Quick Tip: Cute Cord Labels

Our cords have some identity problems.  Wait, scratch that.  A certain little man should be locked up for snatching.  It seems every time I go to grab a charger cord, it has gone missing.  Little stinker.

We have a few good cord organizing systems... for most, we have charging stations where the cords stay put.  And for the others, I keep them stashed away in organized boxes I DIY'd awhile back.

The box works great for keeping those extra cords stored neatly away when it comes to the electronics we don't use on a daily basis {also keeping workspaces clutter free}.  However, for the cords that we travel with or that get moved around the home, sometimes it is a challenge to keep them order and know which cord belongs to which family member.  Especially when there are five people with similar electronics and devices.

Two of my favorite organizing products solved that problem in a jif!

Pretty washi tape combined with my handy label maker and now there is no question what the cord is for.

To make this awesomeness happen, I just wrapped the Washi tape around the cord and printed a label with my label maker onto clear label maker tape.  Then, I placed the label onto the Washi tape and done! 

For the cords that are mine, I made sure to use pretty flower tape, that way, my little youngster will hopefully avoid "mistakenly" grabbing mom's cords.

And for him.... I made it as clear as possible.

And, it's cute!  I thought I would be bothered by extra labels/tags on my cords, but I sorta love it!

Super quick, super easy and super effective!

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My 2013 Daily Planner!

This year I decided to stick with regular Jen fashion and create my own daily planner vs. scouring online shops and stores until I found the one that fits my daily needs perfectly. 

I have tried all sorts of different planners and I often switch things up from year to year since our needs are always changing.  Last year, I decided to go the digital route, but I found that I was less organized than usual with our daily schedules and planning.  I would go into the calendar to input dates, but it wasn't my cup of tea when it came time to do my weekly planning and look at my Day at a Glance.

What can I say, I simply like to write things down, carry my planner, and be able to open it up and jot goals and notes and meal plans all on one happy and colorful place. 

So, I created a 2013 planner pages printable, which you can find in my Etsy shop here.

Here is a look at what the printable includes:

Personalized Planner Cover

Special Dates Page

12 Dated Monthly Calendar Pages

52 Weeks of Daily Dated Pages

Notes Page

Weekly Meal Planning & Grocery Shopping Page

The pages can be printed {I have them set up to easily print front/back duplex style}, and used within a binder, professional bound {like I did with my blog planner}, or used with the Discbound system from Staples, which is what I ultimately went with.

Ready to see her all up close and personal?

As I mentioned, I decided to ultimately go with the Discbound system {found at Staples}.  You all actually introduced it to me and thought it would be something that would tickle my fancy, and boy have I been smitten since!  So THANK YOU!  I love that I can easily mix and match items to insert, reuse everything from year to year and just swap out pages that need updating, and basically customize it to fit my personal needs!  LOVE doesn't begin to describe it.  New baseball schedule?  Just punch it and pop it in!  Mess up a page?  Just reprint and pop it in!  Special notes and reminders?  Punch and pop.  Fantastic.  And I also adore that it makes it smaller than the typical binder. 

Inside the cover makes me grin ear to ear every time I open it!

On the left, I have color coded stickers, a sticky note pad for quick note jotting, calendar stickers, page tabs and some of my business cards.

And on the right is my coversheet, which I laminated like a pro....

Inside, there is a clear pocket to hold things such as important notes, birthday cards, invites, etc... along with our Special Dates printable.

I used sticky tabs combined with my label maker to divide each month.

And decided I would try the color coding method, so each family gets a special color inside.

Behind the monthly calendar, is where the magic really happens.  I printed everything two sided to save paper and for ease of use.  So, the next pages are a side by side view of the entire week:

Each week is pre-labeled with the specific dates.

And since we are big meal planners, I wanted to jot down the meals for the week inside each day.

On the other side, I included a spot to set some goals/to dos for the week.

And in the back, I printed off a bunch of blank note pages since I am always thinking up things that need a place to live.

Oooh la la lovely right?  Keeping a family of five on the same page can be a challenge, so here is hoping this planner will act as our glue this year.  And all of the colors keep me excited to clutch it day after day!

Cheers to the New Year and happy planning!!

Personalized blog planner printable pages can be found in my Etsy shop here.

