dats how I do it

A long while ago I wrote a blog post about organizational styles titled "solving a small problem".  In it I describe my discovery that I am a visual organizer.  That little discovery about myself has been life altering.  I no longer squander my money or time on organizational techniques that are practical, instead I spend my time making my things look cute and color coded, personalized and more fun!!!!  And it works.

One visual organizing tool I have used for a number of years is a home notebook.  I've used one casually for all of the interesting little things that I have needed in the past to run my home efficiently.  This year, however I realized I needed to make a BIG change.  My daughter entered High School.  Suddenly I was always having to sign something and then access it quickly.  Things that in the past would have been relegated to a filing cabinet to be weeded out at the end of the year now had to be accessible all of the time.... everything from grade and assignment tracking (which is now online, that I print out to track my daughter).... charges for individual classes...vaccination records, doctors visits (more visits this past year than in the past 4 years combined).  I was drowning in paper work and having to access all of it at the drop of a hat.  So, I adopted my home notebook and turned it into my peekaboo tracker.

digital artwork by persnickity prints collection entitled spring has sprung

 

 

 

 

 

 

I now have 2 separate notebooks.  My 'home' notebook and my 'peekaboo's home notebook AKA peekaboo's tracker).  The advantage to this....?  When I take her to a Dr.'s appointment or have a meeting at her school I grab the whole notebook and go.  I can then immediately access phone numbers, addresses, paperwork and dates during the meeting.  In the past a lot of this would be in my day planner or digital planner but over time I realized that so much of this info is confidential & I need more than just a quick name or phone number...., the notebook has been my salvation.

So, here are my dividers (tabs) in my daughter's tracker

• seminary
• school contact (ie: phone #'s and e-mail addresses of principle, school councilor, teachers, etc.  along with a copy of her schedules, copies of her progress reports web logins for school related things (myschoobucks, school store, math helps, copies all of the sylubus's that I sign , map of the school & emergency contact information.
• Young Women's
• Immunization records,and list of current doctors
• physical health
• mental health
• dental health
• attendance and grades
• extra curricular activities 

In my home notebook is:

• address book
• individual tabs for each pets (with copies of their vaccination records and vet visits & bills)
• pantry checklist (food storage goals and plans)
• tabs for hubby & me (doctors and dental visits) * although my hubby tracks his own so it's not so bad

So, there's my spiel.  How I make my life function.  So far it's working.
Here are a few more of my recent projects.  All I did was taken a notebook that I was already using and cut & attach some vinyl to make it look cuter and more personalized...ala my need to have it look cute!

my dayplanner *aka* lifeline.  I put a monkey in the 'see no evil' pose.  thought it was appropriate for my day planner.

I have a separate notebook for everything.  This is my notebook I'm using this one in some studying I'm doing right now.