Back to School Wardrobe: Planning {Kids Clothes}

We have been in school for 3 weeks. Already it has been 3 weeks! I am stunned it has been that long. It has gone by so fast.

I was worried about my little one starting kindergarten, and I still am a little worried. She is loving it though! I am sure she feels like such a big girl going to school like big brother.

I'm sad she is spending more time away from the home. I loved having my bouncy high energy girl here at home. But, I am excited she is showing others how awesome she is. And, I do love the fresh start of a new school year. New backpacks, new supplies, new learning, old and new friends. And... Of course... New clothes!

Well, really, in our case it's paring down the wardrobe. You should see all of the clothes the girls have! It's boxes upon boxes of clothes! We have been so lucky to have friends and family give us hand-me-downs. I know we won't be this lucky forever. And, you should see how picky Samara is when it comes to her clothes. So we are going to go through and take out all the things she doesn't like to wear, then go from there. Maybe this might help keep her from changing her clothes 10 times a day?

I've grabbed a few planning tools for capsules and used those to compile a mixable wardrobe for the oldest two. I'm not going to suggest a certain one for you to use. It's more based on personal preference and what works for you. I will go through each one and which one worked best for us.

The Planners/Templates

Have you tried searching the website for planners, templates, and/or printables? It's ridiculous. And, they are all lists to type or write on. I prefer something I can use pictures. My overtired pregnancy momma brains can't comprehend past letters. Plus I love the visual the pictures give to my little ones. Even though my boy can read now, visuals are still nice to have.

Time for School Sudoku Planning Tool. From Free Notion. My first thought is that this might be good for my little guy to see that he can layer button-ups over regular shirts... I will need to do duplicates of this to have enough clothes to get through the week. My kids are too rowdy and play in the dirt, so re-wearing an item for them gets me a little grossed out. I have to do laundry once a week and refuse to do it more often.

4x4 from Vivienne Files. I've been using this one for my capsule, you can read about it here and here.
Harper+Lu's Capsule Planning Template. Mac is one of the awesome ladies behind sew altered style. This template is perfect for getting through the week.

I added a box for notes (so I can type in what I need for the kids. It kind of also turned into a holding place for items as I sifted through.

I am building these with the kids. Especially for the sudoku, they are dictating where to put a garment item. After all, these aren't my own clothes I am wearing. This is for them, and they will be wearing the clothes. Please forgive the quick phone photos. I can't waste too much time when going through the clothes with the kids. Attention spans only last so long...

Nikolai

For his sudoku. I like having the different outfit options laid out for me to see. Samara could care less, she mixes and matches everything anyway. Nikolai, however, has a hard time. If we buy a pair of pants and a top he has a difficult time pairing up those items with other garments. Eventually, they lose their newness and he can filter them into his closet, but it takes a while. I am hoping that seeing this helps that.

In the 4x4 I like that, without having to do multiples, I can have the clothes for the week. I honestly find it funny that we have mostly red and green for my little guy. I had no clue until I filled in this template. I am wondering if it was the season when we purchased the items, or just what we gravitated towards when making purchases.

Harper+Lu ... Another I love without having to make multiple times. It has one extra garment than the 4x4. It gets through the week perfectly. With changing likes for the kids I think this one is better as it doesn't necessarily focus so much on a specific color scheme but more on the items. Though for a true capsule wardrobe everything would pretty much blend together well.

What he needs?
A couple pairs of pants, long sleeve shirts (about 5 to get the full 7: some plain for layering short sleeves), a sweater, and a jacket. Oh, and a new pair or two for shoes! I was looking at his pair currently and it is starting to fall apart! I will wait on these for when the weather cools off. The boy is getting ready for a growth spurt, I'm sure.

Samara

You should see all the clothes we got rid of, just from stuff that fits but she doesn't want to wear. This girl is funny. It took us multiple sessions to go through it all. And, we need to do more! She has several shorts I do not want her wearing to school. I prefer a more modest approach to clothes and shorts are hard to find. 

