Mine is a House of Order. Maybe. At Least I Have a Planner.

Creative chaos.
That's me.
I hate strongly dislike organizing. Or at least on a regular basis. I am really good at not being organized, haha.
But with a growing family, I realize that I have to get at least a few things into a regular schedule. And get things done. I mean, really nasty things, like washing dishes and cleaning the house and such. Housework and cooking in general. These are things that don't come naturally to me, I never enjoyed them or felt like housewife was my calling. And it still is not. And that's ok. I'm a home-maker. That's different, I think. Housewife is a cleaning lady. Married. And a cook. But homemaking is a whole different level. Woman, artist, wife, mom. It`s awesome. It involves creativity and tackling new challenges daily, and it's really fun and rewarding. Mostly. Except that I also need to keep the kids and myself alive, and keep the house in a liveable condition. That's where the aforementioned nasties come in. My new-year's resolutions for this year went something like this: "Goals for this year? Ummm... push that baby out and stay alive. And maybe sleep a few hours this year? Take a bath?... ." But I also needed to get organized, knowing that the little time I had with Flynn would be even more limited with another kiddo. And boy, did I have a LOT of time when it was only Flynn, haha! Well, I knew I wanted to get organized but didn't know how at first.
I used to write things and chores to do on random bits of paper or to-do lists, and I cleaned whenever I felt it was necessary. Don't get me wrong, I love a clean house, really. I just don't particularly enjoy the means and work that go into achieving it. After thinking about how to eliminate all those lists and planning my weeks more effectively, I remembered the little planners we used on the mission. I surprised myself then, because I actually came to like them. So I was going to buy a planner to schedule the kids' appointments and my chores and plan goals, family home evening lessons, date-nights, etc.. .I searched online and found one I liked. The Color Crush Planner (Webster's Pages). I really like the lay-out and style. It took me forever to decide on a color (and ended up buying two, just because...icy blue / light teal and dark pink. This way, I can switch things up a bit). Knowing that I can't live by a schedule if it looks drab, I needed something fun and colorful to inspire me. I added my own dividers and even designed weekly cleaning list inserts (and had a little Stepford Wives moment doing so). This way I can review what needs to be done each week (i.e.I actually plan) and then check things off as I go / when I have time (i.e. the kids aren't crying, hungry, sick,.../ I'm flexible and can work on the list whenever). So it's not super rigid. I usually don't get everything done, but it amazes me how much more I get done each week. It's little things these days, but in a phase of my life where I'm happy when I find time to shower and actually eat a real meal during the day, this kind of planning and writing down everything I'd otherwise forget (where'd my brain go?!) really helps. I've used my new planner for several weeks now and I am so happy with it. And the housework? Yup, still hate it. But it feels like a game now. How much can I get done this week. Organized-me is getting really competitive with Lazy-bum me lately ;) !

My planner. Pink. Because traditionally this is the time of the year where I crave pink and rosy hues.

Pretty, girly papers inside because grown-up is très triste.

I used some gift wrapping paper for the front cover page. One of Penelope's presents was actually wrapped it this paper and I loved it. The present and the paper ;)

Another DIY. My second page.

Gold lettered motivation.

A little reminder.

A peek into a week.

Doing some research about which planner to chose, and particularly with Filofax or the Webster's Pages planners, I discoverd a whole new sub-culture of planner addicts. I mean, there are actually people out there who use 3 to 4 planners simultaneously (I mean, really...), decorating every day and section of their planners meticulously. I admit, I fell down the rabbit hole a bit and bought some washi-tape and stickers for decorating. But unlike the planner-geeks, I actually spend my time working with the planner. With a few embellishments. You know, to keep the happy in the planning.