being given away is one that I myself have used and found so wonderful and helpful I contacted the makers and they are providing a free one and free shipping for those who do not win!
Happy New Year

May Your Year of 2012 be a Year of Rejoicing in Your Savior and Loving Him More Every Day

In HIS Grip,