Every year I gather up some calendars and slowly begin the process of narrowing down which one will take the coveted space in my kitchen as my central calendar. The grand poo-bah if you will. I hate to hurt any of their feelings but there can be only one.
Let me share my top four picks with you by telling you a little bit about each of them. I was going to give you a list of the pros and cons of each but I don't think that would be fair. What I may see as a con someone else may see as a plus, only you can decide which one will be suitable for your own unique circumstances. So I'll stick to the facts and then at the end I'll tell you why I choose the one that I did and why it works for me.
Clicking on each calendar title will take you to the online source.
2009 BusyBodyBook Wall Calendar
- Not your typical monthly calendar...this one is in weekly grid format with seven spacious columns accommodating up to seven family members or other activities such as meal planning or household chores.
- Each person simply reads down the column to see their appointments/activities for each day.
- Works well for very busy households with each individual requiring large amounts of daily space.
- Every other column is lightly shaded to provide differentiation.
- There is a 4-inch pocket on the inside back cover to hold important papers, receipts or coupons.
- Offered in two sizes 14" x 11.25" (1 week view) or 14" x 22.5" (2 week view)
- Price: $14.95
2009 Time Too Family Tracker Calendar
- Typical monthly format except this calendar runs from Monday to Sunday.
- Calendar is supersized at 16" x 19" providing large daily squares.
- Each square has two different color guides at the top and bottom of each white square to assist with tracking of activities. The bottom blue area is to help you differentiate your evening activities from your daytime activities.
- Weekends easily stand out as they are lightly shaded green boxes.
- Big green box at the of each month is an area set aside for planning ahead. Beside that is an area to track events that need to be RSVP'd to.
- Printed on 100% recycled, forest friendly, chlorine free paper.
- Price: $29.95 currently on sale for $16.95
2009 Family Facts Family Activity Calendar
Typical monthly calendar format (Sunday to Saturday) however what sets this calendar apart is that each box (day) has 5 different colored and lightly shaded lines allowing you to assign each family member or activity a different color if you want.- Size 14" x 23"
- Fold out write on/wipe-off boards (dry-erase marker included) to list contacts, reminders, notes to family members or anything else you don't want to forget.
- Large pocket at the bottom to keep schedules, school handouts, and other important papers.
- Comes with a large sheet of stickers to mark birthdays, payments and appointments.
- Price: $12.95
2009 More Time Moms Family Organizer Calendar
- Typical monthly calendar running Sunday to Saturday with each large square (2.1 x 3.5) complete with 9 lines to write on.
- Calendar size 15" x 22"
- Large inside back pocket for bills and loose paperwork.
- Large sticker sheet included to mark birthdays, appointments and vacations.
- Can be hung in half month size to accommodate smaller spaces.
- Each month has additional white space for Kid's Chores and Reminders.
- Price: $14.99
So as you can see each of these calendars provides something distinctive for your scheduling
For me I was able to narrow my choices down somewhat because I know from past experience that not only do I prefer to use the typical monthly format (we really don't have enough family activities to warrant the weekly grid format) I also prefer to see big white boxes. Last year I used a calendar that offered colored boxes with various shading and I found it to be too distracting to my eyes and didn't generate the feeling of calmness I crave from seeing big white spaces. Of course keep in mind that this is just what works for me and your needs may be entirely different. Often it does take some trial and error year to year to really cement down your particulars. Because I'd used a completely different calendar last year it really made this year's decision that much easier for me. The calendar I have chosen to be my right hand this year will be the 2009 More Time Moms Family Organizer.
And in case you are worried about the others, please don't. They will be given good homes somewhere else in my house where I can keep an eye on them and still appreciate their beauty :)
Which one do you think would work for you?
29 comments:
Is this the same kind of problem as having a wall clock in every room of the house? If it is then I have issues! LOL. I haven't even bought my calendar yet. I'm so bad. I'm not going to have any idea what day it is after today lol. I like the bottom calendar best though, out of those 4.
Have a Happy New Year my friend.
Hugs.
Kim
I, too, love calendars! All of the ones you posted about seem great. I already bought mine at Barnes and Noble a few weeks ago. It's a Living with Intention calendar and it just a basic monthly spread. The pictures are very hand drawn calligraphy and there's a quote on each month that is helpful. I ended up picking one that would be functional but also remind me of my goals for 2009.
I also have been choosing and using the MTMFO calendar. To help with birthdays/anniversaries/etc. I print off the occaision on small return address labels (Avery 1867) and these fit perfectly in the date squares and still leave plenty of room to add daily events. The labels have tiny graphics (such as birthday presents or wedding rings), name, and "starting date/month/year". Yes, it might be quicker to just write the old information in the new calendar, but I like what the graphics add. Why the starting date and not the # of years? That way I don't have to "update" the labels every year.
