Notebook and list organization

The way I organize my to do lists, calendar, shopping list and meal planning are constantly evolving. I used a day planner for years, but got tired of purchasing new pages and could never seem to find one that had all of the features that I like. Then I tried tadalist.com and kept all of my lists online, but unfortunately I don't have internet on my phone and can only access my lists from home. Within the last month or two I have started using plain old spiral notebooks, and a small pocket calendar, and I'm very happy with how it's going so far. One day I'll get around to decorating these and making them look pretty. I love that all of these items fits easily in my purse and I always have them with me... that is the key to organization for me, cause at the most random times things that I need to get from the store, phone calls I need to make, and bills I need to pay pop into my head. Recording all of those thoughts immediately helps me to actually follow through on them.

My larger notebook is roughly 8x5, it is a 3 subject notebook that I got from the dollar store. One subject is more of a journal; a place for me to record my prayers, lists of what I'm currently praying for, reflections from my time in the Word, inspirational quotes, gratitude lists, and just highs and lows from my life that I enjoy looking back on at a later date, and seeing where God's hand was at work throughout all of it.

The middle subject is a day to day organizational section. That's where I keep all of my grocery lists (separate ones for each type of store; one for Sam's Club, one for the Hong Kong Market and one for regular weekly grocery shopping), to do lists, projects I'd like to make, blogs I'd like to write, items I'd like to sell via Craigs List or ebay and more. Each list has a date at the top for the week it was created, I put an slash through my grocery lists once I've completed the shopping trip, but keep them in the notebook to have a list to work from for next week (I buy mostly the same things each week). I also highlight anything that I forgot to buy or couldn't find so that I know I need to add it to the list for next week. If there's anything that I know I have a coupon for I write "coupon" in parenthesis next to it. Once I've had a chance to review the sale flyers for my local grocery chains I jot on a 3x3 post it the items (and the sale price) I might like to buy that are on sale at each store and staple this to the lower right corner of my grocery list. Then as I plan our meals for the next week and what I need to buy I have those handy. Finally, on the back of each grocery list is a list of what I'll be cooking for the week (not divided by day, just a list of meals). Some of these things I do in advance, for example, Jeremy asked if we could have Coconut Tilapia Curry soon, so I wrote that on the back of the page of my shopping list for next week so that I remember to reserve a night for that.

The third section in my larger notebook is more long term planning and goals. I have my list of 29 things that I'd like to do before I turn 30, a wish list of items I'd like to buy for me or our home, a list of items that I'd like to buy others for Christmas (this is where I make a note any time someone mentions something that they like), a brainstorming list of my favorite gifts that I can make, a list of our "go to" favorite recipes that I can reference when I need inspiration for meal planning, and a list of recipes I'd like to try (naming where I found the recipe, website book, etc.).

This notebook keeps our home (and me) running like a well oiled machine.


The smaller notebook is used as a price book. I've divided it up into sections (like the grocery store; bread, produce, meat, dairy, etc.). Then in each section are listed the main items that I buy regularly. Then I have the price listed for various area grocery stores and Sam's club, plus if the item regularly goes on sale, what it goes on sale for. This allows me to know the cheapest place to buy everything on my list, and also helps me to evaluate when a sale is really a good deal or not. I used to keep track on all of this on an excel spreadsheet, but then I never had it with me when I was at the grocery store and couldn't figure out if certain items at Sam's were cheaper when bought in bulk there, or the generic brand at the grocery store. Now thanks to this mini notebook I have my price book with my everywhere and always know the best deal.


This post is being linked to Works for Me Wednesday at We Are That Family.

Shannon