Week at a glance wall calendar
I am an organization addict. Combine a Type A personality with only-child syndrome and throw in a touch of OCD, and this is what you get! I have owned every Day-Timer and Filofax ever made, and for awhile there I was really good about keeping my schedule in my Blackberry, but now I am back to a good old-fashioned wall calendar that gives me the month at a glance and allows me to plan WAY far in advance (a must for every military wife and homeschooling mom). But for the current week, I have–drumroll, please–my chalkboard calendar on my kitchen wall!
Everyone laughs at my wall calendar, but I know that they are secretly jealous. They feel flattered if they “make” the calendar and then get to see their names prominently displayed in my kitchen. Since I have to write down every move that I plan to make or I will forget it, lots of people make my chalkboard in a week’s time!
The panels are simply chalkboard-style Wallies, the peel-and-stick wallpaper that can then be easily removed when the time comes. By the way, I haven’t tested that claim yet, so I am hoping that when we move they do peel off that easily, because I already will have enough nail holes to fill! Anyway, I bought the Wallies online from Amazon (click HERE to order them through our affiliate program), and I just measured and stuck those puppies on my wall. I suppose you COULD use tape and chalkboard paint, but that would obviously be a more permanent approach and our frequent moves make me more of a “temporary” than a “permanent” person.
Since there are eight panels but only seven days in the week (I know you know that, but sometimes I schedule enough for eight!), I have one panel left over for NOTES, where I keep a handy running to-do list of things that I have really been putting off for a long time (like make a new will and schedule our flu shots). My real, daily to-do list gets written on paper and stuffed in my purse, but that’s another post for another day! I also start my week on Monday, even though my pastor tells me that Sunday is the first day of the week, because I need to see the weekend days together. Of course, the beauty of the chalk board is that on Sunday, I wipe the whole thing off with a wet paper towel and get to start it all over again.
I should resolve that I will put more things on my calendar like “massage” or “lunch with the girls, “ or my personal favorite, “shoe shopping,” but unless someone creates that eighth day in my week, I’m not sure if I’m going to have time for those things before January!
We are kindred spirits: I am Type A plus OCD as well! 🙂
I love the chalkboard idea and aspirations to “make the board.” Awesome…
Making the board definitely has some potential.
I’m also part of the Type A community, but I’ve found that an obsession with calenders can get out of hand. Use your chalk wisely.
Ryan
Where did you buys these? My husband would love this!!
I’ve found them on Ebay, Overstock, Amazon, and Lillian Vernon at varying times. Not sure who has the best price now. Good luck and thanks for stopping by!
I bought chalk board sheets from amazon. My grandkids wrote on then at first. When they tired of them, I used them for reminders.
I envy you for being so organized. I just have to ask this…whenever your children get in trouble do you make them write lines on the chalkboard like “I will listen to mommy?” JK…but really 🙂
http://www.runtobefit.wordpress.com
Hah! I’d probably try that, but I’d have to erase my weekly schedule first and that wouldn’t do, now would it? Congrats on your race…I’ve done five halfs and they’re addicting, aren’t they?
Maybe put on the eigth panel “relax!” 😉
Evil
http://www.evilcyber.com
If I saw all that waiting for me on the wall, I’d be overwhelmed, even though it’s day-by-day. I have to admit, though, the chalkboard stickies are a cool idea. As of now, everything gets written in tiny little calendar squares, and there’s not always enough room for everything. Hmmm…I may have to retrain my brain to take in a lot of info and not freak out. Wish me luck.
-Jen
http://sasfiction.wordpress.com
http://littlecreekvet.wordpress.com
cool chalkboard. i wish i could make lists. congrats on being freshly pressed
http://enjoibeing.wordpress.com/
I’m with you on needing to see Saturday and Sunday together. (They should just go ahead and push that into one big day where you get sleep in when and wherever you can.) I have been wanting to make a seperate calendar for my kitchen and have been putting it off. Maybe this would be just the thing for me. I have our monthly calendar “spotted” with red circles and dots for the stuff that’s supposed to be really important so I don’t forget, but I don’t check it weekly like I should. This would be a great way for me to review what I have going on for the week at the beginning of each week. Thanks for sharing your idea!
Great idea! But you totally have to check out my mother’s method of remembering things. It involves a clothes pin as fahion accessory–I kid you not. Go to http://reinventingtheeventhorizon.wordpress.com/2010/11/15/airing-family-secrets-via-haute-couture/ to read “Airing Family Secrets Via Haute Couture.” I blog from Haiti, but just couldn’t pass up the chance to post about my mother’s crazy methodology! Congratulations on being freshly pressed!
Love it–my clothes pin would have to have rhinestones on it, though! Thanks for sharing.
Cool..I think I want do chalk boards in my office at home. Great idea. Thanks for sharing.
Blessings,
Ava
xox
That is such a great idea. I wish I had space in my kitchen to do that!
This is definitely something I need to invest in!
I like your chalkboard and handwritten to-do lists. There’s something that commands my attention more when I write out a month or week of activities on paper, or in your case, board. Bits of electronic reminders that pop out at me make me feel like I’m missing the whole picture.