Updated Planner FAQ's:

• The paper I printed on is standard letter size, 8 1/2" x 11.  98 bright & 32 lb from Staples.
• When printing, be sure to print a few test pages ahead of time to be sure to understand your printer setup.  Unfortunately, every printer is different and has different settings and options.  What worked best for ours was to select "double sided printing" and to be sure that the "Auto Rotate Pages" box was selected since some are portrait and others are landscape.  Our printer settings allows us to print different page sizes, but it requires us to feed the paper of that size in manually.  
• The pages are designed to be printed on standard letter 8.5" x 11" paper.  The files are in PDF format which open best with Adobe Reader which can be downloaded for free here.
• Here is the link to the binder cover I purchased {I removed the sheets from the inside and replaced with my own}.
• Here is the link to the discbound paper punch I purchased and used {yes, it is compatible with both the Martha Stewart discbound system and the Staples Arc system}.  A reader mentioned that a less expensive option that also worked for her was this Levenger punch.
• Here is the link to the notepad in the front cover.
• Here is the link to the sticky tabs.
• Here is the link to the calendar stickers.
• I use Papermate Flair Porous Ultra Fine Point pens and I love them.  Great writing and no bleeding.  
•  Since I plan on reusing the cover year after year, the title was added with vinyl I cut with my Silhouette {the vinyl can be removed}.
• The planner is 129 pages of prefilled dates/calendars.  Plus a Special Dates, Notes & Meal Planning doc.  I printed double sided so I used half that in paper.
• Staples does offer a printing service and binding service {or you can print at home and just have staples bind it for you}.  You would have to contact your local Staples to confirm their services as they may vary from store to store.
• Here is the link to my label maker.
• In the front cover, the stickers slide into the pouch and the notepad was originally stuck there, but didn't stay so I may try a command strip to hold it better.
• I am not affiliated with Staples in any way to share their services/items, I went there based on your recommendations and my love for the Martha Stewart line.

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Preston's Bedroom Update: A DIY Chalkboard Calendar

Although many of the plans for Preston's room have evolved and changed along the way, the one thing we knew for sure was that we wanted to bring in a large calendar. 

Preston is growing and all of the sudden he has this thing called "a life".  Practices, school activities, sleepovers and study nights.  Sometimes it is hard for both of us to keep up with it!

I keep a family schedule in a central location, and it's the first place Preston goes to look every night after school, or else it is just a daily, "Mom, what are we doing tonight?". 

The hope is that by giving Preston his own calendar, I can write in family obligations and his practice schedules and then he can write in his due dates, tests and plans with his friends.

Preston and I both really liked this version from PBteen, but I didn't love the $70 price tag for a large piece of vinyl...

So, we did what we do best, we made our own version.

I started out with a piece of MDF we had leftover from previous projects, along with a few pieces of oak wood strips found at Home Depot.

Following the directions on the cans, I gave the wood strips a couple coats of stain and the MDF board a few coats of the chalkboard paint. {Those iphone photos were accidentally deleted, boo.}

Once everything was cured and dry, it was time to create the calendar grid.

It helped by drawing a small quick version of the calendar on a nearby scrap piece of paper, along with measurements, so that once we started drawing on the chalkboard with a ruler and pencil, we were confident about our markings.

For the lines themselves, I found a white Sharpie paint pen on Amazon.  The pen would help me paint the perfect lines on the chalkboard {I have since seen a similar pen at Michaels}.

By painting the lines with a paint pen, the calendar can be updated month after month and then wiped away without the lines going away with the schedule.

Next step was to attach the trim pieces to the outside of the calendar with our brad nailer.  It was important to draw the grid prior to adding the trim boarder, so that the yard stick could lay flat.

To hang the calendar, we attached picture hanging loops and wire to the back {using a kit similar to this one}.  Oh, and we quickly primed the calendar with a piece of chalk too.  Isn't the finished product a beautiful piece of work!?!

Once the calendar was on the wall, I thought it would be fun to bring in a few of the colors from the room by adding vinyl lettering for the days of the week.

Then I got to work with the chalk and chalk pen to add a bunch of special dates and reminders to the calendar.  That way, I could surprise Preston with the finished product before he arrived home from school.

So much fun!

I wiped the board down a few times {I like to use a damp microfiber sponge to erase}, and it always washes up nice and clean and the lines stay nice and crisp!

Not only do I adore the functionality of it, but I also love the addition it made to the room!  It was a great way to begin filling the big empty wall.

We thought about adding a chalk holder {an upside-down cup drawer pull}, however, for now, the chalk just rests on the ledge...

