Friday, December 27, 2019

Getting Organized & Motivated for the New Year Ahead!

I don't know how we can only be DAYS away from 2020, but here we are with a new year and a new decade on the horizon! As sad as I am to see Christmas go, I always love the motivation and inspiration I feel as a new year approaches. New goals to set, new projects to plan and new resolutions just waiting to be made.

For the last 6 years, we have shared our Goals & Resolutions printable and it has become one of our most popular freebies, so of course we had to keep the tradition going for 2020.


What makes this Goals & Resolutions worksheet special (at least to me) is having the space to focus on individual areas of my life. While many of these goals & resolutions will be on repeat (I'm looking at you "health" section), others will be tweaked each year, especially if I was able to achieve what I set out to do.

The other section of the worksheet that I LOVE is coming up with my Word of the Year. I have had several "words" over the years, and many haven't always panned out (like the year of "Nope" where I resolved to say NO to overcommitment. LOL LOL LOL).

But last year, my word was "Focus" and while I didn't master this in 2019, I made a very conscious effort to be more focused in everything I did, especially on things that were truly important. 

I may be setting myself up for another failure here, but this year's word is SO important to me and my health. My Word for 2020 is "Calm."

This Fall, I shared on social media that I was struggling with a constant feeling of nervousness, even when I didn't have anything specific to be nervous about. So many friends and family reached out on that post letting me know that they too have had this feeling. Some have found anxiety medication to be helpful, while others have found their calm by practicing mindfulness, journaling, meditating, doing Yoga, saying No to overcommitment (ahem) and a variety of other therapies. I've tried many of these suggestions over the last two months and while it has been difficult to find "Calm" in the busiest two months of the year, I have found a few things to be tremendously helpful:

1. The Headpspace App for mindful meditation
2. Working out/exercising with friends
3. Inspirational Self-help books and workbooks (currently on my nightstand: Get Your Life Together(ish), The Book that Takes Its Time and Maybe You Should Talk to Someone)

I realize this post just got a bit personal, but hey...we're all friends here, right? I also feel like this personal journey I am on has inspired a lot of the printables I have been creating this year so it only seemed fitting to share this bit about myself in case many of you are in the same boat with me :) 

And before I move on to some of those favorite printables of 2019, I would also like to share this fun 2019 Year in Review Page that you can use to reflect a bit before planning our 2020. You can download this new printable {HERE}



One of my favorite printables of 2019 was our 30 Day De-Clutter challenge. This printable is certainly nothing original, as you can find hundreds of different de-culttering printables online, but I wanted a calendar with tasks that need to be repeated regularly or even seasonally. That way, you can use this one specific calendar any time you are in need of a deep clean. Start on the first of the month, or simply use this calendar as a checklist as needed. You can download this printable {HERE}. Want to join our De-Clutter challenge for January? Make sure you follow along on our Facebook Group Page


Another favorite 2019 printable was our Self-Care Calendar with a printable list of ideas and suggestions. This printable will certainly come in handy for my year of "Calm" but it's also a great reminder to make time for yourself each day, even if it is only for a few minutes. You can download this printable set {HERE}.


And finally, my FAVORITE new printable of 2019 was our Habit Tracker. I was faithfully using this in the months of August, September and even the start of October, and then when I noticed more blank days than colored, I knew it was time to wait until I could recommit. We will also be starting this Habit Tracker Challenge in January so download your copy {HERE} and join us on Facebook January 1st!


One item on my 2020 Habit tracker will be to use my planner more faithfully. I know it must come as a huge shock that someone who MAKES planners for a living doesn't always consistently use them, but those who "can't do, teach" as they say. HA! However, I do notice that when I use my planner faithfully and for more than just jotting down appointments, I am more calm, focused and productive. 
But planning takes time and unless you MAKE the time to plan, it isn't going to happen. 

So make the time, my friends. Turn your planner into something more than just a calendar. Jot down goals, ideas, inspirational quotes, use stickers if it makes you happy, doodle in the margins, write down what you are grateful for, track your moods, journal a memory or reflect on a really great day. The goal is simply to use a planner that works for YOU and your life. We may not have everything you need, but if building the perfect planner is a 2020 goal for you, be sure to stop by our shop and use code NEWYEAR2020 for 20% your printable purchase now through January 1st.

Thanks for stopping by today and reading along! Wishing you all a happy, healthy and productive new year!!


