The last couple of years, I have been on the hunt for the perfect planner for busy moms.  I need a place that I can keep my schedule, my budget, grocery lists, goals, business plans, and everything else.  I am not a big journal-er, but I do like to write down thoughts, and record things that I feel are important.  I have tried to use digital planners, they just don’t work for me.  I’m kind of old school when it comes to this stuff, and I need to be able to write things down, and cross them off, or adjust if need be.

the perfect planner for busy

moms

 

*for your convenience, there may be affiliate links throughout this post, so you can easily find the things i am showing you.  by using these links, your pricing stays the same, but i earn a small commission.  you can see my full disclosure here

Before I jump into all of the reasons Me & My Big Ideas Create 365 is my favorite planner for moms, I should say that I sort of happened upon this planner by accident.  I sort of figured there wasn’t anything that existed like what I wanted.  Then my sister sent me a text of a picture of this planner, and I was in love before I even got my hands on it or saw it in person.  I just knew I had to have it.  Especially after she sent me a couple of links for ideas (oh so many ideas on pinterest!) on how to use it.  Then I did get my hands on it, and I found even more to love about it!  By the way, if you’re looking for a meal planner that fits into this planner, here is a FREE weekly meal plan printable for you!

Some of my favorite 365 create goodies (I could probably keep adding things for hours, but I will cut it short so you can get to the reasons I love this planner so much!)

• 365 create planner (I like this size, it’s big enough but not too big)
• important sticky notes
• happy planner punch– so you can put ANYTHING you want into your planner!
• expander rings– because I’ve got soooo much stuff to add!
• to-do puffy stickers
• washi sticker pack

1. Versatility.

   

   I love that I can add as much or as little to this as I want.  If I want to get creative, I can.  If I want to just jot down my schedule, I can do that too.  I also love that I can make it sort of a hybrid bullet journal.  I love the idea of a bullet journal, but I also like to have a starting point.

2. Removable pages.

   

   Since I am a jotter, and a note taker, I can get a little messy at times.  I hate having a messy planner though.  I love that I can add pages to this planner, and take them out if I decide I don’t need a page to stay there, or if I decide the first page was sort of a rough draft.  It may seem silly, but this is huge for me.  I hate that most planners have binders with a set number of pages and look worse if I pull the pages out.

3. Full calendar view & weekly view.

   

   I like to have a full view of the month ahead, that is large enough to add important events to it.  On the other hand, I need a larger space to write daily schedules and tasks.  Like I said above, I’m old school and being able to physically cross things off is important to me.  Seriously, even if it’s as simple as “take a shower.”  I feel so much more accomplished when I cross things off of my list.

4. Places for goals.

   

   Writing down monthly goals makes them seem real to me. Sometimes, they’re business goals.  Sometimes, they’re personal.  Once they’re written down, I feel more motivated to accomplish them.  The fact that there is actually a place already in the planner, reminds me to create goals to strive to achieve each month.  I wrote down monthly goals each month, but I also used graph paper to create big goals for the year.

5. It’s pretty.

   Truth.  It’s so pretty.  And, there are so many different styles that you can choose the one that best fits your style.

6. It’s durable.

   

   It’s big and even though I carried it all over the US and my house for an entire year, it’s still in great condition.  I am very hard on my planners, and this is the first one I’ve owned that wasn’t in pieces by the end of the year.  I actually read a couple of reviews that said it was cheaply made, and fell apart.  I have no idea how on Earth that happened because I was tough on this thing!

7. The ability to customize.

   

   Want to add a home planner?  They’ve got one.  Want a budget planner? They’ve got that.  Want to add note paper or graph paper?  They’ve got that!  That particular option was one I definitely took advantage of. I jotted all of my church notes, budgets, grocery lists, doodles, everything on these! Want a place to put things? They’ve got pocket folders!  Want to add a fitness planner?  They have that too!  So, you get the planner, and then you add the extensions that fit your needs.  Awesome.  Literally, the perfect planner for moms.

8. Affordability.

   

   I have come across some extremely expensive planners. While I might consider spending a chunk of change on a planner, by the time the New Year rolls around, we are usually broke, and the thought of spending a ton of money on a planner makes me cringe.

9. Fun accessories.

   

   So many fun accessories!!  There are fun stickers, and clips, and sticky notes.  There are also pouches you can add.  I actually purchased the expander rings and exchanged the ones that came with the binder for bigger ones since I needed more space for papers and stuff.

   Don’t forget to grab your free weekly menu planner printable!

Are you on the hunt for the perfect planner?  Or do you have one you absolutely love?  Share it in the comments!

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