My kids are out of school again today (it’s Friday, when I’m writing this.)
They haven’t had a full week of school since (wait for it) the week of December 12th. And their next full week of school will be (wait for it) the week of February 6th, 2017. Yep, almost two solid months part-time school.
I think I might give homeschooling a shot since they are here all the time anyway. (Not really. That would be scary. For me and for them.)
But, all of this time off has created a crazy schedule for all of us. So here are the things that I love to keep us all organized and my office area fun.
1. Papermate Ink Joy Gel Pens.
Yes. I realize these pens are expensive.
Yes. I realize I could use cheap BIC Crystal Pens or even better, some random pen I found at a restaurant.
Yes. I realize that when I sign my name in purple people wonder if I’m a third-grader.
BUT I DON’T CARE.
About three-years ago, I decided I would have colorful office supplies because they make me happy. They would be mine. I would not share. And if anyone tried to borrow them or make fun of me, they would receive the COLD STARE OF DEATH that would make Darth Vader afraid.
My current pen crush … Papermate Ink Joy Gel Pens.
I love them because they have awesome color names, like Pink Pop, Red Rush, Orange Rise, Yellow Twirl, Lime Light, Luscious Green, Teal Zeal, Bright Blue Bliss, Slate Blue Spin, Pure Blue Joy, Charming Purple, Wild Berry, and Cocoa Delight.
I love them because they don’t bleed through the paper and they don’t smudge all over my hand.
I love them because they never spaz out and quit writing leaving me to shake, scribble, or swear to get them to write again.
I love them because it is more fun to sign a release, write a check, make a to-do, or fill out an order form, with “Lime Light” than it is “Random Black Pen”.
But mostly, I love them because they are fun. Yep, I am a third-grader at heart.
1. Weekly Planner.
This year we (and by we, I mean Hubs) made the decision that our entire family’s calendar needed to be on Google Calendar.
This was a HUGE transition for me because I had been an Erin Condren Calendar Girl forever. I liked being able to write things down and see them written down. I needed a visual reminder.
But I realized that I needed to transition because a written calendar works well and good as long as you communicate with your husband all.the.time about said calendar.
(And by all the time, I mean remind him multiple times about one event, like picking up the kids from school on a Tuesday.)
As the kids started doing more and more activities, this remembering and reminding became increasingly hard. (And as you guessed, I was in charge of not only my calendar, but the kid’s calendars too.)
So, this year, I gave in and went with Google.
And everything was working fine for THEM, but I was missing appointments. I’d either get a notification too far in advance and blow it off or get one right before and have a panic attack trying to rush so I wouldn’t miss it.
I was about ready to throw in the towel when my solution showed up in the Target Dollar Spot…a weekly planner.
Yes, for $3 I was able to look at my Google calendar on Sunday night, write down my appointments for the week on my planner, and as well as a to-do list. It was a win-win. Hubs knew what was going on and I didn’t have to remind him four times to do something, plus I quit missing appointments because I had a visual reminder.
My Dollar Spot calendar isn’t available anymore, but I was able to find this one and this one on Amazon for about the same price. Plus, if I’m honest, this BLOOM one would be super perfect because it has a bigger area to write notes and to-dos.
Yes, I would totally get the BLOOM one next year. More color. More room for doodles. Yep, still a third-grader.
3. Mead Five-Star Notebooks
I’ve been using the Mead Five-Star 6 x 9.5″ Notebooks for several years now.
The are the perfect size for an inspiration book (aka … pictures I find in a decor magazine, recipes I want to try, tidbits about other things that interest to me). I clip articles out of the magazine, use a glue stick and plop it into my book. Plus, the paper is thick enough that there isn’t any bleeding to other pages.
They are also the perfect size for writing long-term to-do lists or managing projects (which I do quite a bit with for work … lots of balls up in the air.)
I am drawn to them because they are smaller than a typical wire-bound notebooks, the pages never get stuck or the wire-binding never bends out of whack – making it hard to turn pages, and they have a bad-ass hard plastic cover that helps the paper stay nice and flat and not get turned edges.
(All of these things are very important to me if you haven’t noticed.)
Plus, you can pick them up for $2.50 at most Target, Staples, Walmart, or Office Depot. So it’s super easy to buy a new one when you want/need it.
Oh, and did I mention they come in fun colors like above.
Yep, I will always be a third-grader at heart.
Anyone else have fun office supply crushes? Are there must haves you need to keep your family organized?
Also This Week:
- What I’m Watching
- What I’m Eating (especially on steel coat oats)
- What I’m Reading
- What I Keep Reminding Myself Of
- What I Bought To Put On My Bed
See past editions of I LOVE These Things.