Tuesday, October 1, 2019

FREE Halloween Planner Page

Happy October! It's the beginning of the spookiest time of year and we've got a fun Halloween Printable to get you organized for the month ahead!


Our FREE One-Page Halloween Planner has plenty of space for your shopping list (don't forget plenty of candy!), Things to Make, Decor planning, Costume ideas, Plans & Activities PLUS a handy menu for planning your Halloween dinner, or a list of sweet treats and drinks.

Print this page in size Large (8.5 x 11) and hang it on your fridge or family bulletin board, or you can print for your planner in Small (5.5 x 8.5) or X-Small (3.75 x 6.75).

We hope you all have a spooktacular month of fun!

We would love for you to share our Free Printables with your friends and family, but we ask that you PLEASE link to this blog post and not to the downloads directly. These printables are free to download and use for personal use, but they MAY NOT BE EDITED, SOLD OR PRINTED FOR RESALE in any way. If you have questions about these printables and how they may be used, please contact us :) Thank you!

Sunday, July 28, 2019

Your Back-to-School Countdown Checklist!

August is just around the corner, which means it's time for our annual BACK-TO-SCHOOL COUNTDOWN!!

To help us start getting back in the groove, we put together a fun little School Countdown Checklist of all the things we want to accomplish in the next few weeks before heading back to school. Both my daughter and my niece contributed to this list {see "family trip" and "play dates with friends"} and I think we've covered some of the most important reminders.


2 Weeks Before School Starts

If your school is like ours, you've had your school supply lists since the beginning of summer, so now is the time to pull those out and start watching sale ads. Because most of us don't do all of our school shopping in one place, it may be helpful to break up your shopping lists by store. To help you out, our first back-to-school Free Printable is this handy School Shopping List:


These lists print two-to-a-page and you will want to cut them down the middle to make two lists {we recommend printing borderless if you can}. They are blank so you can use these lists throughout the year! Just write the store name at the top and jot down your items.

As you start collecting all of your school paperwork and lists, you may notice that your planner or family calendar needs some refreshing. Our  Printable shop has a lot of fantastic options right now for planners, calendar pages, student planners and more. We also still offer our Free Home Management printables in 3 sizes, and if you are looking for a new way to organize your week, our second back-to-school freebie is this great List Organizer!


If sticky notes and Post-its tend to pile up in your house, our new Weekly List Organizer is a great way to keep them all together. Just print this organizer once, laminate it for durability, write your lists for the week, stick them on and stay on task!! You can put this page in your Home Management binder, your planner, or even stick it to your fridge or family bulletin board.

After your lists are made and your calendar is in order, it's time to start working on another schedule.

BEDTIME!

Did you know that our Kids Chore/Reward Charts can be used as a Routine Chart too? With tasks such as Brush Teeth, Read Book and Take a Bath…you can set up your chart for morning and bedtime routines! A few fun stickers may make the process go a little more smoothly for everyone :) And adults…don't forget about your routine as well! With so many tasks and responsibilities to juggle each day, it's only fair that we have our own Chore/Reward cart too! You can download this free printable {HERE}.



Saying farewell to summer is hard, but having an end-of-the-summer trip, outing or special day gives us all something to look forward to. Even if you can't get to the beach or travel, planning a backyard campout or trip to the zoo is a great way to end a fun summer {Thanks for this reminder Addie & Nia}.

1 Week Before School Starts

For some of you, school is only a week away at this point, which means it's time to reconnect with school friends and start getting our home in order!! The hustle and bustle of school days starts right away, so it helps to be organized from the beginning. This is a great time to clean out closets and start assessing which school clothes and shoes fit…and which do not. It's also helpful to find a place for backpacks, lunch bags and other gear. 

And speaking of lunches…

Your homework assignment for the day is to search the keywords LUNCH PACKING STATION in Pinterest and then carve out a good two hours to browse all of the amazing images. Organizational eye candy, I'm telling you!!

Getting your lunch packing supplies together in one place is such a smart idea, especially when it makes things easy enough so that your kids can help you pack the lunches (or do it themselves!!). It also helps when it comes time to grocery shop. You can better assess what you have and what you need to stock up on. One thing you will find in almost every Lunch Packing Station is a space for some fun Lunch Box Notes. Last school year, we shared a free set of Lunch Box notes each month and you can download all of them HERE!!


