I have quite a few passions in my life which I’m sure you’ve already picked up on if you’ve been reading this blog. Some of the most important ones are my Savior, my family, homeschooling, music, reading and writing. However, planning and organizing are favorite pastimes as well as helping family-owned home businesses thrive whenever I can. I also want to help average moms like me to have a more enriching and beautiful life serving their families. So, I’m hoping what I’m about to share will help out all of us.
In full disclosure, Sue Hooley generously gives complimentary copies and affiliate commissions to those who help her spread the word about her excellent planners. However, I have used her planners since 2014 without missing a year and have purchased them when she didn’t have affiliate programs in place. They are that helpful to my life, and they just may work for you, too.
Planners are very personal. I understand that not all of them work for everyone. It’s far from a one-size-fits-all item. That’s why I’m going to just show you how I use mine. If you think you can adapt any of these features for your needs, you might want to try one. I’ll let you know at the end of this post how you can try out a copy for free for the rest of 2021.
Beautiful Art Work
One thing I love about Sue’s planners is the lovely cover art. And that’s not all. The inside has several lovely photos like the cover as well as soft colors and a variety of fonts throughout. It makes me smile each time I pick up my planner even before I open it.
Inspirational Content
When I first get my planner (which is usually late fall), I make myself not look at it. I want to be sure to get all the use I can out of my previous planner and keep enjoying it plus have a fresh start as I’m planning the new year. However, when I finally allow myself to crack the cover, I read Sue’s devotional thoughts first. I read the About Sue page to see what her kids’ ages are now and what they’re doing now (they’ve been missionaries and involved in several other ministries through the years). And I make myself wait to read most of the inspirational quotes throughout the planner. Each week has a different Scripture verse which would be great for Bible memory if I could actually remember.
Plenty of Room for Creativity
Other planners I used in the past told me exactly how to use them. They sometimes even had the hours slotted in as if I actually did all my work between the hours of 9 and 5. The calendar blocks would be so small that if I had more than 1 appointment that day, I would have to have a complicated system of asterisks and arrows.
The Homemaker’s Friend planner has plenty of sections for notes, large calendar blocks with each week spread over 2 pages and lots of sections that are open-ended so I can use them for my own unique needs.
There are tabs for YEAR, MONTH and WEEK, and each of those sections has a GOALS page. When I choose my word of the year, I write it under the YEARLY GOALS, then write more specific things to track under the MONTHLY GOALS section. In the YEAR section, there are neat little pages that can be personalized for journaling or prayer requests. This is where I record the specific things to work on within my goals each month that I report to you in my CHECK IN posts.
Makes Planning Easy
Although I love planning, I like a simplified version of it. I don’t want to take hours to manage my planner each day! Above you can see what a weekly page looks like. I choose to use the Tasks List to break down my monthly goals into specific steps for that week.
On the actual calendar days, I write any morning appointments and tasks on the left side and the afternoon ones on the right side. That way I can see at a glance how my day is divided up. I save the purple area at the top of each day for Birthdays or things that take up the whole day (i.e. Yard Sale or Christmas at Mom’s). I sometimes use it to add little check boxes if I want to break down my weekly goals to daily ones. Of course, the Menu box at the bottom is great to help me remember what I’m having that day so I can get meat out to thaw in time. When you purchase a planner, Sue also gives coordinating menu planning worksheets with each purchase, so we have no excuses not to have those calendar blocks filled in!
Customizable Sections in the Back
The thing about homemakers is no two of us have the same kind of lives. Some of us work on the side or full-time. Some of us homeschool and others of us have no children at all. Even in the time I’ve used these planners, I have used this sections in a variety of ways. Here is what I’m doing this year:
Tasks List
This could be a useful tool for breaking down large tasks like choosing curriculum or spring cleaning into manageable smaller tasks. I’ve used it many different ways, but often it includes lists of things like books I want to read or prayer requests.
Projects and Events
This is a very broad category for me. Right now I have two sections with my cleaning schedule, some writing ideas in another section, beef cutting instructions and notes on my sons’ birthday parties.
Information
Most of use keep our address books on our computers or smart phones now. At least I do. That’s why I don’t really keep most of them in my planner. One page does list all of our doctor information and when we’re each due for the next visit (this covers 37 appointments for a family of 6, not including the orthodontist appointments). Another page has addresses of people I have to contact for church or work purposes that wouldn’t be in my regular contacts on my phone. I also track my weight and nutrition plans in this section as well as my Bible Reading Plan for each month.
Shopping
This last section has helpful perforated shopping lists so you can keep a running list of what you need then just tear it out before you head to the store. I keep my shopping lists on my phone, so I use this section to record my everyday joys or notes from a phone call. There are also sections to keep gift ideas, clothing sizes and a master shopping list.
I would love to know if you use this planner or what other planners you use. Leave a comment down below with how you would use some of these sections to fit your life. I love new ideas!
I almost forgot what I promised above. If you want to try one of Sue’s planners for the rest of 2021, she is offering a BOGO for the month of August. I’ll put my link below in case you want to help both of us out. If that bothers you, just go directly to her site and purchase without involving me. You’ll love it either way!