Printable Household Planners

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Printable household planners can be a lifesaver. Keeping up with the organization of a household can feel overwhelming at times. There are things that need cleaned, meals that need cooked, activities that need to be attended, and holidays to plan. It’s a lot, yo.

If you are anything like me, digital planners and the like are fine and dandy, but they don’t really work for you. I’m a pen and paper kind of gal. I’m a lots of pens and lots of paper kind of gal. I’ve dived headfirst into this super awesome world of planners and I can not wait to tell you more about all that, but that’s not the point of today’s post.

45 Printable Household Planners | Vicki-Arnold.com

Printable Household Planners

Today! Today I have a list of printable household planners for you. And I’m a bit excited about them. I’ve tried to organized them to make it easier to find just what you are looking for. Let me know in the comments if you find one that is just right for you or if you are still needing something different and I’ll see if I can hook you up!

Complete Printable Packs

Daily Printables

Weekly Printables

Monthly Calendars

Cleaning Planners

Meal Planners

Money Management Printables

Outside the House Planning Printables

More Household Management Printables

Other Free Printable Collections

As is bound to happen in the research process, I came across a few other round-ups of free household printables. Here they are:

Printable household planners are a great tool for homemaking. Seeing things on paper often makes prioritizing easier. It’s also pretty darn satisfying to check things off a list. Give one of these planners a shot and see if it helps you feel more organized!

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5 Good Reads On Organization

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Organization is one of those things I often struggle with. I love the process. In fact, that is just about my favorite part of anything, the planning process. Brainstorming, creating systems, setting goals…I love all of it.

It’s the follow through that I struggle with.

Never the less, I press on! I read all I can about homemaking, cleaning systems, and organization. I set up my own systems and little by little, I improve. There are days I get frustrated with just how little it is, but the grace of God carries me through.

5 Good Reads on Organization - Simply Vicki vicki-arnold.com

My blogging friend Marcy over at Ben and Me started a monthly link up that I thought was such a great idea last fall. Then life happened and not much blogging was going on here so I haven’t yet participated. But I am today!

The concept is simple, share 5 good reads each month on the fifth of the month. Any subject. If I read it in the last month and believe it should be shared with you, it goes. I intend to keep my 5 on the Fifth posts topical. This month I am sharing 5 good reads on organization.

5 Good Reads on Organization

10 Minutes to a Clutter Free Morning – Becoming a Minimalist

What I love about this post is that it is practical, a checklist of sorts. Printed out, this would give a nice visual checklist that the kids could even help with at night. You know, since most of the items are directly effected by them…

8 Ways to Get a Handle on Paper Clutter – Clean Mama

Paper clutter is the bane of my existence. I organize it in piles which is moderately effective. I can pretty much find things when needed, but no one else can and if a pile gets knocked over, all bets are off. These are much better options.

8 Clever Ways to Organize With Ikea – Decorating Your Small Space

My husband sort of hates Ikea, he finds it claustrophobic. I, on the other hand, LOVE it. I love the little rooms and displays. I love the colorful prints and fun designs. I LOVE coming across posts that use their products, both in the way they were meant to be used and Ikea “hacks.”

7 Ways I’m Minimizing Decision Fatigue in My Daily Life – Modern Mrs. Darcy

I keep thinking that #1 would make life so much easier, but then I also think boring. I really, really like #5 and think that needs to happen. And I appreciated the linen discussion at the end. 😉

6 Things I Do Every Day to Keep the House Clean – Clean Mama

I recently discovered Clean Mama and love it. I appreciated this list because it was equal parts encouragement that I am on the right track and keep going I can do better.

So those are my 5 good reads on organization for this month. I’m not sure what next month’s topic will be, but I have been reading a bit on homeschool already this month because of convention season starting. So there is a good chance that might happen.

If you liked this post, you might want to check out this one:

Organization ideas for the home - part 4 of 5 in the How Do I Teach Organization & Time Management Skills When I Have Neither? series

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Home Organization Resources

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Organization ideas for the home - part 4 of 5 in the How Do I Teach Organization & Time Management Skills When I Have Neither? series

Previously: why, how, and when do I start teaching?

Today I am going to do what I do best and round up some resources to help you organize your home life. And to make it easier and, um, more organized…I will organize them by home area.

Here’s where I insert a little plug for my organization board on Pinterest. You know, in case you want to follow along…

And here is where I remind you that this is NOT a checklist. You are doing this one step at a time! That means you bookmark, pin, or otherwise save this post and come back to it when you are ready for the next one. And if you have no intention of organizing a certain area, more power to you.

This post is not a guilt trip. I repeat, this post is not to make you feel guilty because you are not perfect. Don’t make me show you a picture of my kitchen floor. Alright?

General Organization Tips

Home Office: Papers & Bills

Kitchen & Pantries

Bathrooms

Bedroom & Closets

Books, Toys, & Craft Supplies

Laundry & Utility Rooms

Garages & Basements

Outdoors

Homeschool

In my resource hunt, I came across a monthly blog link-up that you might find helpful. It is a little like organizational heaven. It is called Organize It! hosted by Bowl Full of Lemons and 7 other blogs. The banner takes you to the main Bowl Full of Lemons blog, here is August’s link up.

