Product Review: Mead Shopping Organizher

Back Story:

In my soon to be posted piece about Mead Flex Binders, I go on and on about their versatility. But I always wished for a smaller version. Well, playing around on the Mead website, I stumbled across the Mead Shopping Organizher.

I’m not gonna lie. I FREAKED! Yes, it was a two-ring binder, but I didn’t care about that. I had finally found what I wanted. My wonderful husband, when I was jumping up and down, handed me the credit card and said, “Order it.” Music to my ears.

When it finally arrived, my friend, Melanie, agreed to shoot the unboxing video.

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Mead Shopping Organizher

Compared to the regular size Mead Flex Binder

“How to Use this Shopping List” Cardboard insert (that I’ll be using as a dashboard)

   

Pockets on both dividers

 

 Blank Shopping list sheets (30 in total)

Coupon dividers (removed all of them, except for the divider)

Website/Blog Username & Password log; Clear zipper pocket; Business Card sheet

 

I immediately tore it apart and reorganized it. I’m keeping the “how to use the shopping list” cardboard insert to use as a dashboard. I moved the card holder and zipper pouch to the front as well.

The Shopping List tab is staying the same, but I only kept three shopping list pages and the blog/website pages in this section.

The Coupons tab has been turned into a notes section. I removed the extra pocket dividers to make room for more paper. I already had a bunch of paper to fit this size notebook.

Moved the clear pockets to the front, behind the cardboard insert that is now a dashboard.

Moved the Website/Blog sheets to the Shopping List section

Added more paper. I had to washi tape the side and repunch them.

 

Current thickness of my refillable notebook.

A really nice discovery was that the two rings line up with the top and middle rings on a regular size Flex Binder. So what does this mean? I don’t need to buy a special hole punch!!! A standard size 3 hole punch will work just fine.

YES!!! Very happy! *happy dance*

© Cori Large February 10, 2015

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Planner Review—Take 2

I wrote my original planner review piece about a month ago. I truly enjoyed using my Franklin Covey Sierra and it is still set up, but a few days ago I couldn’t shake this reoccurring thought every time I picked it up to use it: I wish I could bend it back like a spiral notebook.

After internally arguing with myself over this first world problem, I sought counsel from one of the many planner-centered Facebook groups I am a member of. Another member essentially gave me the permission I was looking for: “If you don’t love it, you won’t use it. So use what you love.”

That was a very liberating message to receive.

I listed out what I absolutely knew I wanted in my new set up: Project Manager section, Expense Tracker, At A Glance Calendars, Weekly layouts (Wo2pgs), and my address book. I removed the Writing section since I have a separate notebook for that. I will be putting a blog posting list in my Project Manager section though.

Crafts by Cori has had its own binder for years. The planner section was just a handy area for notes and reminders. In my Project Manager section, I’m keeping this year’s BEP (Break Even Point list), To Do list, and raw materials notes.

So I got through my first week in my new set up, and I’m still pleased with my self-designed inserts.

Each day has my work To Dos on one side, and each box becomes a separate sectional To Do list with lots of room. Very very pleased! *happy dance* My notebook is full of wonderfulness!

Here are some pictures to help illustrate:

The Pen Band that holds all my pens that I use in my planner.

 

I’ve had the magenta one the longest, so it became my planner.

I took the inspirational page out of my Writing notebook (which is now a Green Flex Binder).

The Flex Binders come with 2 plastic dividers and 3 page protectors. Here’s what one looks like.

This the beginning of my Project Manager section. I’m currently trying to figure out what to do for Christmas this year.

Here’s a blank expense tracker insert that I made. It’s designed for a 5 1/2 x 8 1/2 binder, but I’m keeping it uncut for my bigger planner.

This is a January print out I got from MS Word. Nothing special.

Here is a blank weekly layout.

And here’s my weekly layout when I have all my To Do lists filled out. The right side columns with the black ink are all work notes. I have started highlighting my work hours, and don’t put anything work related down after 4 pm.

