Happy Wednesday! I am linking up with Shay and Erika to share one of my favorite things!

This month the link up is taking a peek at calendars!!! I have always been a planner girl and I never, ever, ever intend to use an electronic calendar on my phone or other device. I just love a paper planner and it brings me joy! It doesn’t have to be recharged. I can always have it with me. There’s never a problem backing it up. Nothing gets accidentally erased or changed. Paper planners are practically perfect if you ask me. 😉 I like a planner with a whole month and then weekly pages behind it, always have and I always will.

In college, I used to use a student planner from Walmart, etc. but then right after college I found the Lilly planner. I am a Lilly girl through and through so touches of Lilly through my beloved planner was a big win! I monogrammed it myself (well, my sister made it for me) and got the matching portfolio to carry everything I could possibly need. This was planner perfection until we got a little busier. The weekend spots weren’t quite big enough. Lilly did have an extra large planner, but it was heavier than I was looking for and too big to fit in my purses comfortably.

It broke my heart but in May of 2017 I started looking for a different format. That is when I found Erin Condren. Oh my planner love!! I seriously love love love my Erin Condren life planner. It is the new perfect for me planner! I like the colorful, vertical layout. There are interchangeable covers that are only $10, and they fit the notebooks and planners!! Holy excitement! I discovered that my planner cover could match my mood or the holidays or whatever I wanted it to be! I use the EC elastics to hold my planner closed and keep everything together. The chase the sun and summer lovin’ are from the seasonal surprise boxes and I love them! I designed the others.

Here are a few pages in my current planner. Each member of our family has their own color. Jack and Luke decided they didn’t like their colors so I am in the process of changing them from orange to red and tropical blue to royal blue. In the top box, I put things that happen during or around the school day. The second box has all of our evening activities. I try to record what I eat in the bottom box (it’s been a fail lately) and on the lines at the very bottom I try to record my exercise. On the lines to the left side, I meal plan, make lists, or jot notes I need to remember.

In the monthly layout, I try to plan Sunshine & Books. I write down the linkups I want to do and then plan out some ideas I have for the month.

In addition to my paper planner, I have a dry erase calendar on our fridge. Everyone can see our whole week and knows what to expect. I record practices, meetings, work schedules, fun things, and our dinner plans there.

I also have a work calendar. I used to carry my plan book, a spiral notebook, and monthly calendar. Guess what, Erin Condren helped me out again! Her Teacher Planner has all of these in one spot. It’s a little pricy but it brings me joy all year long when I am planning and it is everything I need at a meeting in one spot. Again, other people are moving to digital planners, but I’m holding out as long as possible! I love a paper planner!

I designed my plan book this year so it would be like i was laying on the beach looking up at the beautiful sky through palm trees. 😎☀️

The inside has enough room for all of my classes, to do lists, and room for collaboration or co-teaching plans.

I have a page-a-day calendar on my desk at work. I love this one! It has fun designs and great quotes to remind me to have a great day!

When I write in my planners, I have a few preferred utensils. I love the Erin Condren dual tip markers and Papermate flair pens. They are fun colors and they don’t bleed through. If I am writing in pencil, I always use the Bic Velocity pencil with 0.9 lead or a Ticonderoga. They both write so smoothly and erase remarkably!

I could talk about stationary and pens/pencils for days and days, but it’s the second week of school and I need to go to bed. Maybe I’ll do a dedicated post about that sometime soon.

Have a well planned day full of sunshine and books!