My Favorite Organizational Tool!

Hi!! Happy Monday!!! Merry Christmas (a few days late)!!!

We had a wonderful Christmas and are actually continuing the festivities because we are visiting my parents for a few days! I am so happy to be "home" for the holidays- even though I am 35 and haven't lived at home since I was 18- it never feels like Christmas unless I come "home" for Christmas!

Soo...today I am linking up with Andrea and Erika and and sharing my Favorite Organizational Item!  

I really had to think long and hard about what my FAVORITE organizational tool was...I LOVE to organize things, I despise clutter and am always trying to find ways to keep our house organized and functional.  With that being said, when it comes down to it- what keeps me organized and totally helps me NOT lose my marbles is my Plum Paper Planner!

Last year for I decided for 2015, I wanted to move away from the traditional calendar on the refrigerator and invest in a personal planner. After doing some reading around blog-land, I decided to try out the Plum Paper Meal Planner.  Since it is a little on the pricier side ($31), I asked my husband to get it for me as one of my Christmas gifts. He was able to pick out a fun design and pick the picture that went on the front cover and I loved that he had a part in "designing" my planner!  

I ended up LOVING my Plum Paper Planner and it was the gift I wanted the most for Christmas this year.

Well, my sweet husband delivered and I got a 2016 planner!

This is the picture and design my husband picked out - I just love it!

I know there are SO many wonderful, functional and beautiful planners out there to choose from- so I wanted to show you the features that I LOVE about my Plum Paper planner!

(And I wanted to apologize for the not so special quality of these pictures! I took these pictures at 6 am the day we left for my parents' house...so the lighting is not the greatest!)

Okay- so this is a new feature that was not in my 2015 planner and I am SO excited about it!! At the beginning of every month- there is a "goal page" along with a place to write birthdays, special events and other things that you need to remember.  On the other side is a full page to make notes.

I am so excited about the "goal circles!"  I don't know about you- but when I put my goals in writing- I am much more likely to achieve them versus just kind of formulating them- but not getting them in formulated and written out!

Next, there is a full calendar for each month. I like writing all of our doctors appointments here and other important things we have going on throughout the month.  This also where I write out my husband's on-call schedule.

After the full monthly calendar, the month gets broken down into weeks. Plum Paper Designs has several planners you can choose from- and my favorite is the Meal Planner option! As you can see, at the bottom of the page, for every day, there is a space to write out your meals.  Since we eat super simple breakfasts, I pack my kids' lunches and my husband eats lunch at work- I don't write those meals down. I use the whole space to write down our dinner for every night. I LOVE LOVE LOVE this part of my planner!

At the back of the planner, is a two-sided page with pockets. I use this for important receipts I want to hold on to and other important documents. I also keep love notes my husband writes me in this portion of my planner :)

Another cool page in the Plum Paper planner is this page specifically dedicated to keeping track of all your passwords for the different websites where you have an account. I don't know about you- but I am ALWAYS forgetting my passwords!  

I also love this "holiday" page- this is so helpful to have- especially when you are trying to plan out visits with family  or if you just simply want to know when Easter is going to be in 2016!

And finally, another page I really like it this two page spread in the back of the planner where you can write down important notes, birthdays, ect. This is where I write out gift ideas for people, if I buy a gift in advance, I write it out in the particular month I bought it for- basically- anything I could possibly forget throughout the year- I jot it down here!

And this is the back of my planner! 

I love the flower design Aaron picked out- the color is very "me." :)

And there you have it! My most favorite organizational tool. I find if I have our family's life organized, I am able to keep an organized home and just in general stay on top of all of the other aspects of my life! 
If you are in the need for a 2016 planner- you should totally check out Plum Paper Planners!! 

I hope you have the BEST day and are continuing to enjoy the Christmas season. 
I am going to soak up everything wonderful about this time of year for as long as possible! :)