Sudoku for her. I needed to get her other shoes pictured, But she is constantly wearing them! The black pair we picked up when Babies-R-Us closed and we got a few things for the baby too. Her wardrobe is not very mixy matchy capable from the looks of this. I had a really hard time with it.

Her 4x4 back to school. I thought I couldn't make it work. I thought most of her colors would be pink and purple. I was kind of surprised. Just like with Nikolai's. I love seeing the colors my kids gravitate towards!

Her Capsule "prime"

What she needs?

Layering options. We have 5 pairs of bike shorts to wear under skirts and dresses. But she is in need of sweaters. She has a ton, but all of them she refuses to wear and half of them are getting too small. She is going to be in need of a winter jacket, but that can wait. As for pants... The kid has a drawer full of them! Ha! So she is in no need there either.

Perhaps a pair of pink shorts would be good if I can find the Bermuda style at Walmart like the pairs she has been wearing.

Which one?

Given that this is the first time I really have gone to this length for the kids' clothes, I am wondering if it was more time consuming than necessary. We have overspent on clothes in the past, and a lot of those clothes we still have that fit now (like my big guy's shirts. Ha!). 

I think I liked Harper+Lu's Capsule Planning Template best for Nikolai. It fits him the best, and even though he needs some more work mixing and matching his stuff, he gets there eventually after the newness wears off. I guess it kind of is a toss-up between that and the 4x4 from Vivienne Files. I asked him which one he likes better and he says the Harper+Lu's is better.

For Samara, it is a tough call. I also liked the Harper+Lu's Capsule Planning Template but I also really liked the 4x4 from Vivienne Files. Mostly because that girl has a hodgepodge of options.

As time passes I think I would like to cross reference mixability with the Time for School Sudoku Planning Tool. 

I'm hoping that if I continue keeping up with something like this the kids may be able to, if not do it themselves, at least be able to fill the holes and needs in their wardrobe more effectively later on. Unlike buying things just cause they like them or want them. Such is my difficulty with clothes. Intentionality is a good thing! Right?

Do you use a planning tool when going over what to buy/sew for your kiddos back to school wardrobes? If you do, share the one you use! If not, would you use one or do you think it is too much work?

The Meal Planning Hassle {Home Life}

The never-ending necessity... It's like Laundry; you do it one day only to have to do it again the next.  It's exhausting. Especially when you have to fit it into a budget.

It makes me tired just to think about it.

What's for dinner?

If you can wing it with contents of your cabinets, freezer, and fridge then power to you! I need to have a plan. I cannot just wing it. It stresses me out.

And trying to decide what to make?! I still have issues like I talked about in this post from over a year ago. Do I cook for something I will enjoy, or something everyone else will? Granted, the family needs to eat too.

I gave up and stopped planning. What we spent on groceries pretty much doubled. We ate fast food and processed pre-packaged way more than we had been. Of course, at the time I wasn't focusing on the budget too much anyway. But, I needed to start figuring out food and lowering the expenses there because it was starting to hurt expenses in other areas.

Trello

I needed to get back to meal planning. I needed to have an easy answer for the "what's for dinner" question. So I started using the meals we were making and created a list in Trello.

As we went through the meals I would check them off so we had some variety until we ate from the whole collection and then uncheck them and start over.

It worked for a while. But I quickly grew tired of the process. I wanted to not have to be the only one making the decisions, but none of the meals sounded good to the other members of the family.

A friend had posted, on Facebook, about a freezer prep and planning site with meals to make for the month. I could fit the subscription into the budget, but the number of meals to pick from overwhelmed me, and fitting food for one month into the budget of half a month was not an option. I would have to at least go every two weeks.

Meanwhile, the question still lingered. Every day. What's for dinner.

These are the things I have started using to help alleviate the meal planning hassle recently and it's been working for the last few months.

5dinners1hour

I came across another meal prep option, in video form. The people were prepping meals in 30-45 minutes for the entire week. I watched several videos in a row and was impressed. The concept was similar, the price was the same. I decided to give it a try and if we didn't like it I would cancel the subscription.

