A few days ago the New York Times ran an interesting story called A Paper Calendar? It’s 2011. It was about preferences between paper and electronic calendars. Although it is 2011, I still fall squarely in the paper calendar camp! That is why I was happy to review and give away a set of samples from the Blue Sky Home Series. (The review actually worked out quite well for me since my current paper calendar runs out at the end of August – one of the “cons” of paper calendars.)
I received a variety of paper goods in my sample pack. My favorite was the Weekly/Monthly Planner. There was also a Multi-task Mouse Pad, Grocery Checklist Pad and a “Don’t Forget To” Door Notes included with the package. Honestly, I like to keep everything in one central place (the planner), so I haven’t really used the other samples. Actually, that’s not true. I used the “Don’t Forget To” Door Note once. I stuck it on my bedroom door for Michael. It said:
-“Don’t knock on our door until 9am. We will get your breakfast then.”
-“Yes, you can watch television if you get up before then.”
-“Don’t yell or run around.”
Love (with a heart),
Mom
(It actually worked out quite well. That was the first day that both Reggie and I were able to sleep in. Maybe I should use those door notes every day!)
I have also started to switch my appointments and such over to the weekly/monthly planner. I like it and at $9.99 it’s affordable for almost everyone. I like that it has the month at a glance, followed by a do/call/buy page and then the individual days of the month with room to write out my daily “to do” list. My planners tend to take a lot of wear and tear, so the only two additions that I would make are to reinforce the pages of the spiraled calendar and to add a pocket flap at the back for miscellaneous bits of paper. (Then again, for $9.99, I don’t expect everything.)
One Foodie City Mom newsletter subscriber will win everything that I received in my sample pack too. To win, simply tell me why you like using paper calendars in the “Comments” section below by August 15th. (For an additional entry, you can “Like” the Blue Sky Facebook page.)
Meanwhile, you can get your own Blue Sky Home Series paper products. They range in price from $3.99 (for the grocery checklist pad) to $9.99 (wall calendars, dated planners and pocket organizers). You can purchase the limited edition (through September 2011) series at Target stores and on the Blue Sky website (http://blueskyimg.com).
Tomorrow, I will share a conversation that I had with a friend where I answered her questions regarding how I schedule my time. By no means am I an “expert” at organization or time management, but I have picked up a couple of tips in the last few months that have taken my personal organization to a higher level. A simple planner is at the center of it all…
Thanks to Blue Sky for providing the post image and both sample sets – one for me and one for a lucky reader!