Print these babies early so that they are ready to go! We hope to share some fun new ones throughout the year :)

And while you are on Pinterest, be sure to also search the key words HOMEWORK STATION and READING NOOK. We may not all have the space or the money to create those beautiful work stations that we see in the Pottery Barn Kids catalog, but even something as simple as setting up a desk in your kids bedroom or putting together a caddy of supplies and other homework/reading essentials can be helpful. Professional organizers always claim that having these dedicated spaces keeps away distraction and gets kids excited about doing their work. I don't know if "excited" is the right word…but anything is worth a try, right?!

Depending on your school's schedule of events, you may have the opportunity to attend a "Find Your Way" day or a "Meet the Teacher Day" before the first day. You will be coming home with a lot of information about important phone numbers, schedules and events for the upcoming year and if you want a more centralized place to keep the important stuff, here is a School Information Sheet you can use in your planner, home management binder or on your family bulletin board. You can download it X-SmallSmall & Large {Please note that the X-Small/Personal size may look blurry in the download preview, but will not print this way}.


Now, if you would also like to gather some additional information about your teacher to make the whole gift-giving process easier this year, be sure to print and send in this Favorite Things list! They can fill it out and you can keep it on hand all year to help you with the holidays, teacher appreciation, classroom donation and more! You can download it {HERE}.



The Day Before School Starts

This can be such an emotional day! On one hand, we are a little sad that summer is officially over, but on the other, we are excited for a brand new school year full of possibilities and memories to be made! Staying positive and excited will get your kids excited too. Before bed, talk about the first day, read some "back-to-school" books and plan a special treat or activity for when they get home from school. 

After all that, make sure EVERYONE gets to bed early (you too, parents!) but before you do, make sure your camera is out and you have your First Day of School signs printed and ready to go for the morning. Our Printable Chalkboard First Day of School signs have been a big hit over the years, and we've updated all of them for this school year!



The First Day


It's here!!! The first day of school. You've already done all the prep work and you are organized and ready to rock-n-roll!! Now smile, take lots of pictures and get excited for a GREAT YEAR!!!!!!

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Please feel free to share the link to our shop blog with all of our back-to-school goodies, but PLEASE do not link to the downloads directly. These printables are free to download and use for personal use, but they MAY NOT BE EDITED, SOLD OR PRINTED FOR RESALE in any way. If you have questions about these printables and how they may be used, please contact us in our shop. If you like the beautiful cliparts used in some of these printables, they can be purchased from some of our favorite Etsy shops, including: 
© Erin Bradley Designs | erinbradleydesigns.etsy.com
© Sugar Studios | www.etsy.com/shop/sugarstudio
© Goodness & Fun | www.etsy.com/shop/goodnessandfun


Saturday, July 27, 2019

31 Day De-Clutter Challenge Printable

There are 3 times of year that I REALLY get the urge to de-clutter my life: After Christmas, the first beautiful day of Spring and right before Back-to-School!

Typically when I get this urge I pick a weekend and try to go through as much as I can and while that does help some, I find that there are lots of important places that are missed. Even Marie Kondo doesn't organize a whole house in a weekend, so why do I think I can?! I've been reading a lot about organization lately and one common belief among the gurus is that de-cluttering is more successful when broken into smaller tasks vs. cramming everything into a weekend. There are hundreds of different challenges to follow, but I decided to make a list of the 31 most cluttered areas of my life (and most likely yours, too) PLUS I surveyed some of our friends on ThePolkaDotPosie Facebook Group Page and came up with this NEW Free Printable!


Our 31 Day De-Clutter Challenge isn't that different from the rest, but it was a lot of fun to make and I hope that you find it useful as you begin de-cluttering before back-to-school! We tried to keep the tasks as even as we could timewise, but obviously the closet and garage days will take a little longer, so feel free to shuffle the tasks around to meet your schedule. After you've completed a task, simply cross it off until all 31 tasks are done!

This challenge can be started any time you like, but we will be having periodic challenges on our Group Facebook page so be sure to join in on the fun! August 1st will start our FIRST CHALLENGE!

Wanna join the fun? Download your 31 Day De-Clutter Challenge Printable {HERE}!



Friday, July 26, 2019

50 Self-Care Ideas and Inspiration

As a busy mom, teacher and small business owner, I REALLY struggle to make time for self-care. It is in my nature to always put everyone else's needs ahead of my own, but as the old saying goes...you can't fill from an empty cup! Even a small moment of self-care each day can totally change your mood and well-being overall. So with that in mind, we put together a little list of 50 different self-care ideas and inspiration to get motivated.