The meals were pretty good. It was different than we were used to. But they fit into our normal (not inflated) paycheck budget. Plus we've tried new things. Things we wouldn't have even thought to attempt before! Just this weekend we had salmon. Both of us have had bad experiences with salmon. It was not something we would have thought to try. But we did, and we enjoyed it!

Even the husband was joining in on the prepping of the food! If you want to check it out, it is 5dinners1hour.com.

The question was still there. What's for dinner?

But the kids enjoy looking through the pictures and help planning the meals. They like helping do the work on prep day (we do it on Sundays). Sure it takes us longer to prep 5 dinners than an hour (we use mostly fresh ingredients), but it has been amazing.

Ibotta

I started using Ibotta again to help with the costs. Since it's a rebate program, the return is not as fast. Plus a lot of the items are pre-packaged which does not make it into our home as often. But, with snacks for the kids, cereal in the morning, toilet paper, and craft supplies it does indeed add up. I've had a few gift cards come through for Walmart, and used to buy things we needed! It's not points based but actually change. I prefer that so much more!

You can check it out through my referral code https://ibotta.com/r/vvggcw another bonus is it doesn't cost anything to sign up!

Zaycon

Have you jumped on board the Zaycon train yet? We first got some ground beef. It was amazing. The meat comes in 40lb increments, so make sure you have room! It was yummy meat.

They just had a 99 cent per pound chicken sale. I had to jump on that. When you pay regularly 1.99 per pound, 99 cents is amazing!

Check them out through my referral code: https://zayconfresh.com/refer/zf341341 
I only get credit if you buy something.

As of now, Zaycon's doors are closed. Sad as it was awesome meat.

Click List

Our local Fry's Foods (Part of the Kroger family) offers click list pick up. 

I don't use click list to order my food. I use it when I am planning to make sure I stay within budget. It keeps a running tally of the price. I can see whether items are on sale with the ad. 

Then when I am in the store I have the app on my phone and it has them listed in aisle order in the store. Perfect to make the trip go smoothly and quickly. I just go in order of the aisles as I shop! It's been life changing!

What do you do?
I'm still working on ways to keep my budget down or to stay in my budget. It's a constant learning game. What are some strategies you use to stay within your grocery budget?

Sewing a Mini-Capsule: Update {Self Care}

At the end of March, I shared with you my plans for sewing a mini capsule. Or rather, filling in the holes of what I currently have. Now that it's the end of Me Made May, I'm ready to share my updated mini capsule.

And, now you know our big news you can understand my need for a mini capsule! One of the reasons I have been kind of working on the wardrobe is I had gotten rid of a bunch of my maternity wear way before baby 4 was even close to coming. I was fighting through this winter with elastic around the button of my only jeans that didn't kill my hips until I *finally* made my Love Notions Maternity Sabrina Slims and a friend giving me a pair of rtw skinny maternity jeans (among other awesome items).

I used the book The Curated Closet By Anushka Rees to help me out a little bit too. Mostly colors and what kind of items. I have way more than enough skirts for my lifestyle. Even if they are super comfy in the heat. You can read what I had to say about it here.

Here was the plan (using the 4x4 wardrobe sheet from Vivienne Files)...

And what I have now...

<img 4x4 update>

Added Items:
Ponte A-Line Skirt

Grey shorts

Mint Tank
Purple Tank
Maxi Skirt
Denim Capris

Ponte A-Line Skirt

Using leftover fabric from the navy Ponte pants I made a while back I made a knee length A-line skirt. Instead of gathering the waist of the skirt I decided to go with about 2" box pleats. They are far from perfect, don't sew pleats when the kids are awake and messing with you. Trust me.
 I've been wanting a pleated skirt for a long while. I would have preferred it in brown, like a faux suede, but that wouldn't fit in with my clothes and probably wouldn't ever get worn. It may be better in a woven material than the knit, but it didn't require any extra purchases! It's not a "love it!" item, but it is sufficient for now. I discovered this fabric pills horribly after several washes, so this is just going to be a seasonal item. 

