Getting Organized: Printable Planning Systems

I'm really excited about this post, the third in my Getting Organized series, because I'll be covering one of my favorite things: Printable Planning Systems! If you don't have the artistic gene to make pretty bullet journaling pages (like me), the next best thing is to find printable planners.

In my research, I found so many lovely and efficient planning systems that I had a hard time choosing just one. Some are simply daily/weekly planners while others are full blown, get-my-life-and-home-together planners with cleaning charts, yearly goals, budgeting and more. They range in price starting at FREE and up - the most expensive one I've seen is $55. Always check the price before you order because you will often see "free" or an introductory price for a limited time only. Anyway, here are some of the ones I fell in love with:

The Confident Mom - Susan's website is so adorable, I just knew I'd love her Weekly Household Planner! 
  

Living Well Spending Less - The Living Well Planner is not only colorful and fun, but packed full of getting your life together goodies!
  

Proverbial Homemaker - Perfect for the domestically challenged because you get a homemaking course when you buy the planner!

The Handmade Home - Definitely a favorite of mine, especially since you can print in full letter size or A5 size, and Ashley has added lovely quotes and things to keep you motivated. 

Nina Hendrick - I came across Nina's website and planner after I had my planner for 2017 ready to go, but the blogger edition planner is on my wish list for 2018!
  

A House Full of Sunshine - The Dreams by Design is another fabulous planner! And Karen is so cute with her Aussie accent so instead of a picture, here's a video:

So there you have it, some of my favorite printable planning systems. Don't you just feel happy now? I do! Happy and motivated because I'm a geek like that and I get excited over planners. It's like that first day of school when I finally got to use my new school supplies... Sigh. I'm a geek, but I'm a happy geek.

In my next post, I'll be sharing individual planning pages with you. Daily ones, weekly ones, and did I mention that most of them are FREE? So stay tuned!

Getting Organized: Bullet Journaling

Welcome to my Getting Organized series! In the first post of this series, I shared with you that I was tired of myself and my bad habits and that I was determined to live a better life in 2017. In today's post, I take you to the beginning of my research. What may or may not have worked for me might very well help you in your journey to get organized and live a better life in this new year.

Getting Organized: Bullet Journaling - Authentic in My Skin - authenticinmyskin.com

I began preparing for the new year sometime around mid-November. I first started looking into planning systems and, wow, did I learn a lot! There are so many planning systems and printable planners and then there is the bullet journal. If you don't know anything about bullet journaling (aka BuJo), it is the new thing. You can bullet journal everything and anything and I spent a couple of weeks trying to figure out how to do it, what I wanted to include in mine, and what layout worked for me. I tried my hand at a few pages:

My BuJo Attempt: Getting Organized: Bullet Journaling - Authentic in My Skin  authenticinmyskin.com


Clearly, bullet journaling is not my cup of tea. My planner needs to be functional and efficient, while being pretty and colorful, and I'm just not gifted in the way I need to be to become a member of the BuJo tribe. In additional to lacking the artistic gene apparently needed to BuJo, I knew that there was no way I would realistically sit down every day or week to create the next batch of pages. I have a hard enough time finding energy to balance my checkbook, let alone to create pages that don't meet my standards for pretty.

However, I really love all the things you could track in a bullet journal. People are not just tracking their schedules with appropriate task lists. They are tracking everything and that is the appeal for me. One place to record everything because I need every detail in my life in one place where I can view it daily. Otherwise, it's out of sight, out of mind.

So what are people tracking?

Dailies by @aka.sinting and Sublime Reflection
aka.sinting Instagram photo - Getting Organized: Bullet Journaling - Authentic in My Skin authenticinmyskin.com Sublime Reflection Daily Layout - Getting Organized: Bullet Journaling - Authentic in My Skin authenticinmyskin.com

beginner_bullet_journal Instagram photo - Getting Organized: Bullet Journaling - Authentic in My Skin authenticinmyskin.comChristina77star Library - Getting Organized: Bullet Journaling - Authentic in My Skin authenticinmyskin.com

craftyenginerd Instagram photo - Getting Organized: Bullet Journaling - Authentic in My Skin authenticinmyskin.com  my.life.in.a.bullet Instagram photo - Getting Organized: Bullet Journaling - Authentic in My Skin authenticinmyskin.com


I think you get the idea, but in case you don't, the most extensive list I have found with bullet journal ideas is from Christina

You might be asking why I have spent so much time blogging about bullet journaling if it isn't my cup of tea. My answer to that (besides wanting to introduce them to you): INSPIRATION! These BuJo peeps have inspired me. Though not a part of their tribe, I can still admire them for their talent... and steal some of their ideas to incorporate into my own planning system, hehe!

So stay tuned for my next post because I'll be sharing a lot more on planning systems, my favorite ones, and where you can get FREE PRINTABLES for your own planner (doing my happy dance because I 💜 printables!). See you soon!

Getting Organized: A Fresh New Year!

Getting Organized: A Fresh New Year - Authentic in My Skin - authenticinmyskin.com

I couldn't wait for 2016 to end. Not only was I done with the difficult and unhappy year, but I reached a place where I was done with myself, as well.

As someone who used to be on top of things, the constant disarray and disorganization of my life has truly driven me crazy. I can't get anywhere on time and when I do arrive, I'm usually missing something I need. Like swim trunks for aqua therapy. I mean, really. I've been going to aqua therapy twice a week for a couple of months now, you'd think I'd remember my swim bottoms, but because I am constantly flying out of the door late for my appointments, I inevitably leave something important at home. Every. Single. Week.

Have you ever been there, driving yourself crazy because of all the bad habits you've somehow acquired? Are you so frazzled and forgetful and just exhausted from trying? Are you there now, ready to live a different life, a better life? My dearest friend of 102-years says God isn't done with her yet. "There's life after 100!" she tells everyone, "I'm still growing."

Dear Reader, as long as you have breath in your lungs, there's still hope. And I'm choosing to be hopeful in 2017. I'm choosing to grow and to learn and to live a better life. Are you choosing to live your life differently this year? I'd love to hear from you. Have you already put steps in place to do so or has the idea sounded good, but overwhelming?

It doesn't happen over night. It takes work and planning and discipline, but even though the ball has already dropped, it is never too late to start something new. Over the next little while, I'll be sharing with you my journey to getting organized, changing my habits, and setting goals. By doing so, I hope to encourage you and to give you enough information so you can go out and conquer your part of the world! So stay tuned for the next post in this Getting Organized series.