With 2 of my 3 kidlets back in school this week (the 3rd goes back next week), I’ve spent a bit of time straightening up my calendars and planners. While the kids were home this summer, I kinda soaked up that time and let the lists go. That doesn’t mean those lists weren’t rolling around in my head, trust me. Now that dates and deadlines are coming home in backpacks / over e-mail, I wanted to take a moment to clean up.

I’ve cleaned up both my household / main schedule binder and my blog planner. Both are pretty much the same with just a few minor tweaks. I’ll be sharing my household binder tweak with you in the next couple days. Today I’m sharing a simple tweak in my blog planner….

Again, still the same planner I shared last year…

While I was going through my planner, I noticed my to-do list dealio wasn’t working so well. When it comes to lists, I’m a pen & paper gal…all the way. I’ve tried digital and it just doesn’t work for me. And I don’t typically use a special printable. I tried using the blank paper in my planner, but it’s a Martha Stewart disc bound notebook, which means the refill paper isn’t cheap.

After some thinking, I came up with this simple idea…

Yup, Simply Organized spoiler alert! These are actual ideas I’m brainstorming / have planned for the blog. Oooooooh, earth shattering secrets have been revealed. Ha!

Truthfully, y’all aren’t seeing the real juicy stuff. 😉 I have to keep some surprises.

Anyway, I used the disc bound pocket files to contain my to-do lists. First I gathered up my main topic idea to do list and broke it down into categories…

You can see above I have outdoors, garage, office, kids, bedrooms, kitchen, DIY, videos, closets, etc. I just used a plain piece of white paper and lined the top with a thin piece of washi tape…

It brightens up my blog planner a bit!…

Then I put them inside the pocket folder…

I did the same with my Compartment Organizers 50 Ways Instagram series…

 

Speaking of, you can see my organized washi tape in a compartment organizer right here…

I also created simple to-do lists for blog maintenance (blurred for personal info)…

And some blog business stuff I’m working on (blurred for personal info)…

Just going through the process of separating categories, writing it all down, getting it out of my head, collecting those random post-it notes and putting it down on one paper – SO helpful! I feel more organized in my head too! And feel a huge weight of my shoulders.

This blog is my happy place, but I have bigger aspirations…for the blog and my real life business. There is a lot in the works over here (new website – ahem!) and I needed an updated planner to reflect my needs. Just remember!: You don’t need to buy anything fancy when it comes to to-do lists. Simply grab a sheet of paper, pretty it up with some washi tape and you’re good to go!

Have a great day!!