Grey Shorts

I was given some grey shorts and decided to add those in place of the pinstripe grey pants! They are super comfy, and perfect for our southwestern desert heat. I'm super excited to have these and have worn them quite a lot recently.

Mint Tank

I used some leftover fabric from Halloween this last year and made myself a knit top using Pattern 4 Pirates Layer Me Up Shirt cut as a tank. It is so nice and cool in our really warm weather though I don't know how long it is going to last since I had to get creative about cutting it out of the leftover fabric. (shame on me, I know) ... I have had a really bad case of forgetfulness and ended up having to restitch the neck binding on twice! I don't know what I was thinking messing up the ratios as bad as I did. No matter how hard you try quartering the binding is not going to match up with the shoulder seams. Gapped in the back and super stretched in the front just looks so bad! I almost didn't fix it, but so glad I realized there was just no pulling off a poorly attached neck binding.

Purple Tank

This fabric is leftover from a project I had intended to make for the girls but ended up not for some reason. It's from one of those buys where you just get yards upon yards and then never use it. But it was perfect for this project, and I have room to grow. It's the Pattern for Pirates Free Spirit Tank. Super comfy. Super slinky, and super stretchy. I might make another top out of this material. Goodness knows I have plenty of it!

Maxi Skirt

I switched out my mint cardigan for a flower print maxi skirt. I got this from a LulaRoe seller who was closing up shop and selling everything discounted (IMO that's the best time to buy LLR pieces because they are way too expensive!) And I love the material. Perfect in the summer heat!

Denim Capris

I traded out pants for these capris. I am thinking I would much prefer shorts. These, I thought I got rid of, came from a time of my life when I disliked showing off my thighs in public and refused to wear shorts. I have since discovered how much more comfortable shorts are and have gotten over my thigh insecurities.

I'm super happy with how these outfits are turning out so far... (forgive my not so good phone pics, I was rushing through naptime)

Seriously!? So many outfits from a 4X4 Wardrobe from Vivienne Files! And that's not even all of them! I missed the ponte pants with a couple of the shirts! I am impressed. Now to just work on styling with jewelry, changing out shoes, and my hair (cause I am so tired of a bun and so want a haircut!)! 

Now what?

I'm thinking the cardigans need to be switched out for something else. Just one was not enough and I don't need them for the weather we have now. At least that is what I am thinking. Another top in that color, or a tank so I have a sleeved and non-sleeved option. I will need to sit on that one a little bit more. But now that our temperatures have hit a high where layering is just too much with the heat, I am thinking switching them out will be best. A lot changes in two months! I need to work on these things faster! LOL!

Although, I did pick up some cute leafy green patterned olive semi-sheer knit (mystery, it was from Walmart).  I am thinking it would make a perfect kimono. I assume that would make a cute layering piece and if not a cute swim cover. Not that I ever go to the pool. I added it into the plan, but with the gray. I think it should change places with the cream. But isn't it lovely?

I am also thinking of trading out my ponte pants for another pair of shorts. I haven't been wearing those either, it's just too hot and I can't handle the heat right now!

Had you been working on some self-care sewing?

Sewing a Mini-Capsule: Planning {Self-Care}

I love the concept of a capsule wardrobe.

A limited amount of clothes: 

not spending as much time folding & sorting (Ha! Like I sort my clothes!)

fewer items mean fewer loads of laundry meaning it takes less time out of your day to wash and move to the dryer (and not load upon load upon load...)

I think I really started looking into it for the first time about 3 years ago... I've been looking for ways to pare down my wardrobe, discard the items I no longer wear without regret and find a color combination I absolutely love which I can mix and match in endless ways for an amazingly magical wardrobe.

So far, I have been unsuccessful.

I was *Finally* able to get rid of totes upon totes of clothes I have not worn in years, just within this last year. I was *Not* able to do it without feeling the regret later because some articles had been put in the totes by the kids moving things around, or I was planning on going through it one more time only to realize later there were things I didn't really want to donate. My heart still hurts.

