Affordable Planner Option: Office Depot Stellar Notebook Planner with Slash Pockets

 

I've tried a lot of different systems for life and work planning, including Passion Planner, bullet journaling, Panda Planner, the Ashley Shelly planner, DayTimer pages, DayRunner pages with a briefcase-sized carrier system they came in, and more. No, I have not tried Erin Condren. 

I've tried a lot of different systems for homeschool planning, too, including A Simple Plan, The Well-Planned Day, and a cheap homeschooling lesson plan book.

Ultimately, I've ended up with the simplest and cheapest of systems since my ADHD causes me to rebel against any system I try to set up anyway. Turns out the simpler the better when it comes to planners for me. I use a spiral notebook for keeping track of homeschooling and a fancy spiral notebook for keeping track of my life (errands, chores, appointments like dentist, doctor, appliance repair, etc.). Here are some photos:

What I love about this simple Office Depot Stellar Notebook Planner are these things:

(1) It's affordable.

(2) It has slash pockets! These are pockets that are cut at the diagonal in a divider page so things are held in better. This is where backup goes, such as bills that need immediate attention, invitations for things that are coming up, etc.

(3) It's light and portable.

(4) It's customizable! Usually I'll write times of the day down the left page of the spiral and to do items on the right side, as well as any notes (like what vitamins I took). I could probably also use this as a homeschool tracker if we had a light day.

Here are photos of a very bare day. The first photo is of a rough schedule on the left of the spiral. The second photo is of to-do items and an attempt at keeping track of both homeschooling and business daily items.

I'd love to hear about your favorite planner and how you keep yourself consistent in using it!

What Are You Saving Money For?

 

Photo by Jonathan Borba from Pexels

It's hard to believe we have been in our new house just over three years. 

When we moved in, the windows and doors were in pretty good shape (missing a few screens here and there on the top floor), but now it's time to start saving in earnest for new windows on the top floor only. The bottom level of our ranch-style house was already finished and done up to the nines. The top is stuck in 1992, which is fine if you don't mind hot air leaking out in the winter and cool air leaking out in the summer. I'm all about a lower electric bill (also dreaming of solar panels someday!).

I've heard that since the 2020 pandemic began, places like Home Depot and Lowe's have been bombarded with business. People are staying home, seeing all that's wrong with their home, and ready to roll on their home improvement projects!

So I'm saving money for new windows and travel, as well as dental work (always) and braces for two more of my kids. What are you saving money for?

Check out this post if you are wondering how I'm going to make or save money. Also, you can check out my blog, The Published Parent, to find out how I make money from home!

Here are some more money posts!

Want to Make More Money?

How to Save Money on Groceries

How Big Families Can Save Big Money

How to Teach Teens About Smart Money Moves

How to Get the Most From Your Household Budget

Simple Ways to Save Money on Baby Gear

Gift Guide: Universal Yums Subscription Box

 

Universal Yums makes a fantastic gift!

Do you worry that your grandchildren are not learning enough about the world in school? Is it hard to find a snack that's interesting and fun? Are you unable to board an airplane flight to anywhere in the world? Are you concerned because your kids seem to be sitting around the house staring at the ceiling tiles, bored out of their minds? 

Universal Yums can solve all of those problems! (and, yes, if you click on the link, we each get a special deal) 

Back in May 2020, I bit the bullet, plunked down 39 bucks, and got a massive box of snacks from United Kingdom (June 2020 Universal Yums box) for my family to sample. Here are some photos of the snacks we received. (FYI: you can pause anytime you like and restart your subscription box, change the size, etc.)

I apologize for some of the sideways photos!

Interesting!

LOVED these!

The Yum Scoreboard helps you keep track of your favorite snacks!

I'm going to order the Germany box for my dad and mom when it comes around because they lived there for a while (it's where I was born, in fact) and might think that's a pretty cool gift to get in the mail. Also, if there's ever a Kuwait, Dubai, or Middle East gift box, we gotta have it since my husband travels there quite a bit for work and it would be fun for the kids to sample some snacks from that region of the world.

What country or region would you like to try snacks from?

The Tiny House Movement + I Want to Live at IKEA

 A post came up on my Facebook feed recently reminding me that we bought the four acres adjacent to our home a few weeks after the insane and stressful process of selling our old home and moving in to our new one. I had forgotten about that entire stressful process, kind of like a mini-house-buying negotiation session complete with more papers to sign. Thank goodness for Docusign so we didn't have to do everything in person!

I was thinking I probably need to check into getting a building permit to build a tiny house on this "bonus property" for my mom to live on someday. Or I also dream of a little office back in the woods so I can get creative and write my memoir series. But that's a long time away! I still have around 8 more years of homeschooling :-)

So let's go back to September 2017 for a moment and a trip I took to IKEA with my kids...

Remember that movie from the ’80s where the guy and the girl got lost in the Target and had so much fun? Well, I prefer IKEA. They even have the food of my people, the Swedes. Food, coffee, chocolate, lots of space for running. The ultimate hide-and-seek space. Bathrooms. Did I mention amazing food?

Look! You can even get in your exercise at IKEA!

I like these storage solutions, but always fear I'd bonk my head on them.

Can you imagine living in 590 square feet? Have you ever had to, such as in a
dorm room or tiny studio apartment?

Callie's ideal office, complete with Eiffel Tower prints.

Time to go.

When we got home later, my son put on the song "I Wear My Sunglasses at Night" and trotted around in time to the beat like a super cool guy. When I was 13 years old, I sure didn't think that someday my kid would like my music. I know my dad has the same thoughts.

Your Weight Loss Environment and Where to Hide Your Food

Losing weight and getting healthy has a lot to do with what is in your house, in your desk at work, in your car, and everywhere else.

First you might want to check out my post titled Stop Saying You Can't Have a Certain Food. You are a Grown-up and it is Annoying.

Also check out Weight Loss When You're Traveling and Over the Holidays :-)

For the first few weeks when I'm working on losing weight (aka getting healthy because for me it's not about looking like Barbie but it's instead about being able to be ALIVE and HEALTHY for my children and husband and being able to enjoy life more = energy and joint health as I age), I just can't have tempting stuff around. It has to be hidden from me. After that, I get my Game Face on and can resist that bag of Reese's peanut butter cups. Usually.