I am jealous…I wish I had the space in my tiny kitchen for one of these…
I’m an organizer, too.
We have a similar system — a reusable dry erase monthly calendar, divided into 4 separate sections. It’s magnetic, so we keep it up on the refrigerator. We fill in the month and the dates. As each week ends, we clean it off and set up the next week.
This might be a good option for those who have trouble with chalk dust! Ours is old, and was made by a company called Boone.
Some people operate well under ‘intuitive’ organization heh.
I’m with you on the chalkboard thing ~ have to see it. I tried to do the computer calendar or phone calendar schedule but just too much typing and little words, etc. So dry erase board for me so I can visually see it right there every day in my face. Easy to write and erase.
http://lifebehindthemakeupcounter.wordpress.com/
I love the chalk board idea if also for the design of it. I too use a dry erase board but I don’t have ‘monday teusday ect’ written on it. I have dates with what is going on that day next to them. This way I have things that are on there for next month even. Every important date I need to remember that is more than a week away that I do not write on the board about, I forget LOL. I too am OCD – but not the organization type. Oh well.
Oh I love this what a great idea! I would love to have it as a meal planner, so that I can easily see and remember what I planned to cook for the week! searching ebay now for chalkboards 🙂
Great idea, and they make an ever-changing piece of decor for your wall too….
I love this. I, like so many commenters, am a Type A -OCD mix and this is exactly what my whole house looks like. I even painted my wall in the living/dining room with chalkboard paint, and label my “work bookshelf”. 😀 Happy Organizing!
http://esayward85.wordpress.com/
Hi, everyone, and many thanks for the awesome comments and the warm welcome! It’s so nice to know that I’m not the only one out there with some quirky organizational habits, plus quite a few of you gave me tips that I’d like to try. And, if I was supposed to reply to everyone who commented individually, please forgive me for being a newbie who doesn’t have all the rules of etiquette down yet!
Wow, I thought I was pretty cool for writing out my daily (sometimes monthly) dinner menu.
Clearly I’m not type A. I think I’m more like an A-.
Love the idea. Everyone in the family can see it that way and not depend on me, especially now that my husband and I have reversed roles. He is stay-at-home and I am 9-6 away. But as someone who was always in charge of the kids’ schedules, he still asks me.
It’s great! It really is. I am not an organized person. I start out with the best of intentions, but after a short time I stop updating it. After a longer period of time I forget it ever existed all together. 🙁
Kudos on being so organized, I wish some of it would rub off on me.
http://humanitarikim.wordpress.com/
I like the idea lol but maybe its me but I have problems using organizers, I’ve tried Google Tasks, notepad, phone organizers and nothing has done the trick. I think with this large organizer you can easily keep track of things only thing is its not portable for a guy like me portable is so important but good posts by the way! congrats on being freshly pressed!
The Best Spinner
In our village, the young fire police volunteers just braved the cold (here, it is already -2)and pilgered out for their yearly calendar give outs(contributions accepted). I have been using these calendars as week planners for years…and my words always get scrunched in the corners and compete for space with the days of the month. Because of this, I have also missed confirmed dates, like the veterinarian appointment, etc. I like your idea. The chalkboard vision sends me back in time. I am reminded of the portbale red with gray rip sheet board…you know the one with the attached gray rip sheet….you write, lift the gray rip sheet and the scribble disappears. That was cool! Thanks for inspiring me to reminisce.
ummm. thank you for my first laugh out loud all day…my 5 month old decided to have a fit that lasted, ohh, about 9 hours. All the while I had 103392102 things to do, one being a 5 hour assignment.
Perhaps I should create a wall calendar…the calendar taped to my fridge that has — in your words “drumroll” — ‘mommy day’. Yeah, that day will happen when hell freezes over.
I absolutely love your post — a well deserved fresh to death.
Please continue to humor my funny bone.
Much love,
Shan
Glad I could give you a laugh, Shanna. Here’s hoping today goes better for you and your kiddo!
Dont you feel all stressed out with your life being so organized? What if something pops up.. But it’s not on your calender!?!? Then what?
I actually feel less stressed when things are organized, because then I have a plan for getting everything done. If something pops up and we have room in our day, then I run home and write it on the calendar before we do it (just kidding, of course, wouldn’t that be funny?!). This system keeps me from scheduling two things at the same time, which I HATE, mostly because I haven’t figured out how to conquer the time-space continuum yet! Thanks for stopping by.
such a great idea! i’m now obsessed with the wallies website, thanks to you! great post!
I have a dry-erase calendar to plan out my month. I’d be lost without it. 🙂
You must be really popular to have to write everything down on a calender girl! (Not being sarcastic) I kinda wanna try this for a week…. Maybe I’ll enjoy it like you do! 🙂 Thanks!
I’m LOVING this idea….it is so gorgeous! Off to check out more of your blog!
http://www.northerncottage.blogspot.com
I think this is a great idea – I also have gone through every type of calendar and still love writing things down myself! Great blog!
Very cool chalkboard, thanks for linking up!