Despite getting rid of the totes and totes of clothes, I still have an overabundance of items in my closet. Most of which, I do not even consider wearing! And yet, I cannot seem to part with any of them!

I've come to the conclusion that the bloggers, Instagrammers, and social media capsule wardrobe gurus are some sort of clothing wizard (magician, sorcerer, what have you). No matter how much I have tried I don't seem to conjure the same type of amazing outfit combinations. 

That is not stopping me from trying.

I think all I need is a little bit more practice. 

I am going to go with a mini capsule.  For now.

After lots of playing with my wardrobe and then running through Vivienne Files Build a wardrobe from scratch and going through the videos for Dress Your Truth, I think I have found my colors. Purple, mint, navy, and dark grey. This is what I have the most of in my wardrobe, these are the ones that get used the most. so why not? 

I attempted the 10x10 Wardrobe Challenge and quickly fell off the wagon before I really got started. Recently the facebook group Sew Altered Style Sewciety did a similar challenge with 7 items to create 7 outfits for 7 days. I started and followed through. I loved it. I even created projects in my head to help my wardrobe. I have been perusing online for fabric ever since.

I am thinking of attempting to do an almost 4x4 capsule by Vivienne Files. She has a great worksheet for it here, I just used google docs to fill in the blanks. I am planning some sewing to fill in the gaps. 

Things I need:

Navy: shirt and skirt

Dark Grey: cardigan, pants

Mileage: mint shirt, purple shirt, Cream Shirt,

Expansion: modify store-bought denim

And because I needed to round it out to make the grid work, I added a Chambray top. Because, I think I want a chambray top. This also fits with the Make 9 in 2018 challenge which is ever so popular in the Capsule Wardrobe Sew Along group on facebook.

Now, just to actually find a way to aquire the fabric (after searching my totes upon totes of stash here at home) and what patterns to sew up. I'm thinking some tops from Love Notions, Patterns 4 Pirates, Made 4 Mermaids though none of those are set in stone (actually I think I'm already going to change it up), and I haven't decided on the grey pants yet. I might need some help, What are your favorite patterns to sew for yourself?

Are you a capsule/minimalist wardrobe curator and only have what fits or were you like me and just got/sewn clothes because you liked them?

Where Does the Time Go? {Welcome Back}

You know how time flies and all of a sudden a huge surge of time has passed and you don't even know what happened? These last 6 months have been super crazy! Like, seriously. I have no idea where the time went or what we honestly spent all our time doing! I mean, yeah. The oldest is in school (1st grade) and I got my middle into speech services at the preschool. Good gracious that girl needed some help. And she starts kindergarten in the fall, or rather in the summer in our case!

How has this much time passed that I have not sat down and shared anything with you? Ok. Not quite 6 months. More like 5 months. I know I did not share much with you wonderful readers in the last year though. I am hoping planning to share more with you all.  Although did you see the new Boys Can Wear Pink post? He Loves his shirt! The girls got some new dresses in the Super Heroes and Princesses GYCT Spring Dress Tour which they wear all. the. time.

But, wait? What do I have to share with you now? I know my last year was not much in the sewing and crafting world and more of the mommy stuff and then this month I have shared 2 sewing posts.  What's up with the jumping around? 

Well, I'm not entirely sure what is up with the jumping around. It's just the way my life goes, especially with kids. So much jumping around. So much growth. So much change. Life is change. Life is growth. And man has so much happened in the last 5-6 months! Yet it almost feels like nothing much has. Isn't it kind of funny how it feels that way? It's like I can't keep up with how fast time is passing us by. I have not taken much time to sew. I have not taken much time to craft. I miss it. Motherhood has me by the horns for sure. I am jumping with the throws motherhood sends my way. 

I originally started this blog for the purpose of keeping up with family. I added in sewing and craft stuff after a couple years and then the shift occurred to where it was pretty much just sewing and craft stuff.  I plan to work on integrating it all together. There will be some motherhood stuff, some self-care, sewing for the kids, taking care of the family, some general trying to figure-things-out kind of posts, and quite possibly a little bit of God thrown in. But I will tell you now, it's not going to be perfect. I am not perfect. None of us are, really. I am still trying to figure out how to jump through some of life's hoops (and how to avoid some entirely). 

