7 Ways A Planner Will Organize Your Life

If you don't use a planner to organize your life, then you are missing out! Here's why....

I love planners! Honestly, I don't know how anyone manages to stay organized without them. For as long as I can remember (I think my obsession started in junior high), I have always used some sort of planner. The ones I used were the small calendars, but once I upgraded to a bigger planner (horizontal), I never looked back. It's amazing the difference it makes in keeping me organized  and if you're not already using a planner to organize your life, here are 7 reasons why you should:

 7 Ways a Planner Will Organize Your Life

1. A planner will help you remember your appointments

Most doctor's appointments and dentist appointments are made well in advance (especially for my kids) as well as hair appointments for all of us. My planner helps keep track of these appointments so I am less likely to forget them. 

2. A planner helps keep track of work commitments

As a blogger, I have various commitments that are all due at different times. I keep my blogging schedule in my planner and I have recently started a twitter schedule  that I also keep in my planner. My planner helps me keep track of all these things do that I don't miss a deadline.

3. No more belated birthday wishes

I love how Facebook often reminds of everyone's birthday but what happens when I don't log into Facebook that day? Because of this I have probably sent just as many belated birthday wishes as regular wishes. So, if it's in my planner I can see it in advance and send the birthday card on time or even early.

4. Keep various school activities and events straight

Using my planner for all of daughter's school activities was a life saver this school year. From school pictures, to field trips, to the last day of school, everything was in my planner. I even had her school lunch menu in there as well. 

5. Pay bills

Using my planner for bill payments is an absolute must for me. All of our bills are due on different days so it's nice to be able to check my planner and know what amount is being paid, to who it's being paid to, and on what days. Believe it's useful.

6. Remember past events

I have serious mommy brain and sometimes I can barley remember what I had for dinner the night before much less what year it was that certain events happened. I've saved all of my old planners because they have become like mini diaries to me. It's fun to look up certain things (like my second pregnancy) and reminisce about them.   

7. Piece of mind

There's something about being organized that just brings piece of mind. You don't have to try to remember a million different things because you can open your planner and it's all right there in front of you. Having a planner really makes life in general so much easier. 

How do you organize your life using a planner? 

What To Do When You Are Not Getting Enough Sleep

Raise your hand if are getting enough sleep! Crickets right? I figured! The truth is most people do not get nearly enough sleep. Myself included.

Backstory:

I have a toddler who does not sleep through the night, which means that I am up with her usually 2-3 times almost every night. She goes to bed around 730pm, my oldest goes to bed around 830pm and I try to go to bed around 11pm. This means that two hours after I go to bed then my toddler wakes for the the first time that night. It then takes 1-2 hours to get her back to sleep. This repeats until about 7am the next morning. So this means that I usually get maybe, if i am lucky 1-2 hours of sleep every night. However, there the occasional nights where she does sleep through the night, but let me remind that these night a few and far between.

Because of my lack of sleep I decided to research ways in which I can get more sleep. Here's what I have found to be the most helpful:

What To Do When You Aren't Getting Enough Sleep

In my research I have found that taking a catnap in the early afternoon will make for some of the sleep that is lost at night. They key is to make the catnap brief, by doing this it will improve your alertness, performance, and mood. The short afternoon nap can make up for the loss of one hour of nighttime sleep.

1. Do not nap after dark 

This can trick the body clock into thinking we're down for the night, making it harder to shake off the sleepiness when we wake up. This is somewhat challenging in the short days of December, especially for those who in are a place like Seattle, where the sunset can come as early as 4:18 p.m. 

2. Power up your power nap

Try drinking your post-lunch espresso immediately before you're scheduled to nap. A nap can help clear the brain of the sleep-inducing compound adenosine and gives the coffee just enough time to kick in.

3. Don't over indulge

As most of us know from experience, 10 to 20 minutes hits the sweet spot. Research shows that hat anything longer can put us into the deeper stages of REM sleep—that's when we wake up with a bad case of "sleep inertia," the clinical term for that groggy, where-am-I? sense that makes us feel even worse than we did before we closed our eyes. So, this means that severely sleep deprived may only want limit naptime to only 10 sweet minutes. 

