Taming the Paper Clutter Monster with your Planner (and more dental stuff)

This is another post about the wonder that is my revamped bullet journal and my six-hole punch.

The picture below is the paper ‘clutter’ that was brought into our house just yesterday.  AND, this isn’t even all of it.  Any mail that is addressed to my husband I set aside for him to open and deal with.

I separated it into 3 piles:  Dental, bills, coupons.

 

I had a dentist appointment yesterday with a new sedation dentist.  With my horrible experiences that I’ve had with dental procedures in the past, it was time to find a new dentist that would knock me out for anything – simple cavity fillings, cleanings, anything.

Yesterday I had x-rays done and a gum evaluation done.  And then they formed a treatment plan.  And then (it’s a fancy-schmancy office) they presented everything to me in a nice folder with their name on it, two business cards with my upcoming appointments, my treatment plan, and two other informational sheets.  It’s a nice thought…but it’s stuff like this that makes me nuts and makes paper unbearable.  *On a side note, I walked into this office and it smelled like lavender (relaxing).  As I filled out my paperwork, I noticed a little glass-doored refrigerator full of bottled water and juice.  Then while I was in the dental chair waiting for my exam, the hygienist whipped out a laminated sheet and asked if I wanted any complimentary services:  lip balm, a warm blanket, a warm pillow, an ipod to listen to with music of my choice, etc.  The plastic gloves they used are flavored (pink for bubblegum, green for mint).  And everyone that worked there was pretty and sort of acted ‘stepford-wife-ish’, but in a good way.  Super friendly, almost fake, but not quite.  And they were either wearing white or black.  The rest of the office was lavender colored (calming).  Anyways….a little insight into my new dental office.

So I brought home the folder they gave me, then checked the mail to find it stuffed with ads, coupons, and the electric bill.

I immediately threw out what I could (the envelope and other stuff that comes in the electric bill), and also the ads of places we never go (Albertson’s?  come on….even when their stuff is on sale they are WAY more expensive than any other grocery store here). 

I went through the coupons and clipped the ones I might use.

Then I went through my dental folder and pulled out what I needed.  I recycled the folder (meaning I put it in my ‘folder stash’ at work to use for something else).

This is what was left:

 

 

I got my planner and wrote down my appointment times for the dentist.  Then I 6-hole punched my other documents and filed them in the week of my appointments (after-care instructions for after my sedation appointment, etc.)  I did the same with the coupons and filed them as well.

 

 

 

And suddenly, my large stack of paper to deal with was no more!  Paper clutter is the WORST and I try to deal with as much as I can right as it enters the house.  Husband is pretty good about dealing with his stuff.  And we scan anything important that needs to be kept.  This new system has been great because all of my papers are always with me at ALL times.  I highly recommend it!

 

Bullet Journal

Can you believe I'm blogging about another planner?  I can.  I'm not surprised.  My last one didn't work out because it was too big and cumbersome.  I should have known, but I had to give it a shot first.

When my sister came to visit in June, she introduced me to the Bullet Journal.  In a nutshell, it is a planner/journal/tracker/list keeper, etc.  All in one.  And you make it your own.  Basically, you can take any notebook (although a higher quality one works better, like a Moleskine or a Leuchtturm).  Then you create your planner, lists, etc.  I started off with a Moleskine.  I made a monthly page for each month, then a weekly page behind each month.  Then I made lists and trackers.  That's what my Moleskine consisted of.  A lot of people do doodling, practice their handwriting, etc.  But I just never got into doing that.  I was more into making my lists and weekly pages look cute by using stickers and Washi tape.  I am not a doodler.  I do like coloring though and I love using cute stickers and tape.

But then I had to make some changes.  I was carrying my Moleskine bullet journal around, plus my wallet, plus my coupons in a separate pouch, plus the bills to be paid in a separate pouch and my checkbook and stamps.  It was too much.  I'd be at the store and have to whip out my coupon pouch, then my journal to look at my list, then my wallet when it came time to pay, etc.  It. Was. Too. Much.  I wanted the Bullet Journal to make my life easier, not add one more thing to keep track of.

So I basically transferred it to a zippered planner.

I wanted to still be able to add some flair to my general monthly and weekly calendar pages, but I also wanted to be able to add to it and reorganize the pages as needed AND keep everything contained.

The zippered binder is from Office Depot.  It's not large, it's a standard 6 punch size.  It can fit into all of my purses.  The 'insides' are all from Michael's AND my former Moleskine bullet journal.

Above is my calendar for September.  

Here is October:

Very simple....a standard monthly calendar plus some tape and stickers.  

Here's part of a weekly spread:

On the left side is part of this week.  You can't see the right side of the week, because what I'm now doing is putting the bills to be paid in my journal as well. I add them to whatever week they are due.  This is our insurance bill, which is due on the first.  I will pay it tomorrow.  Once it is paid, I remove it and put it in my bill binder (which I keep at work).  