Welcome {back} to the journey of our lives. 

Living Intentionally: My Planner Set Up

My New Year Resolution is getting my life organized for living intentionally. You can read about that here! I shared my brainstorming start to setting up a planner with some resources that I was using to help me get the set up going, here. And after some searching for printable options and reviewing the cost of buying pages for my planner, I decided it would be much easier to make my own that buy. I also said, in that post, I was going to share my set up once I got it figured out. So here I am sharing my set up with you!

The Binder
I am using a Compact Franklin Covey binder I had purchased from Target about 10 years ago when I went back to college. I was lucky I found it during the books/paper KonMari Purge. I found it with my day timer, which was sadly falling apart. So I purged the day timer and kept my Franklin Covey.

I still love the color of the binder. Brown and pink go so nicely together. The front has a pocket, but I haven't used that yet.

The size of it works for about 2-3 months of daily sheets at a time. Other than that, it would be too full. HA!

The front is supposed to be a card holder, but the glue has worn a little. It makes a great place to put my pens. I'm surprised how quickly my brain accepted the color coding per person! Plus it makes it easier to fit the highlighters in the little zip pocket I have in the back.

I love it so far. The compact sizing of it makes it hard for pages though. I could not really find any printables for the size (probably because it's just an odd sizing). 4.25x6.75 isn't an even ratio of your typical 8.5 x 11 paper size. It took multiple printings of free versions for me to decide to make my own.

The Set-Up & Organization
I have it divided into sections.

In the front Is the yearly and monthly calendars. I found them for free from Scattered Squirrel. I also keep my list of birthdays and anniversaries on a sheet in the current month (I want to start sending cards).

Then I have
Tasks - Weekly docket and daily pages (2-3 months at a time). I had originally tried a 2 page daily spread but it was too much. So I took from each page what I liked and put it on 1 sheet. It uses less paper that way. It took me a while to figure out printing too. I print the pages on the booklet setting and it works great for the order I want it in and printing front and back (which my printer does on it's own, it's awesome!)

Weekly docket I use to fill in general to do's for the week, appointments and things I don't want to forget when doing my daily planning. So far I almost forgot an event and was able to not miss it because it was there! I was so excited!
The parts are:

• Daily slots for events
• To do's
• Phone Calls/emails
• appointments
• Goals
• Blog

Parts of the daily sheets:

• timed spots for the day
• water tracker and daily meals
• House keeping
• Blog/sewing
• goals
• family
• to do
• notes

Personal - I have tabs from my day timer I kept and use for this. In the front is my debt tracker. It is a goal for the year! It is top priority so goes first! I have my budget binder That houses the rest of the financial stuff. I have sections for:

• Reading - I keep track of suggested books, books chosen for book club, and the books for the BookRiot Reading challenge.

• Blog Planning - I had a separate binder for this, but didn't use it. Here I can include blog posts in the calendar and turn to this section for post planning, and I have created a sheet for tour planning, notes and brainstorming ideas (this post would have happened sooner had I not been sick all weekend)

• Menu planning - still a work in progress. I might put dinner ideas here, but I am thinking a separate binder with my cookbooks of favorite meals will help keep this planner from becoming overstuffed!
• Party Planning - I have my printables that I am going to condense into compact sizing to use here for birthdays
• Holiday Planning - Halloween Costume Planning, Thanksgiving, Christmas. Those go here.
• Sewing - I have created a smaller size to my measurement tracker sheet and have that here. I am including project sheets here too from my Boys and Girls capsule planners.

I'm thinking of changing/adding the Konmari Checklist somewhere in here too...

Goals - I have my Goals and resolutions in this section. I have my list of goals, and then breakdown of each goal listed in order with long term and short term deadlines. I refer to this when filling out the monthly, weekly and daily sheets that are in the front.

Addresses - I have misplaced addresses, or discarded random papers (party planning) that had addresses on them and I needed them in one spot, easy enough to update when needed and accessible when planning events and get togethers; or just sending invites and cards. 

