dip N dollop

I've been scrapping using the Project Life method for about almost two months now, and I'm really enjoying it so far.  It's so much less work, and it's been much less expensive.  The only problem I've been having is that between work, school, taking care of my home, husband, and dogs, blogging and crafting, and visiting family, I don't necessarily have enough time every week to sit down and finish my layout for the week.  And if I get two or more weeks behind I tend to forget what happened that week, which kind of goes against the whole point of scrapping to remember what's happening.

Because I only use two different layout pages for my Project Life album right now, I decided that an easy way to keep track of what was going on was to make pretty planner pages that I could keep in my planner.  That way, when I got an hour or two free, I could sit down and pull out the planning pages, and scrap away.

I've been on a roll lately creating pages for my planner.  I see so many awesome ones online, but sometimes it's just fun to create something that's all my own.

This printable is a guide for a monthly budget.  It has one column for your anticipates monthly budget, and the other columns are for each month so you can keep track of how much in each category you are actually spending.

I have the perfect storm of a 4 bedroom new construction house, close proximity to three Goodwill stores, a love of the oops! paint section at Menards, and a Pinterest addiction that means at any given moment I have about a dozen different ideas for projects swimming around in my head.  Some of these ideas are in the germinating stage, some I have the items for but I haven't purchased, and some I even have the stuff for and I'm midway through completing the actual project!  I thought Pinterest might be a good way to keep track of my crafts and ideas, but all that's really accomplishing is inspiring more crafts and projects.  What that's doing is making the inside of my head appear like a scary attic in some 1800's house that's dusty and cluttered and has crap lying all over the place.

I wanted a way to keep track of these projects, what I have purchased for them and what I still need to purchase, and even more, what steps I've taken and what still needs to be done.  I figured a great place to keep track of this would be in my planner, which is somewhat like a third arm to me.  If I lose it, I'm so toast.

I found a printable from Perideau Designs that was for "My Next Project."

Source

So earlier this week, I shared that one of my goals is to become more organized in 2013.  Knowing myself, I know that if I have things written down and organized in one convenient location it makes things much easier for me to recall.  I knew I wanted a planner, but I didn't want an "assignment notebook" type planner, even though schoolwork is one of the things I need to keep track of.  I wanted something that could keep track of homework, housework, doctor's appointments, work commitments, Husband's schedules, family obligations, the blog, my budget, household projects, and my Project Life goal.  I wanted a life planner.

After researching and blog stalking, I was introduced to the M by Staples Arc Discbound system.  Similar to creating your own notebook, but way better.  I loved how creative I could get with it and how pretty I could make things.

There are tons of printables online created by some amazingly talented women, and I looked through them to find the one that was best for me.  A lot of them are oriented around planning for families.  They have sections for menus, and the kids, and stuff that I just don't use.  Then I found the super-adorable Peek at the Week planner printable from Jen over at IHeart Organizing.  I loved the colors, the space for a shopping list, and the space for notes.  She has a spot for a menu, but it's pretty small so it doesn't waste a lot of space for me.  Most of all, I loved the layout she had.  I've been in to blues and yellows lately, so I decided to create my own weekly page based off of Jen's.  Then I thought, why not share it here?  This is the first time I've ever done a printable, so any feedback is totally welcome.