Thanks for such great ideas here on your blogspot! Here's to a more organized 2009!
I like the wall calendar the best. It looks very simple which it what I prefer in a calendar.
Of the 4 you posted, I like the Family Facts or More Time Moms Family Calendars. I like the big squares and the typical calendar format. I am using a TrulyMom notebook calendar that uses a Mon - Sun format and it still confuses me.
I used the Thinkbin Family calendar this past year and loved it. Unfortunately they didn't make one for this year. Hoping they come back b/c it was great. For 2009, I am using Real Simple's blank calendar.
I like your last choice the best, I need to see the whole month at a time. I've actually found great large grid calendars in the dollar section at Target for the last few years. I don't pay alot of attention to the pictures, and I hang it on a large bulletin board in my pantry that can easily hold all of our important papers. I use color sharpies and make sure impt things stand out so we don't forget them! Happy New Year!
How could you leave out the WeekDate Hits the Wall calendar? It is great because you write your weekly and monthly schedule and see it all the time. I'm hooked and can't live with out it. I bought mine online at weekdate.com.
they're all great choices. i like the first and last ones the best. i like how you can list each person on the first calendar, but the last one shows the full month view, which i like.
OMG! I was so excited that you included the More Time Moms Family Organizer Calendar! I have used this one for the last 4 years and it is awesome!!!
I love being able to see the whole month with plenty of room to write everything down. Of course I am careful to write the appts. and events in chronological order. (for example 9 a.m. dentist before 11 a.m. haircut) My husband doesn't understand this. He will just write a 4 p.m. appt. right at the top before a 9 a.m. appt. It is appalling!! LOL The stickers are great too.
I was buying these from their website for the $14.99 + about $7 shipping from Canada. They are worth this price, but this year I found them at Costco for only $8.49!! Yeah! I got so excited that I bought one for my BF for Christmas too!!
You picked the best one. Congrats on a great decision!
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!
I received a review copy of the BusyBodyBook wall calendar, so that is the one I'm using this year. Not sure if it will work well for me. Last year I got one of those desk-blotter-size calendars and used several bulldog clips to hold it on the fridge. It worked GREAT.
I'm with you. The 2008 More Time Moms Family Organizer Calendar is for me. I like the white spaces, the 9 lines to write on, and the Sunday through Saturday format. I was given a calendar last year with the weekly grid format, but I didn't like it. Thanks for letting me know about my new calendar I am now going to buy. :-)
I mean 2009. I really am ready for a new year!
I like the 2009 More Time Moms Family Organizer.
I like the you have with 9 lines to write on. I also like that is has sticker sheets included to mark birthdays, appointments and vacations. And I like that it is a typical monthly calendar running Sunday to Saturday.
I love the More Time Moms Family Organizer. I have my 2009 version ready to go. I am a calendar junkie and this one is my favorite (tired the Real Simple one two years ago and too much work.)
I use one main calendar in the kitchen. I go with the boring dayrunner that you find at staples. It has big boxes for each day. Since I run a very busy schedule and attend many different groups I need a lot of space to put my appointments on it. Unfortunately, I'm struggling with my take along calendar. Last year I used a Plan Ahead organizer that I got at CVS for very cheap. Unfortunately it is 8 x 11 in size so it got to be too big during the year to carry around. So for 2009 I decided to go smaller. I purchased a day planner from franklincovey.com I went with the 4 x 7 size.
I like the family tracker.
It seems like there is plenty of extra room for notes and reminders for the month.
I liked the busy body book too, but I can't get my brain around the fact that it is so untraditional. I need the month looking normal to keep my brain somewhat on track.
Thanks for the review & the reminder it's time for a new calendar.
~Mercy
I'm with Barb... I always buy the desk blotter size calendar ($1 at Target this year) and hang it on the side of the fridge with 4 clip magnets. I only have one calendar that I post appts. on for the 6 of us, so I like the REALLY big spaces. I post appts. in chronological order in that day's space, like whoever said the 9am dentist appt is "higher" in the space than the 11am hair appt. One year I might try color coordinating each person's appts - like all my events in red, all DS #1 events in blue, etc. but knowing me, I wouldn't be able to find the right color pen when I needed it, so for now, I just label each appt. with an initial. So far, so good.
Week to week calendars do not work for me. I have to "see" the whole month at once, otherwise things sneak up on me.
I used to tear off each month's page and throw it away, but now I fold the page behind the calendar and rehang it on the fridge. At the end of the year, I move the used up calendar into the attic. I've been saving them for a while now. It's fun to look through them and read over things we did each year. It's also fun to see progressions like "BABY DUE" in March and "Jesse's 6 month checkup" in September.
