The Great Planner Debate

If you are like 98% of Americans, then your New Year's Resolutions probably included something like this, "In 2015 I will be more organized." Am I right?! Well, if so it's great to know you are not alone :)

I believe that the foundation for organization is a well-functioning planner- and that can mean a little something different for everyone. Starting in December, as I began researching my 2015 planner, I got into what I like to call the "great planner debate"- right up there with the presidential ones I think! ha! It's both a blessing and a curse that there are so many great planners out on the market now, because it gives you tons of choices but can also be rather overwhelming! I thought today I would share with you a few of the planners that were my contenders for 2015, and then which one I picked! Hopefully this helps you find a planner that is perfect for you!

1. Lilly Pulitzer Large Agenda (18 months)- I'm just going to be honest… I hate 18 month planners! I never want to keep mine that long, I'm a yearly girl, so I feel like 6 months are always wasted. I used a Lilly planner throughout college and loved it!  However, with my crazy "to-do" lists now, between Junior League, the blog, and my personal life I found that there were starting to be more post-it's on my week than appointments and I could barely see my week! Verdict: I think this planner is much better suited for a student than a young professional, although it's one of the cutest on the market.

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Organize Me Monday: One-Offs

I can't believe it is Monday already- it seems like this weekend went by way too fast! I'm so excited that today I start my new role as an Assistant Buyer- it's going to be a really exciting new adventure and I can't wait to learn all that it entails!

I thought today was the perfect days to talk about a few "one-off" ideas- simple things that I do around my house to help keep it a little more organized and put together.

I love cooking and trying new recipes, and I am also an old-fashioned girl that still loves cookbooks and recipe cards (tips on that coming soon). To keep my cookbooks organized my mom found me this cheery yellow basket that I keep on my counter so my books are always within reach. This is the perfect way to add color and a personal touch to my kitchen.

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Organize Me Monday: Closet Tour

Friends, it has taken awhile for me to pull all my tips together for organizing your closet- because there are so many ways! I'm excited to share my closet with you today and I hope that this at least gives you some ideas to make yours a little more orderly.

It seems fitting that as we prepare for spring, many of us are turning our attention to our closets and ways to make that part of our lives easier! Nothing is worse than running late in the morning and not being able to find the pieces you need because your closet is a mess! Well ladies, let's clean up those closets shall we?!

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Organize Me Monday: Putting Your Baubles In Order

When I was in college, I was no accessory queen. I liked spending my shopping money on fabulous clothes, and jewelry just detracted from that budget, so I always kept it simple with solitaire pendants and studs and let my brightly patterned clothes take center stage. Then, I hit the real world and got a fabulous job in corporate retail working in jewelry. And everything changed!

All of  a sudden statement necklaces made perfect sense (how had I lived without them?!) and "do you bangle" became part of my everyday vernacular. In a matter of months my jewelry collection was bursting at the seams of my formerly small organization system. So what is a girl with an over-sized jewelry collection to do?

It was time to get crafty! My college roommate (and bestie) Asha had created one of these boards and I thought it was the perfect time to create my very own! All you need is a pegboard (you can get one super cheap at your local Lowes or Home Depot) and hooks (which you can buy in the same aisle). I painted mine with acrylic paint to match the colors in my room and make it a little more like "art" then just a utilitarian organization system.

I absolutely love how it turned out- and it is perfect for keeping all my baubles in order!

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Organize Me Monday: A Tote for Every Occasion

Happy MLK day! I'm loving that I got the day off from work- what a nice little break to catch up on life!

As you may have surmised from reading this blog so far, I am a very busy girl and my life is "go go go"- running from early morning bible studies, to work, to Junior League, to social events! With so many to-do's constantly running through my brain I had to find a way to simplify my morning routine. You know how it goes... you are rushing to get out the door and all of a sudden you think of the 10 things you need for your meetings after work- and then you have to run around like a headless chicken trying to grab them all and hope you don't forget anything!

After a few stressful mornings I knew there had to be a better way- and that's when I developed my "tote bag" system! It's a pretty simple concept; I have a tote bag for each of my commitments filled with everything I need and in the mornings I can just grab the bag and know that everything I need is in there.

The pictures detailed below are for my "blogging bag" - My necessities in it are:
     - My MacBook
     - My planner
     - An idea notebook (to jot down post ideas)
     - Pens, pencils, and highlighters
     - File Folders
     - General office supplies (post-its, tab dividers)
     - My blogging binder

Since it is all packed up, I can just grab and go when I am ready to hit my local Starbucks for a skinny peppermint mocha and an afternoon of blogging :)

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Organize Me Monday: Organizing Your Desk with guest-poster Tide and Bloom

When I say that I have the most talented group of girlfriends it is not an exaggeration- I seriously cannot get over the skill level of the lovely ladies I call my friends! One of my outrageously talented girlfriends also happens to have the loveliest little blog, Tide and Bloom, and daily I am inspired to add a little more "pretty" into my life after reading Christina's blog. This amazing lady also happens to have a heart of gold and a stunning artistic talent (I still have one of her paintings that she gave to me in college- and I love it)! What I am so excited about is that today YOU are going to get to meet Christina, since she is guest posting for me! Christina's flair for design led me to ask her for tips on a beautifully organized desk- since she has a perfect eye. Read on to learn all her fabulous tips... 

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Organize Me Monday: Start 2014 With a Plan(ner)

Y'all I am so excited to talk to you about something near and dear to my heart... my planner! Since we are all beginning an exciting new year (hello 2014!) I thought it was the perfect time to share with you how I organize my planner, and maybe give you a few tips for organizing yours.

First things first... with all the commitments I have on my plate I devised a color-coding system for myself so when I looked at my monthly and weekly overviews I could see instantly where my commitments were falling.

{Hint: I made my color-codes related to what they were for... Green is the color of money, hence why everything associated with Junior League fundraisers is highlighted in green. And, "pink for personal" & "blue for board" kind-of rhymed and helped me remember my own system!}

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