First new addition for the planner

After the first week with my planner, I realized I needed a quick way to get to the current week. So I made myself a tab to mark the week.

For my first try, it turned out okay. The construction and functionality is great. I just would like to have done a better lamination job.  On the design side, there's a lot to be desired. I can do much better, given enough time and I'll take the time to make a better one for a later date.

This gives me good encouragement to make things like dashboards and also lets me know that I do not need to get an Arc Punch.  A hole puncher and a pair of scizors can work just fine.  However, a laminating machine is much more cost effective that laminating sheets so I should save up and get one of those instead.

Happy Planner

I was finally able to get one of my planners on Sunday.  I went to Michaels' with my friend Jaci and made a bee line for the planners.  First thing I did was pick up the green one and hugged it to me like it was my favourite blankie.  I adore this thing.

It's a Happy Planner by Me and My Big Ideas.  I love the fact that's a disc bound system

I picked up many other things that day as well.  I got a mini stapler that has green staples (can't go wrong with that), washi tape, a couple of folders, sticker paper, larger disc rings from Arc, stamps, stamp pads...I felt like I went mad and loved every minute of it.

I was hesitant about how I would use my Happy Planner but now that I have it, I am seeing the potential left, right, YouTube, Etsy and Pinterest.  I am going to try and hold myself back and keep the decorating to one week at a time, preferably on a Sunday evening, before the new week begins.  Any appointments and reminders etc, will be added by either pencil or post-it note so that everything can be finally put in on the Sunday evening before.

I don't use the Morning/Afternoon/ Evening part.  I just don't sort my days like that.  I am still working out exactly how I will sort it but I'm leaning towards a daily To Do list, Reminders, Appointments and Due type of list.

I'm still waiting for the other one (it's really 2 identical ones) in the mail.  I got the stitch markers that I ordered the same day which is came from the same country so I assume that it will be very soon.

As I get used to this planner, I will post more about my journey of being more organized.

Planner Shopping

I am so anxious to get a planner. I do have one I purchased from my school bookstore however it doesn't have a monthly calendar and as I've been looking around, I just don't think it's enough. I've turned it into my Gratitude Journal since each day has a dedicated page.

I went into Indigo-Chapters to check out a Kate Spade planner. It only had the large size and it was the same thing at the Kate Spade store in the mall. While I like the general layout of it, I wasn't completely impressed. It's coiled and I can't move anything around.

I have 2 identical planners that are on their way to my house. They seem to be a good size based on the measurement provided on the website and they have binder rings. If the pages don't work, I can switch them out or make my own, no problem (other than wanting to use a heavier grade paper than regular computer paper).

On Sunday I'm going to Michaels with glee 😀 Me and My Big Ideas planners are now being sold in Canada through Michaels. I'm pretty sure this will meet my needs. I can move things around. I can customize it. I can change its size. The only thing I can't change is the vertical week layout. I don't know if I'll have enough space to write what I need. I won't know until I try it.

Missed Opportunities

I feel as if I had a missed opportunity and I really wish I had taken it.

I have the decent skill of singing and I enjoy it very much. I don't want to make my living at it, mind you but I do enjoy singing.  Unfortunately, I don't have as many opportunities as I did before.  Last night at my church, there was a Café Night, which contains musical performances, spoken word, dance, etc.  Someone asked me last night why I didn't sing.

My honest answer was no one had asked me. The thought never occurred to me to even ask if I could sing that night.  I had not actually had anything prepared.  I had a song in mind close to the end that I had done without accompaniment before but I also have the tendency not to always get the right key to start off on and generally it will end up being too high.

Despite all of that, I went home wishing that I had sung

In smaller pieces

I came to an understanding about myself as I finished washing the dishes.  I am better at doing small tasks than large projects.  This doesn't mean I can't do large project.  It just means I have to break the project down step by step and do then do all the steps.  I have a tendency to look at the big project, get overwhelmed and generally end up not doing anything which doesn't bode well for getting anything done.

I think this is why I really want to get a good planner going, and having it done exactly like how I want it done.  I'm going to try coming up with a few Gantt charts for the planner so at the very least, I can make a rough draft for whatever project I need to do and see what steps need to be taken.

On the Rails

Excited?  Definitely!  I went back to Ikea and got the proper rails I was looking for, Bygel Rail, and a couple more Bygel containers.  I kept my eye on the prize and did my best not to pay attention to anything else in the store.  I also stopped at Canadian Tire and got the proper screws since the rail doesn't actually come with them.  I was going to wait for my brother to help me but luckily my mom brought back some common sense into my head.

I put my bed together. 

I put my bookshelf together. 

I put my desk together. 

Why the heck do I need my brother to put a few screws into the wall?

It turned out great.  I probably should have measured it but I only have a tape measure which wouldn't even guarentee me a straight line, much less one parallel to the ground.  I eye balled it and it looks even to me.

I even added a few of my smaller plushies in the extra space on the rails. The top left bucket has Target from when I worked at Target.  I know his name is supposed to be Spot but now that's he's mine, it's Target. On the bottom rail are my 2 elephants from when I worked at Old Navy called Ella and Phanté and according to Ella's but, I've had them since 2006.

Research

Kinda apprehensive.  Kinda excited.  Kinda nervous  Kinda determined.  Why?  I want to do a lot better than I did last year for school and keep an upward momentum.  I believe a good plan can help with thatas well as a good planner.

In my previous post, I mentioned planner pages.  As much as I'd like to have a custom planner,  I don't have the equipment necesary at this time and I honestly don't believe I have the money to do it before the school year starts.  Therefore I have been looking online for the best planner that's affordable for me.

So far, I'm really liking the Kate Spade 2015 planner that I found on Indigo.  I read the reviews below and many people complained that the gold dots wore off very quickly.  If that's the only complaint, then it's not too much of a problem for me.  The one I preferred was the one with the black stripes across it.  The planner has the horizontal week to week section.  It seemed to me to be a hard find since most of the nicer planners I've seen online have the vertical day to day planner.  My writing takes up too much space for me to be able to use that properly.

While researching planners, a few things have popped out at me.  The Xyron and their sticker maker.  I want one so badly.  I found the sticker maker on Amazon (.com and .ca).  I also discovered the Sharpie Pens which can write washi tape.  On top of that, I saw saw tutorials on making stickers witha  regular printer and making post-it notes.  Put it this way, I have to find my way to Michael's or Walmart to get what is needed.

YouTube Videos that are inspiring me today:
- Alexis aka: MissTreenchcoat

Oh how I ♥ Ikea!

So...I bought a new desk from Ikea.  And it's about time too.  I've been living for 7 years using my bed or the kitchen table.

It's the Micke with Intergrated Storage.  The storage section is not the same size as the Expedit/Kallax shelving system unfortunately but it can hold some decent sized things.  I really do like it but it's only one part of getting this room and myself more organized. Since I've been watching many YouTube videos in regards to either planning or organizing, I also picked up these nifty Bygel containers.

I got 3 of them in white.  I opted out of the green since the walls are green as well and I think the white will stand out nicely.

I'm not ready to put of pictures just yet.  I puchased the incorrect....no, let's be more specific.  I picked up a drawer or door handle when I really wanted a towel rail to hang things off of.  So that has to go back to the store.  And since I'll be back at Ikea anyways, I can pick up the correct thing plus a few more and only spend a few more dollars.  Let's not go into the next Ikea trip I have planned to take in a couple of weeks or so.

There are ideas floating around my head to personalize this desk a bit more but that will have come at a later date.