4. Give in to an early bedtime

On those nights when we can barely keep our eyes open it is important to try and go to bed an earlier. A consistent bedtime is important to feeling well-rested, so tuck in early if you must, but don't even think of touching that snooze button. 

What are some tips that you might have to get enough sleep?

Note: Information taken from the following website. http://www.oprah.com/health/how-to-make-up-for-lack-of-sleep-sleep-deprivation-tips#ixzz554ewSj9f

My Laundry Routine

Hi Lovelies! 

Today I wanted to talk about my laundry routine. Grab some coffee, relax, and enjoy!

Laundry is my nemesis. I battle against it every single day and most times it a losing battle. It just keeps coming back and never ends. Never. Never. Never. 

There are several different ways for managing laundry and believe me I have tried all of them. It has taken me years to finally figure out a system that works for my family. 

I try to wash one load a day. Usually this means that I have a mixed load which usually works out great. Now sometimes this works great and other times it doesn't work so well at all. I mean that I wash my one load a day, but the load just sits in the basket for days at a time. And while it's sitting there, usually 6 loads are piled on top of the first one which then equals me having to rummage through the clothes whenever we need something to wear. Then when this routine gets old, I then find the time to fold all of the clothes which usually takes me up to 2 hours to complete. 

As you can see, I am working on the folding part of the laundry routine. We will get there with time. 

Another key to my laundry routine is that I try to the process the night before by gathering all of the clothes at night and then putting them in the washer. This way I get a jump start on my morning routine. 

Like I said, this is still a work in progress and I plan on having this routine down as soon as possible.

Do you have a laundry routine?

30 Things To Do During Our New Normal

I get it. This whole being at home all the time isn't the ideal situation for many people, but we might as well make the most of it, right?

Today's post is all about things to do during this crazy time. Enjoy, spend time with your family, and just make the best of this time.

30 Things To Do During Our New Normal

1. Try out a new skin care  routine

2. Read a new book

3. Walk outside for 30 minutes

4. Put together a 1,000 piece puzzle

5. Start and finish a television series (my favorites are The Walking Dead, Gilmore Girls, and How I Met Your Mother)

6. Try a new exercise that's out of your comfort zone

7. Facetime with a different friend each time

8. Cook a new recipe, learn how to meal prep

9. Have a dance party. This is essential

10.  Listen to an uplifting podcast

11. Start a journal or blog

12. Go through old pictures and share those memories with family and friends

13. Write an actual letter and mail it to a loved one

14. Clean out your closet

15. Or just clean out all the rooms in your house

16. Take a really long bubble bath and don't even feel bad about it

17. Maybe even have a glass of wine with long bubble bath

18. Have a game night

19. Start a garden, mow your lawn, pull weeds, just get outside

20. Rearrange furniture in a room to make it feel like a new space

21. Download a meditation app and use it

22. Bake cookies

23. Declutter your make-up drawer

24. Take a virtual tour (museums, parks, etc)

25. Start planning a vacation

26. Grab take out and make a buffet spread at home

27. Deep clean your fridge

28. Host a virtual Netflix watch party with your friends

29. Have a picnic outside (weather permitting)

30. Learn a new skill

Remember, we are all in this together! Stay home because it saves lives!

Interesting Facts About the Month of April

Hi Lovelies!

Since I am trying to avoid the news right now (mainly for my sanity) I thought I would share some interesting facts about April.

Interesting Facts About the month of April:

1. The birthstone for April is the diamond.

2. The zodiac signs for April are Aries (March 21 - April 19) and Taurus (April 20 - May 20).

3. The birth flower of April is typically the Sweet Pea or the Daisy.

4. Global Child Nutrition Month

5. Humor Month

6. Mathematics Awareness Month

7. The Revolutionary War in America began on April 19, 1775.

8. April 23rd is known as the Feast day of the Patron Saint of England.

9. On April 30, 1975, General Duong Vanh Minh surrendered and the Communist forces captured Saigon which led to the end of the Vietnam War.

