Today I decided I would write about something that has been very handy for me. I have mixed several ideas I have found on several other blogs. Sorry I don't remember which blogs they were because that was over a year ago. A lot of you may have seen blogs about planners for blogging and making videos. Well I have used some of those ideas for my day to day planners. This year I even designed a planner to suit my needs even more. However the planner in the pictures is found here. I use my blogging planner not just for planning out posts and videos but also for keeping track of bills, appointments, my son's school schedule, paydays, etc. All of that seems like a lot to put on a simple planner but for me it's best to have all my info in one place or stuff gets lost and things get forgotten. I put my printed planner pages in clear glossy page protectors that way I can color code everything with permanent markers...more on that later. I keep all bills (paid and unpaid) and important papers in the 3 ring binder with my planner. This is what my schedule pages tend to look like. I use page protectors because I like to use different colors for different things and I like to be able to erase stuff in case plans change or my handwriting gets too wild when writing things down.
I used pages from 2 different months to give a better example of the type of stuff I write down and the color coding system. Since permanent markers come in so many colors they are great for things like this. I always have a color key somewhere in the front of my planner so I remember what color belongs to which schedule. It usually looks like this.
When I need to write something down I grab the appropriate color and mark down the info that I need. I usually leave very specific details in the notes on the side or hang the invite or whatever on my command central board. If it was in an email I save the email until after the even has passed. When I get a bill I write the amount due on the due date and then stash the bill in the front pocket of the binder. I also have a filing section in my binder to file away bills I've paid. I just took file folders, cut them in half, 3 hole punched the tab half to use in the binder and wrote the bill type on the tab. It's a "no filing" file system. This way I can always look back to see for sure what has been paid and how much for any given month.
When I pay the bill I cross off the bill but leave the total unmarked until it is removed from the bank account. I also write PD for paid under it and either the check number or if it was paid online or by card.
Then I write on the bill "Paid" with the date I paid it, how it was paid and an amount if it is a different amount than what was on the bill. Then I use my 3 hole punch to punch holes in the bill and file it in the section for that bill type.
Now when I reach the end of the year I have to erase all the permanent marker before I can use the page protectors again. For that I just grab my dry erase marker. I found out about this method when my son drew on my white board with permanent marker. I scoured the net to find out how to salvage it and couldn't believe that this would work until I tried it. It's crazy awesome but only works on nonporous surfaces so make sure you are using glossy page protectors because the matte ones have bumps and can trap some of the ink on the page protector.
Just scribble over the permanent marker with the dry erase marker. Excuse my chipping nail polish. I have 3 bottles of remover but can't seem to find even 1 of them and I really don't want to buy a 4th.
Then just wipe it away. If there is still some permanent ink on it just use the dry erase one again.
Voila. Your page is clear and ready for you to put your new planner pages in the page protectors.
I hope this can help others as much as it has helped me.
Peace, Love and Happy Crafting
Crazy Crafter Kitty
