How I Plan: Part 2

When I was in school, using a basic planner from the store worked just fine. However, after moving into a real home and having a child, then another, the planning got more and more complicated. After reading Sink Reflections, I had a "Control Journal." But after a while, even that didn't cut it. So I tried different things out, including making my own planner pages and printing them out each month. And as much as I like paper (especially if it's pretty), I'm pretty tired of it and having to throw it away, not to mention looking at my own handwriting.

My Current System

A couple key things happened that formed my current system. The first was I read about the Tickler file system on this site. Don't ask me about the name, but it is awesome. Instead of Tickler though, I call it “Month to Month”. The second key thing was reading “31Days toGTD for Homemakers.” The author took the book Getting Things Done and applied to to homemakers. Although most of it was review for me, the big thing I took away was the idea that a planner is really just a bunch of lists.

Month to Month

The Month to Month file system is basically having a file for each month. In that month you keep all the papers relevant to that month as well as a To Do list. Since I am trying to get away from paper, I have this in Evernote. (Which is also awesome by the way!) I do have a paper file too because there are some things that just can't be on the computer.

Setting up the Month to Month system was a light bulb for me. I was used to having binders that had a category for each aspect of my life: wife, mother, kitchen, cleaning, homeschool, blogging, etc. It was so disconnected and I hated flipping from section to section. With Month to Month, everything I need for the time I'm in, is in one place. I also had a place to add all the seasonal tasks and ideas that seemed to always get forgotten or lost.

Lists

Lists grow and shrink. There is usually a need for a new list for a time, then not for a while. It’s always changing. The reason set planner pages always frustrated me was because if something new came up, there was nowhere to put it.

I keep all my lists in two places. I keep long term lists that I need occasionally in Evernote. I keep every day To Do lists and things in an app on my tablet called MinimaList. It was free and I really like it. The author of the book I mentioned uses “Remember the Milk”.

Calendar

I also use a calendar for appointments and other date specific information. I was using the calendar on my tablet, but it is unexplainably not working so I'm using a free paper one for now. I was using Google Calendar, which I like. However, since we don't have internet in the home right now, I needed to go the old fashioned way. Really, I just use this as a reference so I'm not too picky about the method right now.

So those are the three components to my system: Month to Month file system, lists in Evernote and MinimaList, and a calendar. Next time, I’ll show you how I use them to plan a month at a time! 

How I Plan: Part 1

This Mini-Series

I mentioned in my last post that I wanted to share each month how I plan with a preview and review. Since this month is going to be off with basically moving and unpacking, I'm just going to outline my system for this month. In February, I'll show it in action with the preview and review.

As I wrote this, it turned out to be a lot longer than I had originally thought! So instead of bombarding you with a huge post, I’m going to spread it out into five posts. It’ll be a mini-series. While I’m unpacking and trying to adjust, these can quietly be showing up for you to read.

This first post will introduce the series and my thoughts on the system. Next I’ll give you a little history of how I developed my system. After that I’ll dive right into the components of the system. In the following post, I’ll explain how I use the system to plan my month. I’ll tell you how I use it to plan my days for the final post.

Thoughts on My System

I want to start out by making something clear. I’m not saying this is the ultimate or only way to plan. It’s just how I plan. I am so excited to finally find a system that works for me and adapts to changes in our lives without having to rebuild a new system. I realize everyone’s needs are different and everyone’s brains work differently. I’m sharing because maybe it will work for you. Or maybe just one piece. I love reading about how others plan and even if it’s not for me, I usually can take a piece of it and make it work for me.

What I love about my system is that it’s a few components that I use together to meet all of my planning needs. It’s a simple structure that I can adapt to my current needs. And to add to that, it’s free! It’s not a planner I have to buy or even my own sheets that I print out. Wonder how that can be? Find out in the next post! 

a home that will house a lot of growth

This house has been labeled "The Blue House."

A year and a half ago, right after Bubby was born, my brother told me about this place. I knew about it. I'd seen it several times since it's on the way to his house. He said our parents were hoping to buy it. My heart lept. I wanted it to be for us. I wanted to live there.

Not because it's a beautiful house. It's not. It's just a manufactured home. But, the land. The location. And just something... something I can't explain.

And then they bought it. And it had to sit some more due to procedure.

But now they own it. And we're moving in! It's a dream come true. A huge blessing from my parents. And God.

They bought it on a tax sale. It sits on six acres. It was forclosed on several years ago and has not been lived in since. There are some cosmetic things (holes in the walls, doorknobs needed, etc.) that we'll get to after we unpack. As far as we can tell, it's fully functional. Since it's a manufactured home, everything about it is really cheap. The walls, the floor, the doors. Not ideal, but I love the layout!

Let me show you this house I'm all excited about. The one that will be our home, at least for another long while. A home that will house a lot of growth.

These pictures will be the before pictures. Once we're in, I post pictures of our stuff every where. It will be scary. But then I'll show the progress, hopefully week by week. I'll need this as motivation.

Since these pictures:
- We have cleaned and vacuumed
- My brother and hubby put in a wood stove (with a tile floor underneath) in the living room. (Thank you so much Justin!)
- My dad installed a dishwasher, stove, and refrigerator (Thanks Dad!)

Here it is!!!

As you walk in the front door...

... turn around and see the front door.

Kitchen

Kitchen with hallway to bedrooms on the right.

Laundry room. (With a door to the back yard on the left.) There's a bit more room to it on the right.

Master bedroom, leading to master bath.

 Master Bathroom

This bathroom is ridiculously big. I had to take four pictures of it to capture all the essential parts. Not looking forward to cleaning this... haha

Toilet (which will be getting replaced soon)

Large tub. Maybe I'll finally become a bath person. :)

Sink

Shower

Walk in closet. We'll have to buy more clothes to fill this thing up! Or not.

Hallway to other 2 bedrooms and other bathroom.

Dubbed "the green room." Don't be fooled by those stars. They are camo - and they will have a short life in our home, hopefully! The kids will stay here because Sweet Girl chose it. 

Second bathroom. Toilet will also be replaced. The seat came off when I was cleaning it!

Third bedroom. This will be the guest room! :) (I'm very excited about having a guest room.)

This is the dining area.

This is the view of the living room from the dining area.

Off of the dining area, what I think will be my favorite room... "The Sun Room." This will be the office/school/craft room.

Please pray for us as we adjust to a new home!