10. On April 4, 1818, a flag that contained 1 star for each state and 13 stripes was adopted by Congress.

11. In Fayette, N.Y. on April 6, 1830, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was founded by Joseph Smith.

12. On April 6, 1917 the United States declared war on Germany in World War I.

13. On April 4, 1949, the North Atlantic Treaty was signed.

14. On April 11, 1814, Napoleon Bonaparte was exiled to the island of Elba and he was abdicated as Emperor of the French.

5 Tips For Getting Up Earlier

Getting up earlier isn’t all about getting more done, sometimes it’s about just sitting and reading or listening in quiet or drinking a cup of coffee at the dining room table by myself.  Some days it’s going for a walk around the block and returning before everyone is awake, working on the day’s cleaning tasks, and other days it’s getting caught up on some emails or working on a blog post.  Take the time to journal, plan in your planner, or even work your devotions.  Whatever isn’t getting time during the day, make it your purpose to get up earlier so you can do it.

5 Tips for Getting Up Earlier

1. Start the evening before.  Making this a good, sustainable habit begins the night before. I recommend a clean kitchen at night as one of the things that really makes getting up earlier a little easier.  Why?  You won’t have to wake up to a mess from the day before – you’ve already reset your kitchen.  This is a huge component in keeping up with this habit because you aren’t waking up to work.  You’re waking up to do something that will make your day run more smoothly.

2. Turn off the screens.  Turning off phones and computers and televisions a little earlier is the best way to get yourself ready for bed.  Stop sleeping with your phone – the EMFs (electro and magnetic fields) aren’t good for you and it messes with your natural body rhythms. Get an old-fashioned alarm clock and use that instead of your phone.

3. Go to bed when you’re tired.  Stop fighting through the tiredness and just go to bed. If you are used to staying up late, try going to bed earlier and see how you feel.  See if it makes a difference in your day.  Everyone needs to sleep but everyone’s perfect amount of sleep is different.  Make your goal 6-8 hours and experiment to find what amount makes you feel the best during the day.

4. Get your morning drink going.  Coffee, lemon water, a smoothie, tea – whatever you drink first thing in the morning, get that going.  While I’m waiting for my coffee to brew I empty the dish drainer that sits on my counter by the sink.  This is a small, but integral step in starting the day off well because the sink and drainer are empty and ready for dishes.

5. Start small.  If you want to get up at 5 am but you’re getting up at 7am, don’t just jump into the two hour time difference.  Set your alarm for 6am for a week or so and go to bed earlier.  When you’re ready to make the adjustment to 5am work in 15-30 minute increments over a week or two.  If you like the results, keep going to bed a little earlier and waking up earlier until you’ve formed this habit.

 What are some your tips for getting up earlier in the morning? Please share you tips in the comments below!

April 2020 Goals

Well, it's finally April, which means Spring is here. That means it's time to set some new goals. Now, this months goals are going to look a tad different from last month's goals due to circumstances that we cannot control. Everything and everyone is pretty much on lockdown until the end of the month.

Enough about that, let's get into this month's goals!

 

1. Read at least one book (or even 2). I have two books saved on my phone that I am reading at the moment plus I am re-reading Flowers in the Attic and Petals on the Wind ( I love these two books!). Hopefully I can get through these this month. I mean there isn't much to do right now since my town is pretty much on lockdown (shelter at home orders were given March 31st.)

2. Work editorial calendar Spring content.

3. Schedule blog posts for this month

4. Post more consistently on instagram and learn how to do insta-stories.

5. Set up a twitter account for my blog

6. Schedule posts for my Facebook page and update it more often.

7. Drink more water.

8. Find some virtual tours for the kids (museums, parks,etc.)

9. Spend some time outside so we don't go stir crazy staying inside all day every day.

10. Try not to stress over what I cannot control.

11. Figure out and implement a new schedule for all of us. 

What some of your goals for April? Please share in the comments below!