Out with the old ...

and in with the new ...errr ... umm  ...older.

I love new calendars, diaries and planners setting it all up, writing it all out on the crisp new pages.
Though since back when I stopped working full time my diary always looses momentum by mid year and gets forgotten about again until Dec, when I remember I wrote some notes in there last Dec about what cards were put away for the kids to give out and how long it takes to build the Christmas tree.

A calendar has become more important to us in recent years with Children's activity to jot in, all the appointments, work Schedules etc too. My favourite type for this is one with a line for each person and a pocket at the bottom to put the invites, business cards etc in, one with a magnet holder to pop it up on the side of the fridge where we can both easily see and access it.

This year, due in part to my run down, tired, disorganised self with a sick family in Dec and then the knowledge I would pay much less for my Calendar in Jan, I missed out on my prefered style. Eeek!

We needed one, I had been late for work Sunday not having written my roster on the Calendar.

Suddenly as I pondered my dilemma, as a creature of habit, it all came together for me. Which is interesting as I would have gone with the same old had it been available but forced outside my comfort zone made me consider alternatives more thoroughly.

I don't like my Diary not working for me, when I had my planner as a full time working, free time out side work hours girl it was with me most times as an essential item. As a mum at home it was discarded as un necessary.

 

So on Sunday I bought a simple calendar; a calendar printed on recycled paper with soy ink. Its sweet images reminiscent of an era gone by one that I seem to emulate in so many things I try to do in our home. Seeing 'Dick and Jane' illustrations as I walk by the fridge has some bizarre calming effect on me. I had realised I could remove the magnetic hanger from the old one and use the new one quite conveniently with it.

I splurged and ordered some binder refills too, not the elaborate one day two pages style I had as an assistant manager of a retail outlet with a multi million dollar turnover. One page one day, month summaries, alphabet tabs and notepaper. All I need to have with me as a mum.

In this lovely well used, softened by that use, leather binder I have pockets for invites, a spot for a pen, business cards, bits of inspiration ... library cards ... whatever I want. There is a ziplock plastic pocket and I'm fairly sure there is a plastic photo sleeve around here somewhere that I'll find to pop in there too.

This will become my work centre that my calendar was, keep my diary in use, a place to keep all those lists, an address book thats always on hand.

It has inspired me to downsize my current purse as these days I mainly just use the gorgeous one that Kylie from Threads of Friendship made for me, but still keep my old big bulky one in my bag with the stuff I don't always need in it ... like library cards for example.

Ultimately I spent quite a bit more on this that what I would have buying a new diary that I wasn't really happy with. I do see it at this stage as an investment and I guess its a 2010 experiment too. So here sits binder shortly before I dusted it off. Waiting now for my refills. Looking forward to setting it all up and feeling organised once again. Also looking forward to seeing if as an 'Organised Home maker' I used it as I did when I was a busy retail manager.