A Bowl Full of Lemons
Happy organizing!
Tomorrow we wrap up the series with an awesome time management resource!
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When Do I Actually Start Teaching This?

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How do I teach oranization & time management skills when I have neither? Part 3: When do I start teaching this?

We covered why we want to change and we covered how to change. Now you might be wondering when you will start to teach these skills. Well…

You already are.

Your children are watching your example day in and day out. When we change, they see this. This will vary some with your child’s personality and age, but for the most part the saying is true. Actions speak louder than words.

You can take a few steps to help the trickle down effect move a little faster, but let me give you a little warning first. If you have tried many times or many different approaches to change something, you will likely be met with resistance to trying something AGAIN or disbelief. Do not let this discourage you.

Tell Them

Tell your family why you want to change, how you plan on changing, and ask them for help. This actually serves a two-fold purpose. It calls their attention to something that needs work AND it gives them the opportunity to serve.

Now, it is not likely to be this beautiful picture of butterflies and rainbows as you skip through your freshly cleaned kitchen on time. Change is rarely easy, even (especially?) when it is very much needed. You will likely have your moments when you are frustrated because the bad habits seem stuck like glue and it feels like you are the only one committed to this.

This is where you will discover that God is also working on developing patience, mercy, and grace in your heart as well. I will tell you from experience, the more you actively let go of the frustration, resentment, and bitterness…the easier it gets to react with patience.

Ask Them

Ask them how they think they are doing in the same area. Invite them to look at how their behavior effects others. Help them to think about their actions. Ask open-ended questions and let them know there is no right or wrong answer.

If you ask them how they feel in a cluttered room and they say “fine, doesn’t bother me,” then ask them to think about it from another person’s point of view. Try to think of someone you all know who is well ahead of you in this particular area. Someone who keeps their kitchen clean, for example.

When it came to keeping the house clean and tidy, I asked my children to look at it from the point of view of a guest. We talked about how we want guests to feel comfortable in our home, not worry that they are interrupting or taking away from the time we obviously need to clean the house. We also talked about feeling embarrassed by our guests seeing that certain things weren’t taken care of, like gifts the kids were given that littered the floor to be trampled.

Again, Just Do It

You can talk until you are blue in the face, but it really comes down to this…your kids need to see that you are serious about this change. Especially if you have tried this before and failed. There is tremendous value in your children seeing you work to better yourself. There is tremendous value in your children watching you overcome something that was an obstacle in your life. There is tremendous value in your children seeing you fail…and get back up.

Just remember, they will remember your attitude about the whole thing, too. So, as I tell my children, work at it with a happy heart!

Tomorrow we are talking home organization, seeing as home is where the heart is and all. See you then and don’t forget to check out the rest of the bloggers participating in the series!

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Finding Value in Organization & Time Management

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How do I teach organization and time management skils when I have neither? Part one: finding the value (5 day series)

Today I’m starting a series called How Do I Teach Organization & Time Management Skills…When I Have Neither? Each day this week, I will be breaking this down and sharing some ideas to encourage you in these two areas.

I will be honest with you, these are the areas I struggle with most in my homemaking, homeschooling, and life living. Well, I can do organized. It’s the maintenance that is the hard part for that one. Time management was/is a little harder for me. I have had some victory in this area, thanks to God.

One more thing, I’m not God. I don’t know your heart or thoughts. I simply write from my perspective trusting that God will use the words how He sees fit. If my words do not resonate with you, that’s fine. I do not write for everyone because, well, that is impossible.

The Heart of the Matter

It really comes down to how you look at it. I am a stubborn, selfish person by nature. I like to do what I want, when I want. This worked just fine for me until I realized this does not work when you have three example followers (AKA kids) living with you.

Can I just take a moment to tell you that “do as I say, not as I do” is not an effective parenting model. Unless you are wanting to train your children to not listen to the words coming out of your mouth. Then, by all means, run with it.

This is why the very first thing you need to do, is change your view of organization and time management skills. Easier said than done, right?

How Do You See It?

Let’s ask ourselves this. When I look at someone who is organized and usually on time, what is my first reaction? Am I happy for that person? Do I mock their efforts with sarcastic comments (aloud or in my head)?

Why? Typically, we react this way because we are jealous or feel guilty. Never a good place to react from.

So let’s try this next question on for size. Why is that other person organized and usually on time?

The answer is simple, really. They prioritize organization and time management because they see value in those skills.

Whether You Know It or Not

You have priorities. We all live our lives based on what is a priority to us. When our priorities are working for us, we call them goals. When they don’t, we call them bad habits.

Think about it. Do you eat? Why? Because fueling your body is a priority. Without eating food and drinking water, you die. Therefore, it must place somewhere on your priority list daily.

Poor organization and time management skills probably are not going to kill you, but they do make your life much more hectic feeling and stressful than it needs to be. And that can actually have a negative effect on your health. So they are more important than I want to give them credit.

Another way to look at it. If you could change something in your life to make it run more smoothly, is that valuable? I think so.

Tomorrow, we will be looking at some baby steps to point you in the right direction, on time. 😉 See you then!

Psst, I’m not the only one doing a five day series this week, check out the other bloggers to see what they are talking about this week.

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