9.08.2008

Getting Organized!

I can't help it, I love to be organized! I have always maintained some sort of planner, date book, etc. When I got married and started cooking for my husband, I quickly realized that life was easier if I planned out a week's meals and shopped at the beginning of the week. I would print the menu and post it on the fridge. Then in a different location I kept a calendar and weekly agenda. At some point, I can't remember when, I got wise. I started using a 3-ring binder to hold not only my menu, but my calendar and schedule, recipes, etc. I have been modifying and improving my system over the past few years, and recently had an amazing breakthrough.

I discovered the "Priority Planner" in Linda Dillow's book, Creative Counterpart. I have never before seen a concise, one page print out that allows me to organize my basic priorities, my weekly agenda, my menu, to do list, and my shopping list! Amazing! I typed it up in Microsoft Word and you can download the file here: Priority Planner



My 3-ring binder consists of 5 dividers giving me 6 sections- daily schedules in front, Priority Planning Sheets, To Do Lists, Calendars for the next 18 months, Kitchen Critiques (a whole different post), and my recipe collection. I am slowly in the process of typing up the recipes that I have on notecards and getting rid of that system altogether. Now, on Sunday or sometimes Saturday night, I will sit down with my binder and plan out the week. I ask my husband what he has going on, and jot that down on the Priority Planner. I can easily flip through my recipes and mark ingredients on the shopping list portion of the planner. My whole world is in that binder!

Further, I keep all of my most important things on a basket on my desk. Each morning when I get up, I sit at my tiny desk in my husband's office and use all of these items. I have my Bible, journal, reading schedule, book (whatever one I am currently reading) & the journal for that book, as well as my Priority Planner Binder!



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mommychronicles@hotmail.com

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow, you sound a lot like me! LOL! I love to be organized. I have tons of datebooks and organizers laying around. I need one big one like tha tto keep it all together.

Anonymous said...

I love being organized and organizational tools! I'm off to download your one-pager. Thanks.

Anonymous said...

I love that download! So helpful! Thank you! I have started menu planning and that has been awesome!

Anonymous said...

Okay, I want to be you when I grow up! :-) I am nowhere near that organized, but would love to be!

Anonymous said...

Hi, stumbled upon your blog and oh WOW, my husband will be elated if I m half as organised as u! and I simply love the design of your site. Will definitely drop by again!

Anonymous said...

How I wish I am as organized as you! I do need to get organized really soon. Thanks for sharing the download.

Anonymous said...

Wow this is great!!! I'm going to print it out!

And now you've got me all curious about kitchen critiques, so I'll be expecting a post about that soon. :)

Anonymous said...

LOVE it! I think I am organized but you would never know it if you looked at my desk/home office! It must all be in my head. I have used your template for my new to do list aka priority planner. It is working well so far! :) Thanks so much for sharing! I love the idea of everything in one binder... I am still working on that...

Anonymous said...

Oh wow! You have inspired me to get down and dirty with my books, paperwork, writing desk, etc this weekend and GET ORGANISED! I keep my books, etc in a couple of similar baskets next to my bed. The books could be in the drawers in my bedside tables, but they're full of crisp, new notebooks that I seem to collect as a stationery-aholic! I can't wait to check out more of you organised page now! Paula :-)

PS: Yes, I do love the crisp and fresh aroma of a new notebook too. It's an illness, hehe!

Anonymous said...

I know it's been awhile since you posted this, but I have been desperately looking for Linda Dillow's Priority Planner since reading Creative Counterpart. I am unable to locate it, and I was thrilled to see your blog! I tried to download your Word document, but it apparently is no longer accessible. Would you mind emailing it to me? You can use the address shultzb@mail.dbu.edu. Thank you!

elsie12791 said...

I owned Linda Dillow's Priority planner probably about 30+ years ago. It was a fabulous tool that helped me keep all my lists in one place and be very efficient. I've been searching for it for years, since I obviously wrote on all the pages. I too was thrilled to see your link to the template, only to find it no longer works. (Granted you posted it 6 years ago==ha!) Do you still have the template, and can you send it to me? Please respond and I'll give you my email address. Thank you!