Deck Out Your Planner

At six-years-old, my mom and little-second-grade-self lived in Los Angeles, California and I had a passion for stickers! Our North Commonwealth Avenue apartment was about two blocks from a #Local paper store that sold... you guessed it: STICKERS!! (We're talking circa 1986, so this was well before the scrapbooking clubs or MLM's of the early 21st Century.) Without telling my mom, Little Miss Independent packed up and headed to the "sticker store", only to find that the busy intersection most convenient to our home did not have a crosswalk. Being the responsible little that I was, I pushed my bike up hill (both ways, in the snow) to the nearest crosswalk, walked my bike across the street, rode it down hill to the store's building, and discovered that they DID NOT OPEN FOR ANOTHER 20 MINUTES! (Sigh!!) There was no turning back now, so I waited until they unlocked the store and... my love for stickers was born!!

Thirty-plus years later, I STILL love stickers!! These days it's The Happy Planner stickers that gets my planning-energy flowing and I, pretty much, can't go into a Michaels Arts & Crafts store without buying a new pack - I like to think it's a collection... like baseball cards. Makes me feel better about my addiction.

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Today kicks off the 1st of a new month and so last night I spent some time getting my month (at-a-glance) planner pages all decked out! Decking out your planner is all about LOVING the planner you choose to use and being consistent with it... here are my tips how to do just that:

Step 1: Open Google Calendar

I typically schedule appointments as I'm leaving the doctors office, so it's my phone that gives me easy access to my upcoming month. The problem with only keeping a phone calendar, however, is that I have to be diligent about opening the app to see what's going on day-to-day. Yes, we all have our phone on us 24/7, but not only do I *wish* I could get away from that addiction, I also do not need one more reason to *have to* look at my phone throughout the day - and let's face it - while the calendar color-coordination helps, I really like CUTE things in my life. Cute brings me JOY, and if there's any takeaway from organizing professionals, it's to #SparkJoy, glitter, and rainbows!

* Don't forget that lunch date with your girlfriends, playdate for your kiddos, or that upcoming haircut/highlight - get ALL your appointments on the calendar first!

Step 2: Birthdays, Anniversaries, & Holidays

I often know important birthday just off-hand, but to double check for those important dates I LOVE my Cozi App. I have been using Cozi for 8+ years, and if this stepmom could get everyone in the family using it, it would be my preferred Family Organizational App.

I am subscribed to the Gold Membership, which gives me access to the Birthdays (I use it for Anniversaries too) feature and helps me keep up with how old my nieces and nephews across the country are turning THIS year.

Mix-and-max stickers and embellishments. DONE!

Step 3: Home Management

I use the Simplified Planner, which allows me to have my month at-a-glance as well as my daily/weekly viewed planners all in one notebook. Since we're decking out the monthly view, I like to find a couple cute stickers that I can place on my calendar as a "to do, reminder".

• Meal Plan

• Chores

• Pay Bills

• Grocery Shopping

I naturally gravitate towards the first days of the week, (in my case that's Sunday), and place a single Meal Plan-type sticker in view. Repeat with a Chores-sticker of your choice. While Paying Bills is similar, I also tend to find smaller dollar-sign stickers to highlight paydays.

Step 4: Fill in the Blanks (Optional)

This step is completely optional, but along with my love of C*U*T*E also comes a love of QUOTES. Reflecting back on my last blog post: I'm not looking to reinvent the wheel - so I hope to learn from other's life experiences, of course, only to repeat the good things.

I want my cute, colorful, organized calendar to #SparkJoy in such a way that it has to be BOOMing with content!! How do I do that? By simply adding quotes, cute stickers, handlettering, colors... you name it!... to fill in the blank space.

• I definitely try to add "weekend" quotes on the weekends, or build up holiday accent stickers the week leading into the holiday itself.

• Something that's going to make me giggle, is a must!

• Something inspiring - motivating - gets me to take action on the tasks in my planner!

These are the filler pieces, and I basically just enjoy flipping through my sticker books and add whatever catches my eye in the moment!

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I know what you're asking yourself right now: Why would she fill in her blank spaces? What if something new gets scheduled?

You're absolutely right, so feel free to do what sparks YOUR joy and leave those month-at-a-glance boxes clean to add as the month progresses. For me...

• Those newly scheduled tasks get plugged into my Google Calendar with notifications that pop up throughout the month as reminders!

• I use my weekly/daily view planner pages to expand ALL details, from the Simply Clean task of the day to my weekly Meal Plan.

• I also like to glue movie tickets, polaroid pictures, and other flat(ish) memorabilia to my daily/weekly planner pages to double as a kind-of scrapbook! These planners make AWESOME time capsules to be cherished later. (Can you feel the JOY?!)

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And there you have it! Add sparkle and joy to your plan, and live your best life! Sweat glitter and rainbows... whatever you have to do to LOVE your planner and make it your own, THAT is the key to ensure you use it consistently and cherish it down the road!