Address tabs. I may redo my address section, but I’m not sure yet.

© Cori Large January 16-19, 2015

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Jotters: What Are They & What Are They Important?

[part 3 of the Cori Planner Pieces series]

To my knowledge, no one else uses the term Jotter. A jotter is any notepad or notebook that can be carried around in the pants pocket so one can jot down anything they need to immediately. No random pieces of paper floating around, risking getting lost. Now all random thoughts, To Dos, lists, important information, etc. is all contained in a single (sometimes more than one) notebook.

Here are the ones I’m currently using:

  

As you can see from the inside peeks, sometimes my writing is neat and organized, and other times I’m writing very hastily so I don’t lose a thought.

When a jotter is filled, I go back through it, cross off anything that’s been taken care of, transfer any important notes to their respective places, and add anything remaining to The Master To Do List. Yes, that includes everything that is left undone in the Jotter.

(The Master To Do List will have its own blog post later.)

Now, here’s a picture of my Waiting in the Wings Jotters:

From the left:

• Sanderson box set: 2 lined and 2 plain paper notebooks; gift from a family friend
• Small spirals: Stonehenge one was bought at the Stonehenge gift shop in Salisbury, England; Mickey’s Philarmagic was a clearance bin find
• Small bound: Keep Calm & Carry On and the British Stamps notebooks were both bought during a trip to England.
• Small Pads: a set of three I grabbed while out shopping one day. Paper is lined only on one side, so I have a choice of which way I want to use them.
• Larger notebooks: these were cheap and I won’t be using them as proper notebooks but as jotters because the paper quality isn’t that great.
• Smaller booklets: these are the remaining 3 of a set of 5 my husband bought during a trip to the Tower of London when he was kid. They were recently refound during a cleaning out old boxes. So, of course, I appropriated them.
• Even smaller ones: remaining 2 of a set of 4 Jane Austen notebooks I bought in England. I was lacking in notepads to write on, so I had to buy some. The full set was one from Manifield Park, another from Emma, and 2 from Pride and Prejudice.

© Cori Large December 13, 2014

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How do I stay Organized?

[part 2 of the Cori Planner Pieces series]

I use three main items to stay organized: my jotter notepad, my Franklin Covey planner, and my Mead Flex Binder notebook.

Jotter Notepad:

I’m always coming up with ideas and need to take notes on one thing or another. Jotter isn’t a brand (or at least that I know of), just a term I use to refer to any notepad I can stuff into my back pocket and carry around. (There will be a separate post just on my jotters.)

Mead Flex Binder:

If you’ve never used one of these items, I recommend getting one. A combination of binder and spiral notebook. I use mine for my writing—fiction, nonfiction, spotlights, blog posts. It is organized in the Bullet Journaling style. (I’m planning separate, more in-depth blog posts about both the flex binder and bullet journaling later.)

Franklin Covey  planner:

I recently upgraded from a DayTimer Avalon desk size planner to a Franklin Covey Sierra planner. I say upgraded, meaning I got the storage space I wanted, even when I decreased the size of the planner. The reason I switched is because DayTimer didn’t have a larger ring option for the compact size, but FC did. Also, the 7 ring system in a desk size planner just made punching papers for it difficult. (I’ll go more into that in another post.)

The FC Sierra doesn’t have as many pockets as my DayTimer Avalon did, but I don’t mind. It suits my purposes wonderfully.

So there are my top 3 organizational items. Each will have its own post later on with more pictures.

Quick addition:

I use three different colors pens: blue, black, and red in my systems.

Blue: preferred ink color; comes from the notion that I’d always be able to tell an original from a copy.

Black: my backup if I can’t find my blue pen or if the blue pen runs out and I haven’t gotten/found another one; don’t use it for underlining though

Red: during the year, anything related to my outside-the-home job gets written in red; also used for finishing notes and underlining. Finishing notes are marking a written piece with the date written, typed, and posted to blog.

© Cori Large December 12-13, 2014

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