I LOVE having the bills to be paid not only in one place, but in due-date order.  

Behind the monthly and weekly spreads (which include the bills to be paid, AND monthly habit trackers), I have a section for trackers.  I pretty much just removed these straight from my old Bullet Journal and hole-punched them and put them in my binder:

Mortgage payoff tracker:

TV shows to catch up on:

This one probably only make sense to me, but I like it:

After the tracker section, I have lists and other miscellaneous items:

Highlights:

 Coupons:

Restaurant coupons:

I LOVE having the coupons all here.  They are in order by type (pets, food, health, etc.)  When I'm at the checkout counter I can just tear them out to be used.

I bought a 6-hole punch when I decided to go this route with my planner.

I was hesitant to buy it at first because I wasn't sure it was necessary, but I use it ALL the time.  I hole punch everything to stick in my planner.  Not only everything that I transferred from my Moleskine, but also coupons, receipts, and 'things to be done' like looking into this balance transfer offer below:

It has made using this system even easier.  Plus it's pretty and gold and shiny. 

I keep all of my bullet journal supplies together in these two bags:

The first picture holds my most commonly used pens and highlighters.  The striped bag holds everything else:

Pens, pencils, washi tape, stickers, stencils and stamps.  All in one place.

I also added a plastic pouch in the back to hold my checkbook and stamps:

And then I added a plastic insert to the front of my planner to hold my cards:

(The receipts on the left are ones I need to enter into YNAB).

So my bullet journal has now become my planner, tracker, lists keeper, coupon organizer, bill organizer, and wallet.

I LOVE IT!!!  I love that everything is together and contained.  Most everything was purchased at Michael's (with coupons of course).  They have a great selection of planner accessories, including starter packs (that are blank, so you can start on any month), stickers, tape, etc.  I also added the little tassel to make it a little more 'me'. (Also purchased at Michael's).

So that's the latest on my journal.  I have a feeling this is the ONE!!!

June

My sister came to visit at the end of June!  We had a ball.

 

She arrived on a Wednesday afternoon.  I picked her up at the airport and we went to lunch.  Mexican food, of course.  Then we did a little shopping after she unpacked.

On Thursday we hung out close to home, went to the pool, and just got ready for the big event:  our Regional Convention!

 

It was wonderful.  So many good talks and new videos.  It was a small convention (we have multiple ones here in ABQ, and I believe this was the 3^rd one).  Our highest attendance was 2,900.  Which was perfect….none of us are fans of large crowds.

Each day after the assembly we would go home, take care of the dogs, get takeout from somewhere, make lunches for the next day and then watch Doc Martin on Netflix.  So funny!  We somehow established a routine in those 3 convention nights.

 

 

It was so nice having my sister here.  And I pretty much got her all to myself!  We are so much alike and get along so well that it’s so incredibly easy to be around her.

Where Have I Been?

Yikes.  This is probably the longest ‘blog’ break I’ve ever taken.  It wasn’t intentional.  It just sort of happened. 

This year has been….interesting.  Which, in a way, I kind of figured it would be.  Last year was so amazingly phenomenal (travel!) that it was kind of expected that this year would be more of a letdown ha ha.  Not that it’s been a letdown even…it’s just been difficult at times.  We’ve both had some health issues that we are working on, but like all things, it takes time.

 
I have a HUGE list of blog posts to write and post.  My sister visiting in June (that's how far behind I am).  Podcasts.  Bullet Journaling (life changing).  Revamping my bullet journal to make it work best for me (and my newfound love for my 6-hold punch).  Organizing.  My completely ‘Kon-Mari’d’ house (also life changing).  A new business.  Lots of random things.  Service dog training.  Couponing (again).  5-dinners 1-hour (again).  Small house-updates.  House tour (including cabinets, closets, drawers, the whole she-bang).  Organizing tips and tricks (want to know how to organize your fridge?  I can tell you!).  Why I have decided that I HAVE to be super selective about the books I read lately (it’s a health issue…seriously).  I could go on and on.  I have a lot of these posts at least 75% written, it's just a matter of pulling together photos and actually posting them.

But life is INCREDIBLY busy with work, service, meeting parts, public talks, more meeting parts, and did I mention meeting parts?  In a different language? 

 

Also, currently we have a guest staying with us for a week (which is really nice).  We've been keeping it nice and quiet in the evenings so that she can study in peace, which is SO NICE for us as well.  Each day I come home from work (I get home an hour before she does), I go over the floors with my vacuum, clean out the cat box, do our daily load of laundry, light a couple of candles and make sure dinner is in place for the evening.  It's been great getting back into a routine, and I hope to keep the routine up even after she leaves on Saturday.  

I am still here.  I am still plugging away.  I am just busy!  More to come....