I use a photo/card holder for appointment cards and a pocket for highlighters and a pencil.

So Far

I love it! I have been using it for several days and it has helped so much! It fits perfectly in my Ethel! I used to carry just a clutch/handbag, but now I have reason to carry her and I have to say I feel better about my day. At home it sits open on the table and I can refer to it/check off items/adjust as needed. 

I have everything in one place and I love that. It makes things easier that way, and the color coding is awesome as I can see it from a glance. I have MOPS, Quilt Guild, the blog, appointments, everything. Seriously, so exciting. I understand why people become addicted to their planners! 

Now for the next step in my Living Intentionally goals, to just work on scheduling in those days for personal and family time. I went to book club this month and Husband said he needed to start scheduling stuff with his friends too. I told him he should! I think it might start to become easier to schedule in a set date night too... That is if we can ever get anyone to watch the kids! Ha!

I have noticed that it helps with cleaning out my purse every day too. In the KonMari book, she mentions to empty your bag at home. Granted I don't have a station to put the stuff (yet), but taking out the planner pushes me to take out everything else too.

I'm Curious

How do you organize your time, if you do? What planner do you use?
Have you thought of getting a planner, or tried it and it didn't work? 

Living Intentionally: My Start to Getting a Planner

I have no idea how these last few months have flown by. Halloween, birthdays, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years... It's all come and gone in a blink of an eye and it takes everything from me just to keep my eyes open and not fall asleep on the rocking chair in my living room. But with everything going on, the constant theme is that I am flying by the seat of my pants and end up stressed because of it. I described in my Goals and Resolution post, I needed to be more intentional with my day, with my kids, with my husband. Just intentional about living...

This last year had every intention and possibility of being great. But, my lack of organization and intentionally getting things done prevented a lot of the greatness. It was still great, don't get me wrong. This last year has been fantastic! But, there is always room for improvement. Always room to make it better! 

I decided to take the Best Year Ever mini course that was offered by Living Well Spending Less and the first day was what got me realizing that I really needed to plan: Intentionally planning for intentional living.  

Do you know how many planners, planner inserts, pages, printables, etc are out there? Tons! A little overwhelming. I am still overwhelmed. And, it probably doesn't help that I really have no idea what I need in a planner! I dug out my old FranklinCovey compact (I had discarded an old classic, shouldn't have) and am working on looking up different ways to organize the pages. I think I am going to start saving for a classic and try to get the hang with what I have now.

These so far are my favorite binders:
FranklinCovey Striped Binder

FranklinCovey Gold Dots Binder

FranklinCovey Confetti Binder

Are you like me, do you need some help too?
So far I have found these sites that seem really helpful ... From basic type to scrappy... In organizing your planner...

A Bowl Full of Lemons: My Planner Set Up

My Life as a Teacup: 2015 Filofax Setup

Creative Homekeeper: Setting Your Planner Up

Cocoa Daisy: Setting Up Your Planner

I like this printable, but I am not sure how to get it to work with my compact planner... 

I really like Polka Dot Posie's Undated Printable Planner, but she has a tutorial here The Polka Dot Posie: Printable Planner Pages
I think I might be waiting to see if A Bowl Full of Lemons comes out with a new one
I heart Planners has a huge selection and I really like the Goals printable.

There is so much to put in a planner. 

Once I get it more figured out I'll write it down to share with you what I end up doing. :)
*update* I've been working on the set up for a week now. I'll have it figured out eventually...

I want to hear from you:
How do keep your day to day intentional? 

If You use a planner, what type and what setup do you use? What resources do you use/have you used to help you set it up?

Happy New Year: Resolution and Goals {Welcome 2016}

First off...

Happy New Year!!!

Last year ended. It was a whirlwind of a year. So much going on, so many new things.. And now a fresh start. A new year to make it better. To make things better, easier, more. A time to plan and prepare and become intentional about living.

