O Planner, My Planner: How I got sucked into the Discbound Planner World (and I LOVE it!)

I have always been a big fan of having a planner. I like being organized and seeing everything in front of me. I also like to make my planners colorful and put things in them that make me happy since I look at it every day. 

My planner is an awesome discbound system. I use a combination of Staples Arc and Levenger brands with a little bit from various Etsy shops thrown in. I have decorated nearly every page with washi tape and colored gel pens and have made it uniquely my own. I even have a planner band and several ribbon paperclips for each one.

I have several of these notebooks that I have made:

My planner (full size)
My address/contact book (junior size)
My household binder (full size)
My journal (one full size for doodles and drawing, etc., one junior size for writing)

I bought a starter pack that has all sorts of goodies in it, then I went and bought more of these:  

Poly-zip pouch letter size
Poly-zip pouch junior size
Dividers letter size(black) (colored)  
Dividers junior size (black) (colored)   
Dual Pocket dividers letter size
Dual Pocket dividers junior size

My main calendar planner is a full letter size and has the following in it: 

Zip pouch for pens and stickers and sticky notes, etc.

Cover page, which I designed with a little help from my husband
Personal Info page

Dual Pocket divider folder
Misc Lists

Weekly Weather page
Yearly Overview
Family Birthday list organized by month
General Daily Schedule by day
Top 3 To Dos Planning Sheet
Short Term Goal Planning Sheet
Long Term Goal Planning Sheet
Day Trip Planner Sheet

To Do Lists (different from the previous lists)

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Monthly/Weekly Calendar (I ordered it from Staples, but I think I can make my own next year)

Cheat Sheet of Kids’ Friends Contact Info 

Family Phone/Addresses

Lined Paper
Divider

Cloud Stationery

Graph Paper

Dual Pocket divider folder
Back cover

This is my main notebook. I have several random calendars around the house since we’re working on days of the week and months of the year and stuff like that with the boys, and I LIKE having calendars around too. 

My address/contact book is a junior size notebook and has: 

Zip Pouch for pens

Dual Pocket divider folder

Lined Paper
Divider

To Do list

Grocery Lists

Divider

Family Contacts with ICE contacts in front, then arranged alphabetically
Divider
Church Contacts in alphabetical order
Divider
Local Friends/Contacts in alphabetical order
Divider
Distant Friends in alphabetical order

Blank contact forms

On each contact form, I have name, phone numbers, mailing and physical addresses, whether or not they have social media, birthday, email, and website on the front. On the back, I put Kids’ names and birthdays, Spouse name and birthday, how I know them, Anniversary, pets, and info such as allergies, favorite foods, jobs, and stuff like that. 

My household binder is huge (letter size) and it has all sorts of goodies in it: 
Contact info

Emergency Binder Checklist
Declutter Checklist
Master Room by Room Cleaning List
Detailed Yearly Cleaning Checklist for each room in my home
Indoor Home Maintenance Checklist
Outdoor Home Maintenance Checklist
Weekly Monthly Cleaning Schedule
Notes
Divider
Master Daily Chores Checklist
Master Weekly/Monthly/Quarterly/Yearly Checklists for each room
Detailed Spring Cleaning Checklist
Detailed Fall Cleaning Checklist
Preparing for Guests Checklist
Divider
Laundry Stain Removal Chart Master 
Divider
Family Disaster Plan from redcross.org (summary)
Family Disaster Plan (from University of Missouri Extension): 
    Family Members
    Household Information
    Emergency Numbers
    Vehicle Information
    Insurance Information
    Utilities Providers
    Family/Friends/Neighbors
    Out of Area Contacts
    Designated Emergency Meeting Locations
    Important Notes/Procedures
    Household Insurance
    Household Inventory
    Family Assets
    Home Layout/Diagrams
    Detailed Information on Family Members
    Pets
First Aid/CPR/AED Reference (from American Red Cross)
3 Day Emergency Supply Checklist
First Aid Kit Checklist
NOAA Weather Radio information
Local Map
List of Local Motels/Hotels/Lodging

Divider Folder with copies of all important documents
Birth Certificates, Drivers Licenses, SS Cards, Shot Records, Title/Purchaser info for the car, Deed/Loan information for the house, pet medical records, life insurance policy, health insurance cards, car insurance cards, stock broker info, other important financial documents, etc. 
Divider
Gift Tracker for things I’ve bought for people

Divider
Kids’ Classmate Contact Info
School Information
School Schedule
Reading Lists
Notes

Divider
Important Info/Emergency Contacts 
Account Information/Usernames/Passwords, etc.

Home Business information
Coworker Contacts

Monthly Bill Organizer

Divider
Weekly Meal Planner
Freezer Inventory
Pantry Inventory
Shopping Lists

Divider
Health Expense Tracker
Donations Tracker
Crafts/Ideas
Preschool Activities

Divider
Various blank sheets of paper

The household binder is color coded: red for school, orange for accounts, yellow for cleaning, green for meals/inventory, blue for lists.

My various journals (full and junior sized) have various kinds of paper in them- graph paper, dot paper, lined paper, blank paper, colored paper, stationery, etc. - for whatever may strike my fancy at that moment. 

I have the Circa portable punch so I can punch whatever kind of paper I want, whether blank or a handout or anything, really. 

I use my planner in combination with my file system (see post HERE). Basically, I have a file folder for every day and each morning, I check it for any papers I need for that day. I use it for my cleaning checklists, preschool papers, notes to myself, lists, bills, cards I need to mail, fliers from events, etc. etc. etc. 

I have my planner splayed out on my reclaimed kitchen cart so that my husband and I can glance at it whenever we need to. I’ve asked him to write things in the calendar as they pop up. The things in there are color coordinated and I have specific stickers for various things that need a little extra attention. 
I write in the planner with different colors for different things to save space. For instance, pink for family, red for youngest son, orange for oldest son, yellow for birthdays & anniversaries, green for husband, light blue for me, dark blue for community events, purple for church events, silver for silly holidays, and black for organization & tasks. The events I have stickers for are: 
Dog heartworm pill
Church events
Car maintenance
Dentist
No School days
Special School Event
Music Lessons
Local concerts
Period tracker
Doctor visits
Playgroup
Parties
Birthdays/Anniversaries
Library books due
Weather tracker
Astronomical events
Special holidays
Fish tank maintenance

I feel so organized. I can find everything I need. I have every upcoming event planned out. I check my planner and my files every day when I first walk into the kitchen so I can be prepared for the day. It’s still a new system so it’s a bit of a work in progress, but we are definitely getting the hang of it. 

Do you have a family calendar?