Planner Round-Up 2017

A lot of readers mentioned that my Planner Round-Up 2016 was insightful so I thought I'd share a Planner Round-Up 2017.

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For this upcoming school year, I bought the Midyear Day Designer to keep my crazy life organized. Last year I used Day Designer for Target to see if I liked the Day Designer enough to pay the price, and needless to say,  I loved it hehe. It's perfect for balancing a busy college class schedule with clubs, sorority events, as well as personal events. I love that the 'Top Three" section, which lets me know what three things need to get done first.  If you're a college student, or a professional, I would recommend that Day Designer to keep your day organized! 

For this year, I also purchased a thinner Day Designer x Target to carry with me to class. My backpack tends to be full with notebooks and textbooks for studying so it is important to me to still have an agenda that is useful, but one that doesn't take up too much space. 

Several of my friends have Erin Condren Life Planners and they love them. If I didn't have my Day Designer, I would probably purchase an Erin Condren. Plus, who doesn't love all of those customizable options! 

If you don't need a lot of space,  I recommend Rifle Paper Co, Kate Spade, and Lilly Pulitzer for planners. 

Need more planner inspiration? Check out last year's planner guide! 

Making Your Closet Work at College with MakeSpace

When transitioning between high school and college, one of the hardest things to do is to downsize your closet. Since I go to school and live in Indiana, I need clothes for all four seasons. I'm lucky to be able to leave most of my clothes at home and switch out clothes between campus at home every few weeks as needed when the temperature begins to change. My closet at home is definitely larger than my closet at school, and there is no possible way I could fit all of my clothes into my closet down here. A lot of my friends that are from out of state bring wha seems to be their whole closet to their room (which I think is insane and way too much clutter, but to each their own). I think as college students, we all wish that our closets either at home or at school looked like those dream closets that we see all over Pinterest, but there is no way that is going to happen.

We would love to have a closet that looks like this

via Houzz

but in reality, we're stuck with a closet that lacks hanging space with small drawers.

A perfect solution to your closet problems are to store clothing that you currently don't need in your closet.  With MakeSpace, you can store your seasonal clothing, along with anything else you need stored, and MakeSpace will take your bins and store them for you. This way, you never have to visit a storage unit. This is also perfect for those who are new to cities and can't fit all of their belongings into their small apartments. Features of MakeSpace that I think are really important to consider are the they will pick up and deliver your bins, they provide free MakeSpace Storage Bins, and the storage rates do not increase.

MakeSpace currently services New York City, Chicago, Washington D.C., and Los Angeles. This is a great option for those who attend colleges within the city or work in the city. I'm too far from Chicago to use MakeSpace, but if I lived closer, I would definitely use MakeSpace to declutter my living space and closet. MakeSpace has announced some future spots where they will be offering their storage services and they plan to announce more soon! To see all of their current and future self storage locations, click here.

c/o MakeSpace

c/o MakeSpace

c/o MakeSpace

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Planner Round Up 2016

As of Friday, I'll be finished with my summer courses and will be getting ready for the fall semester. I personally think that a planner can be a tremendous help during the school year. I know that I would be running around with my head cut off without one. Here are some planners that I have rounded up for this upcoming school year. 

Lilly Pulitzer | Rifle Paper Co. | ban.do 

Lilly Pulitzer Large 17-Month Agenda- I used the Lilly Pulitzer agenda freshman year, but halfway through fall semester of my sophomore year I had to switch planners because I was simply running out of room (this may be attributed to my large, sometimes messy handwriting). I do like the size of the daily view pages, the monthly view pages, and that each month is a different pattern. I am obsessed with the Ocean Jewels and Exotic Time prints for the 2016-2017 agendas! 

Rifle Paper Co. Planner- I bought this agenda earlier this summer to use for the upcoming school year because I like that each day has spots where assignments can be checked off when done, which will be helpful when I have multiple assignments to complete. However, I'm not sure if I like the lack of space for each day. I have a heavy course load this semester and I am not sure if I will be able to put all of my assignments in it because I do have large handwriting. I am also not sure about the size of days in the monthly view pages, which I usually use to put all of my meetings and exam dates on. I  do recommend this planner to those who have smaller handwriting and are looking for an agenda that that does not exposed binding (a huge plus when it comes to putting it in a full backpack!!). 

ban.do Planner- I love the ban.do planner, and I am definitely considering using it for the upcoming school year. There is plenty of room to write down daily assignments and activities as well as the monthly view pages. I especially like all of the cover choices as well as the colorful inserts within the agenda itself. 

Day Designer- The Day Designer Planner is filled with daily planning pages with slots to put your activities from 5 am to 9 pm as well as to-do lists and monthly views. I personally think that this planner is more suited towards professionals, but would work well for someone who is transitioning between college and their first job. 

What agenda are you planning on using this upcoming school year? 

#BloggerBTS: College Packing Organization

My number one piece of advice when it comes to packing for school is that you have to stay organized. It all starts with lists. For example, I just sat down tonight and started cranking out a To Do List, a To Pack List, and a To Purchase List.  Now when it comes to leaving for school next week, I'll have a leg up, which means that I'll have more free time. As an incoming college sophomore, I believe my freshman year helped me prepare for this last minute packing extravaganza that I'm about to begin.

My tips for organization lists:

1. Use your preferred paper source. I'm using printer paper because it allows me to add items into the listed categories without making the list seem too disorganized.
2. Make categories. Categories help with organization!
3. It's okay to use electronics for your to-do lists if you prefer just having it on your phone. I recommend using Pages, Reminders, or Notes on your iPhone for quick list tricks. Sorry Android users, I am oblivious to apps on your device. 
4. Stick to your lists! It's okay to add things, but really think about what you're adding, especially if you're talking about your to-pack list. You can only fit so much stuff in your cars and dorms!

To Do List: 
I recommend just randomly thinking of anything you think you need to complete.

To Pack List:
CATEGORIES. That is all I have to say. Period. Divide what you want to pack into categories so that everything on your list is in the same area of your room/closet/bathroom. It will make your packing seem less hazardous; your mom and dad will thank me.

To Purchase List:
Look at your To-Do Lists and To-Pack List and figure out what you need To Purchase. This will help you determine if you can get everything in town or if you have to go out of town to purchase something. Don't forget that there is shopping in the city that your school is in. (Unless you really do go to school in the middle of no where, then bless your heart).

If you're not a fan of printer paper, you can always use notebooks or custom to-do lists. Below, I've listed some adorable notebooks that are perfect for lists and other notes (like your upcoming blog posts).

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