Time to get organised: A mum’s sanity folder

Alright, so truth be told – if the padded suite and straight jacket have already been booked, I can’t guarantee that this sanity folder will save you. But it will at least keep you organised enough to know who to call when the white coats come for you.

Basically this ‘sanity folder’ goes with me everywhere… and I mean everywhere.

In it is everything I need to do for that day (or week). My sanity folder means that when I find myself sitting around waiting, you know, like at the doctor’s surgery or sports training or music lessons or any number of places that a mum sits and waits, I can still be productive. Rather than sitting there wasting time on social media, ahem.

I worked out that on any given day, I had at least an hour (double that some days) of wasted time. 15 minutes waiting for an appointment here, 10 minutes waiting at school pick up there, 45 minutes to an hour in the car waiting for sports training to finish.

You get the idea.

Enough of the waffling already, let me show you.

Don’t miss: Part 1 of Time to Get Organised: How to schedule your week

The sanity folder

You will need

•  A folder of some type – the cuter the better… obviously
•  Your weekly calendar and work schedule
•  A daily to do list (download here)
•  A menu planner (download here)
•  A monthly calendar
•  A bulldog clip
•  A note pad

Click on the pics to to print your freebies:

Let me show you what is in my folder in a typical week.

1. The folder itself, which I’ve embellished with cute washi tape and stickers, ’cause that’s how I roll.

2. On the inside cover (on the left) are some cards I need to write when I get a chance – when I buy the card it goes straight into this folder until it gets attached to a gift or posted. I also keep here a list of project ideas too.

3.  My weekly work schedule – so pretty much wherever I am, I still know what I need to do to keep on top of work.

4. My daily to do list which is broken up into 3 columns:

•  work – things I need to do specifically that day for work

•  family stuff – appointments, bills to pay, cards to write, RSVPs, etc

•  errands- things I need to do or pick up whilst I am out and about.

5. My monthly calendar so I know what’s coming up and can plan on the fly

6. Bills that need paying, parties that need an RSVP / gifts to buy, prescriptions or forms to be filled out, etc

7. My running to do list – everything gets written on here including long term stuff and then I move it across to my daily to do list as applicable.

8. I keep a copy of my weekly meal planner in here, so I can fill out next week’s plan when I have a moment.

9. My shopping list – which I add to when I do my weekly meal plan. I also have it handy to grab stuff I need when I am out and about.

So that’s pretty much it. Everything I need to function and actually get stuff done when I have unexpected time on my hands or I’m waiting. Because, let’s face it, we parents spend plenty of time waiting around.