Planner Review: Motivated Moms Chore Planner
FamilyTimeMine winners, your planners are (finally) on their way. I know they didn't make it time for January 1st, but you should have them by Thursday at the latest.
I have two more planners to give away. I think you'll be very excited by this first one: the Motivated Moms Chore Planner. I love this thing. (Kathryn wrote about it here.) It's a download and you print it out yourself. Even though I'm already quite happy with my daily planner, I like the idea of a daily chore planner to help me keep on track in my beautification efforts.
Click below to read the rest of the review and to enter a drawing for a free Motivated Moms chore planner.
There are several versions of the Motivated Moms planner (click here to see them all). The variable options have to do with size (you can choose between 8 1/2 x 11" and 5.5"x8.5") and configuration (weekly or daily). For each size/layout combination, there is an option to include a Bible reading schedule as well.
The version I have is the full size (8 1/2" x 11") weekly planner. The layout is clean and simple: there are no fancy graphics here. Down the left side of the page runs a column with checkboxes for daily chores: make beds, unload dishwasher, and so forth; and there are blanks for adding your own daily chores as well. These are the things you do every day, and each chore has seven little checkboxes below it.
The right side of the page is for chores specific to each day. Every day of the week (it's a Sunday through Saturday week, which I prefer) has a list of six or seven tasks to complete that day. Each task is finite and simple: clean out purse, change handtowels in bathrooms, dust office. Through the course of a week, month, year, you rotate through all the household tasks that should ideally happen on a weekly, monthly, yearly basis.
The halfsized version of the weekly planner is exactly the same except it prints out with two weekly pages on each sheet of 8 1/2" x 11" paper. You can cut these apart and put them into a Franklin Covey-style planner, or you can put them in your own notebook. The full-sized weekly planner is 55 pages total: cover, 53 weekly chore pages, and a reproducible 2-week menu planning page. The half-sized version prints out in 28 pages.
You can order each of these with or without the Bible schedule.
The daily planner comes in the same sizes, but instead of a week (or two weeks) per printed page, it's a day (or two days) per printed page. In addition to the daily chore checklists, each day has a space for menu-planning and a section for recording appointments.
There are sample pages at the website. Each version costs an affordable $8 to download. I have printed mine out, hole-punched it, and put it in one of my lovely Small Meadow Press "Pigeonhole" binders. It's so pretty I just like to see it sitting on the end table! But to keep on track with the chores, what I'm going to try is hanging each week's page on the refrigerator. There are so many little household tasks that never seem to occur to me, and I like the idea of the mental nudge every time I go to the fridge in search of chocolate. Gosh, if I do one chore every time I sneak a chocolate chip, how clean and shiny will my house be!
(I'll let you know how it goes.)
Here's the fun part: the nice folks at Motivated Moms have offered one of their planners for a giveaway here. If you'd like to enter, leave a comment on this post. No need to decide now which version you want—the winner will have her pick after the drawing. Let's see, today is Tuesday...why don't I do the drawing on Friday, January 4th, at noon Pacific time. That will give the winner the weekend to catch up on this week's chores.
Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go change my handtowels and declutter my purse.
A fresh chore plan for a new year - sounds motivational to me! Now, when I don't win, I can blame the state of my house on that. ;-)
Posted by: Amy | January 01, 2008 at 02:38 PM
I'd love to be entered in! Thanks!
Posted by: Mary Beth P | January 01, 2008 at 02:52 PM
I could use all the help I can get to stay on top of the chores, so count me in!
Posted by: Nicole | January 01, 2008 at 03:07 PM
This sounds so...hopeful! Perhaps it really would get me on track for the New Year. Please add my entry.
Posted by: Jeanne | January 01, 2008 at 03:13 PM
Yes, please. I need to try something!
Posted by: Sherry Early | January 01, 2008 at 04:23 PM
Please enter me! Thanks.
Posted by: LLMom | January 01, 2008 at 04:45 PM
I am a calendar junkie...but I don't have a CHORE calendar...please enter me in the drawing!!
Posted by: Linda | January 01, 2008 at 05:49 PM
I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this planner. I've not ordered mine for this year. I'll wait until after your drawing before I do. Thanks, Lissa!!!
Posted by: KC | January 01, 2008 at 06:02 PM
Sounds like a great idea--I need all the help I can get! :)
Posted by: Celeste | January 01, 2008 at 06:36 PM
Hmmm, maybe a PLANNER is what I've been needing to make me magically organized and motivated! Worth a shot, anyways!
Posted by: Becca | January 01, 2008 at 07:25 PM
Oh, I'd love a chance to win one of these! And if I don't win, I may have to buy one. I definitely need more help in the chore-accomplishment department...
Posted by: Leslie in Springfield | January 01, 2008 at 07:48 PM
Looks like something I should try! Thanks for writing about it!
Posted by: Joan | January 01, 2008 at 08:10 PM
Did I miss the deadline for this one? Somehow my chocolate infested brain missed it.
Posted by: Activities Coordinator | January 02, 2008 at 05:42 AM
I'd like to give this planner a try! Thanks for such a detailed review.
Posted by: Melissa George | January 02, 2008 at 10:23 AM
I'd love to be entered! :) Thanks!
Posted by: Jessica | January 02, 2008 at 12:02 PM
I could use this. Working, traveling husband and best help away at college are taking their tolls on this homeschool family's home-school! Happy New Year, Lissa & clan
Posted by: Joann | January 02, 2008 at 03:33 PM
This is exactly the kind of thing that I need. Thanks for the reviews!
Posted by: Heidi | January 02, 2008 at 09:24 PM
If the contest hasn't closed, I'd like to be entered. Thanks! :-)
Posted by: KellyJ | January 03, 2008 at 06:50 AM
Oh, I need so much help in this area! I could really use a planner to keep me organized -- my brain is just too scattered!
Posted by: Gem | January 03, 2008 at 09:10 AM
Hi Melissa, I used this planner for the second half of 2007 and really liked it. Would love to win a free one! Thanks!
Posted by: Hannah | January 03, 2008 at 12:47 PM
This sounds great...
Posted by: NancyP | January 04, 2008 at 07:31 AM
I would love to have this to help with my our new chore system around here.......
Posted by: Maria | January 04, 2008 at 07:45 AM
Pick me! Pick me!
Posted by: Margaret in Minnesota | January 04, 2008 at 08:00 AM
My house would definitely benefit from this!
Posted by: emily | January 04, 2008 at 08:09 AM
Oh my-- I need this badly. I'm checking out the samples now...
Posted by: JoAnna | January 04, 2008 at 08:35 AM