Memory Planner: January

My obsession with this memory planner continues!!  I seriously can't believe I didn't start this sooner.  I'm a list maker at heart, and I've always had tons of lists, but they were usually scattered about in books, journals, notepads, etc.  I remember trying out a Project Life planner book that I made a few years ago to keep up with our week's events, but that quickly fell by the wayside.  It was just too much work to keep up with multiple books/calendars/journals.  

Having everything in one place has been a game changer for me.  I love that I can add notes about our day, clip in a tag, and keep up with our activities.  This planner gives me a place to "create" when I want to make something, but don't really have it in me to create an entire layout or Project Life spread.  This book has become my "art journal" so to speak....  It's become my go to for creativity when I have a few minutes to spare!!  It's quick, it's easy and I always have it on hand!!

I went back and forth about whether or not to share my planner pages.  I'm not sure I will continue this every month (because, seriously, who really cares what my planner even looks like), but I figured, what the heck...maybe I can inspire someone else to add memory keeping into their daily planner!  So here goes....

As you can see, my planner consists mostly of lists, notes and activities.  I use the larger daily boxes to keep up with the daily "to do" list, but I also use this space to write in little details about our day....quotes, notes, things we did, etc.  I love having these sections to look back on (again....I'm wondering why I didn't do this earlier)!!

I use the smaller (lined) daily boxes to keep up with my blog posts and our meal planning.  

I'm finding my "groove" with my planner and as the weeks have gone on, I've discovered what works best for me.  I really like adding important events (like lunch duty that I almost forgot a few weeks ago) into the planner using mini alpha.  It pops off of the page and makes it easily recognizable as I'm glancing at the week.  

I also really like printing out my favorite photos from that week and adding them into my book.  

Here, I used a divided 4x4 WRMK page protector to include four photos of our week and two journaling cards (for notes/details).  I'm sure these photos will make it into my January Project Life book too, which may seem a little redundant, but having them with me everyday is priceless.  I don't carry around my Project Life album, but I do carry this little gem everywhere.  These little extras make me super happy.....and redundant or not, you just can't beat that feeling!

I've also gotten a little creative and busted out my stamps and inks (say whaaaat??).  I swear I am determined to become a stamper this year!!  I'm staring small with this planner!  :)

There's no real rhyme or reason to the stamps.  I usually just pull them out when I have that "creative itch" but don't really want to make an entire project.  

I continue to use a divider to mark the current day (and a paper clip on the top of the calendar month so I can easily flip to see the whole month together).  The divider with my One Little Word (shine) is my favorite!!  Like the photos, it makes me super happy (I'm weird). 

And what would a post of mine be without a photo collage, right??

To finish the month, I decided to print out a photo collage of all of our January photos.  I cannot even begin to tell you how much I love this!  For starters, I'm a sucker for a collage, BUT.....now I can see all of the photos I've taken for the month.  Score!  I will absolutely be printing a collage of our pictures each month!!  Total game changer.  No more searching my hard drive for a photo!   

So what do you think?  Do you incorporate photos and memories into your planner??  If you happen to post yours to a blog, gallery or what not, link it up here!  I would love to see yours!!