I've also found I prefer August to August calendars. I can write down ALL those dates they give you at the beginning of the school year rather than writing half of it down in August, and half of it down on a new calendar in December.
I enjoy your blogs!
Ace1234
I LOVE the BusyBodyBook planner. I've used it for 2 years, but I found the calendar to be too big. I also don't need that much.
What I've found that I love in a calendar is a pocket, which allows me to stick the invitation or notice or whatever in there for future reference.
This year I stumbled across a calendar that has a pocket with each page, instead of one on the back, so I'm trying that one out!
Oh--and what I DON'T like at all is the Monday to Sunday format. I had one like that two years ago, and I was forever confused.
I bought the MTFM calendar for several years through the FlyLady and then they came out with their own, nearly identical, calendar. The spaces on the FlyLady calendar are taller, because there is no picture on top. Right now there are only 2 of us (3 in May!!) and so I can easily color code things. I bought colored pens that came in a plastic case that hangs on my corkboard. The pens are dying (after 3 years), so I bought a pack of gel pens to supplement. I mostly only use 3 colors for specifics (me, him, both) and I use the same colors for our digital calendar.
I am totally in favor of putting things in chronological order. I also love using the FlyLady stickers. I have yet to make my own, but the tiny label idea sounds great. When something gets changed I use the border from the sticker sheet to cover the entry and can write over it with my pens.
The only draw back I can see is if you have more than 3 very active people in your home.
I am a die hard More Time Mom calendar user...have been for about 6 or 7 years now. I live and die by this calendar. I have never found one that give you more space than this. People comment on my calendar all the time and where can they get one. I always keep my old calendars...they serve as diaries of sorts. I write everything on them, from appointments to special happenings or accomplishments. I KNOW you will love the this calendar. Awesome choice!
I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one. I try to hoard as many new calendars(makes me feel good for some weird reason)-freebies-before the year starts off. I'm also a huge clock lover!
This year I'm starting to use freebie calendars for keeping track of things like- one's on my dryer & each day I mark how many loads of wash/dryer I've done so I can get a realistic view this year/each month of how much laundry I really do..another in the bathroom to keep track of when & who bathed(kids only-some days a couple times..then all of sudden it's like, whoa, have u bathed in a couple days? when things get really crazy busy;..etc.
I have a main magnetized calendar on the fridge; hand-held daytimer for taking in the car & allover the place; and new this year....tons all over the house to start tracking everything!! Then in a few months I'll see a pattern hopefully and learn to me more efficient.
I prefer more time moms too because I like the flexible, huge spaces. This year at Half PRice Books I found some ecological one that was very similar in format, but cheaper, and printed with soy ink and some other fancy stuff. My main criteria is big squares and that I want to write on it with pen or pencil. So it can't be shiny paper.
I use the More Times Mom calendar as well. BusyBody would not work because I need to see the whole month. Time Too Tracker would not work because my calendar week needs to start on a Sunday.
I am a big fan of both the Family Facts products & the BusyBody products. I have both of those calendars and love them both!
I think I'm a Family Tracker wall calendar fan! I like the big squares, polished look and full month view. The school year and school week to weekend format fits how my family plans. And the daily color breaks will let everyone see the schedule at a glance. I used More Time Moms last year, but the style and formatting really never worked with my placement in our kitchen central. (kinda hokey)
I agree with partyofsix. I wanted our family wall calendar where everyone could see it, but with the More Time Mom version...I didn't want anyone to look at it. No real organizing features...just a big display of a standard calendar. Ended up using color pens to distinguish activities-stickers were gimmicky. Also don't like the calendars with separate spaces for each person--schedules never flow in order. I'm going to look at Family Tracker --looks like that might bring all my criteria together. (wall view, organized, simple color to distinguish schedules and organized for family life)Thanks for the tip!
I love calendars too. I have 6 kids who are all involved in something, the problem is I can't find a calendar that accomodates 8 people...........the one you have on here for 7 is the closet. Do you have any suggestions?
Please take a look at my blog, I have a diaster in my closet and I am dreading getting to it, maybe you could offer me some advice that will motivate me.
I ended up buying a Family Tracker wall calendar. Love it. Big enough to hold everyone's schedules and organized around the way my family works--school week to weekend and I really like the simple blue shaded area that makes evening activities standout. And I love that it is GREEN, really green---recycled paper, soy inks, thick white paper that is chlorine free..... Best thing was that I bought it for $16 from their website (reg $29). Okay, okay it was on sale because the calendar goes Aug to Aug 2009.... so I'll need to buy again in August. But I'm loving doing my summer planning for my brood now. Yay Family Tracker!
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