To say that we all love it is an understatement!  And the best part of course is that Preston is enjoying it and can draw and add his own items as well.

Now, only time will tell if this keeps him more organized throughout the school year with all of his obligations and social life...  I think that it is fun enough that he will want to keep up with it.

Since we already had the MDF, chalk paint and stain on hand, the only cost to us was the trim so we came in far below the inspiration budget.  And it's not just vinyl!  Love.

What high end item have you been inspired by, that you DIY'd and saved some major moolah? 

Want to see more updates we have made to this tween boy bedroom?  We painted the dresser, the nightstand, some stripes on his curtains and DIYd a pendant light.

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My Daily Blog Planner

Funny little confession for ya to start out this Monday, "I write an organizing blog and my blog isn't all that organized."

It's true.  And it makes me all crazy inside. 

So I finally decided to do something about it!  It is my job after all!

I have all these big kid plans of fixing up my site, updating my project gallery, keeping an editorial calendar, expanding my shop and eventually growing a business.... the problem is, that there are so many branches to what I do each day, that it can be overwhelming to keep it all straight.

So, I find myself coming up with all sorts of ideas.  Great light bulb moment ideas.  And grabbing my closest notebook to jot them down. Then the next day, I may grab a post it.  And another day I may make a note on my iPhone.  Then, before you know it, I don't have a clue where any of those ideas I had are... and then writers block sets in, and then I don't post for three days...  boo.

And it is true, I will admit.  I have had lists and lists of post ideas and then it comes time to post and I can't come up with a thing... any other bloggers out there been in that situation?  It's not a fun feeling.

I decided that in order for me to be a better blogger, I needed to solve my little problem, and pronto!

So, I did what I love to do.  I created some organizing bloggy printables:

The printables were a place where I could keep track of all those different areas of my blog life.  A place to jot down ideas for future shop items, a place to keep track of all the home projects we want to tackle and share, and place to keep note of website enhancements that need to take place and ways I want to expand my branding and client services.  One happy place for all of my super exciting ideas.  I could finally hold myself accountable!

I printed out the lovely colorful pages and popped them into a binder.

Many of you may wonder why I don't go digital with these types of things and there are a few simple reasons. 

• I like to have the ability to carry my lists with me, in the car, by my bedside, at my desk, at the park with the kids.  Anywhere I go, I want the ability to access my items.  
• I can't stand managing tasks on small screens.  I know I can carry my phone with me, but to manage all of my different tasks and ideas on a small screen isn't my cup of tea {I use it for my family calendar, but that is about it}.
• I haven't found a digital version of managing it "ALL" that I love.  I have looked, but nothing fits me as well. 
• I get satisfaction from writing things down, and then checking them off.  Weird, but it is what works for me.

So.... I did the binder thing for awhile, and found that since I like to take it with me, the binder was a bit bulky and I wasn't using it as much as I hoped.

Organizing is about always evolving your ideas until you get it just right.  So, when the binder wasn't working 100%, I tried again.  I thought about how I would always be carrying around a notebook, that the flexibility and size was much better than a binder.  If I could marry the binder printables and the notebook size, I would be in organized blog heaven, so I ran to Staples and spent a few bucks to have my pages spiral bound instead.

It worked!  Love when that happens!

Staples can also spiral bind blank tabs, so I went that route as well.  Here are the supplies I used to take this project home.

I decided to use my newly found love of Washi tape for labeling folders, to spice up the white divider tabs.  Then, topped off the pretty tabs with some printed labels from my label maker.

Inside, I added a calendar for the rest of this year and for all of next, which will allow for me to better plan out my post topics, guest posts, contributor posts and reader spaces. 

I paper clipped a small stack of colorful stickers to mark dates in which I owe a contributing post to another blog or website.

The other pages contain all sorts of exciting little ideas I have for the future of IHeart Organizing, and look a little like this.

Each page gives me the space to jot down ideas and wish list items, which I can joyfully cross off when they come to life. 

I keep a pencil pouch tucked under the cover {I didn't think to see if one could be bound}, which holds my all time favorite planner pens {I have tested many}, some page flags and my USB flash drive.

I am happy to report that I am in love with this little setup.  It has been working great and I use it daily. 

Let's chat!  Are you a digital peep or do you love to personally write down your thoughts?  What are some fabulous apps for those that love to be techy?  What other ways do you keep track of your daily blogging tasks?

If you are looking to put together your own blog planner, I added the pages to my Etsy shop here.

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