I shared last years goals and how I did with meeting them (you can read about that here), and there was a lot I set out to accomplish without success. There was a lot I did accomplish that wasn't on the list, but they were surprises. And yet, with everything that happened last year I kept getting that little whisper in my ear, "you need to be intentional". I didn't understand but as the year progressed I became more aware...

Be Intentional...

Intentional about my time with my husband. We have to schedule the time to be together. We need to remember to be intentional about our love towards each other. Day to day becomes monotonous and we become jaded. We need to be intentional with our interaction with each other and the direction we wish our relationship to go (you know, into old age).

Intentional about my time with my kids. How many times have I set out to start preschool with little man only to have it thrown to the wayside? How many good intentions are cut short only because I didn't make time for it or just let it slide? I love my kids and I know they know it. But I need to be more intentional in my time I spend with them.

Intentional about my time for myself. No more feeling guilty when I ask my husband to watch the kids so I can take an evening out with the ladies. I laugh at that because that is hard not to feel. He says I shouldn't feel guilty. But, I do. I need to be more intentional with the free time I get when I do get it. Scheduling that free time into my day, my week, my months. I need to schedule that time in for Brandon too. A family I look to as a roll model in this takes every Saturday and trades. One Saturday is mom's, next is dad's, then it's the family day and starts all over the fourth Saturday. I love that idea!

This all boils down to planning. I need to be intentional in my planning. Living intentionally requires some intentional planning. A lot of intentions, a lot of being intentional, right? But it seems necessary to be successful. Successful in relationships, successful in meeting goals, successful in life.

So starts my list of goals for the year...

1. Planning. I have a planner. I intend to plan out my weeks and months. I hope that this makes things run smoother, if not easier. At least I can look to what is happening. I am not looking to throw a whole year into the planner all at once, but a few months in advance. With the baby being due in a few weeks and little man starting school, it will be more necessary to keep things straight.

2. Getting out of debt. We want a life without being strapped down by credit. No more credit card bills, no more owing money and having so much of the paycheck go towards things that we borrowed money to buy. Sad thing is? I can't even remember what those things were! Being able to set aside money for the things that are going to need to be replaced soon, like a new dinning table, washing machine, Christmas tree. We can't get those things until after that credit debt is gone. And as my son breaks another chair I can only imagine how much sooner we are going to need another table and what we can do in the mean time while we can't get one...

3. Finish the KonMari Purge. I need to establish a timeline for this one, but I am hoping to finish all of it by August. That gives me 8 months and I am already into the Kimono (miscellaneous stuff). I am thinking I might want to start over with the clothes after the baby has arrived and I have gotten closer to pre-baby body.

4. Establish my Capsule wardrobe. I took some time off the wardrobe because I was limited my clothes once I started getting bigger. I'm down to 1 skirt, 1 leggings, 2 pairs of pants that fit, 4 long sleeve shirts, 2 '3/4' sleeved shirts and 3 short sleeve. This is maternity wear, the leggings don't match a thing, one long sleeve shirt really only works under things but doesn't match with the colors in the short sleeves... My wardrobe is a mess. I may need to start figuring things out for nursing anyway! 4 more weeks!

5. Read. I have totally met a goal of 24 books this year and read 27 (Goodreads is awesome for this). I am thinking of joining the BookRiot Read Harder Challenge this year and upping my number to 30. In 2013 my goal was 20 and I read 23, so I think I can do it! :)

6. Establish a day for family and independent time, like what my friend does. It might take some husband coercion, but even if it takes most the year. I think I need the time. I haven't had a day in a long time. Rushing to the grocery store and back doesn't count.

7. Health. I need to take care of myself better... I need to drink 8 glasses of water a day, sleep 8 hours a night and not skip any meals.

8. Crafting/sewing. Finish a few more of my WIPs! More specifically those quilts taking up space in the craft room what is to be the baby's room. I need to get back into the FAL for next year. There last few quarters have been sadly lacking. You can check out my current list here. If I finish each one in a month, then I can finish by the end of May. I'm thinking more August/September though for the one where the top is started but not finished.

Let me hear from you:
What are your goals for this year?