And for those of you that might find it helpful to schedule your self-care each month, this FREE Printable Self-Care Set comes with a matching blank calendar. Download your copy {HERE} and feel free to share any other great self-care ideas you might have!

Friday, July 5, 2019

FREE Printable Monthly Habit Tracker

"Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going."

- Jim Ryun

I don't know about all of you, but I tend to be really motivated when I want to start something new, but reeeaaalllyy struggle when it comes to making that something a habit. 

"Oh look...an article on the importance of taking vitamins!"

{purchases said vitamins from Amazon}

Day 1: I feel like they are already working!
Days 2-4: YES!! I feel like a new woman.
Day 5: Whoops...forgot today.
Day 6: Same
Day 7 - infinity: What vitamins?

Does this sound familiar? Whether it's remembering to take vitamins, exercising, making your bed, staying hydrated or writing in your journal, there are lots of great habits that we all want to make part of our daily routine. And like the satisfaction of physically crossing off an item on your ToDo list, tracking habits can be equally rewarding (and motivating) when you can see your progress.

So with that in mind, we decided to create this new Monthly Habit Tracker:


This one-page tracker has plenty of room to list all of the habits you want to track each month, so spend some time brainstorming the goals and routines you want to achieve. Some popular habits to track are:

Wake-up times & Bed times
Taking vitamins or medication
Making your bed every day (or other important chores)
Exercising
Drinking enough water
Reading
Journaling
Mediation or Mindfulness
Creativity time (knitting, sketching, painting, etc)
Expenses or Budgeting
Social Media Posts (for business or personal)
Blogging
Alcohol use
Romantic time with your significant other
Check-ins with friends or family
Watering plants
Mood Tracking (designate certain colors to represent each mood)

The goal of this Monthly Habit Tracker is to make it your own and only track the habits that are truly important to YOU. This will make you motivated to start and once you see the progress you are making, the hope is that it will encourage you to keep going.

So...who's ready to get started?? To download our FREE Monthly Habit Tracker, just click {HERE}. This tracker is available in Large - Letter size 8.5 x 11 and Small - Half Sheet 5.5 x 8.5.

Be sure to also follow us on Facebook and join our group page for tracking check-ins, freebies and other fun stuff!

Happy Habit Tracking!!


We would love for you to share our Free Printables with your friends and family, but we ask that you PLEASE link to this blog post and not to the downloads directly. These printables are free to download and use for personal use, but they MAY NOT BE EDITED, SOLD OR PRINTED FOR RESALE in any way. If you have questions about these printables and how they may be used, please contact us :) Thank you!

Wednesday, June 19, 2019

FREE 4th of July Printables!

It feels like Summer just began, but the 4th of July is already 2 weeks away! Whether you are hosting a BBQ, attending a party or going camping, there is often a lot of planning to do for the holiday! Because our one-page holiday planners have been such a big hit, we decided to create one for the 4th of July to keep the set going!


Between sparklers/fireworks, bug spray & sunscreen, food and party decor, there is a LOT to shop for! But before you start that shopping list, be sure to decide what decor you need, what things you would like to make (projects, crafts, recipes, etc) and then jot down your party menu. Are you planning for guests or bringing a dish to pass? If your holiday is low key, use the menu planning space for any fun treats you want to try (we want ALL of these patriotic desserts). And finally, be sure to jot down all of your holiday plans, such as where and when you will be viewing fireworks, watching a parade, attending an event, etc. 

This page is certainly cute enough to hang on your fridge, or you can add it to your planner! It comes in all 3 planner sizes that you can download for free today!


And while you are busy downloading and printing, check out our fun 4th of July Treat Tags! Perfect for cupcakes, cake pops, snack bags and more!


We hope you have a wonderful holiday! God Bless America!

***

We would love for you to share our Free Printables with your friends and family, but we ask that you PLEASE link to this blog post and not to the downloads directly. These printables are free to download and use for personal use, but they MAY NOT BE EDITED, SOLD OR PRINTED FOR RESALE in any way. If you have questions about these printables and how they may be used, please contact us :) Thank you!

Monday, May 13, 2019

FREE {Printable} Last Day of School Signs!

Another school year has almost come and gone, but before we venture into the last few crazy weeks of May, I wanted share this year's Last Day of School Signs!



As always, we have Preschool - Senior year signs available for download and they are dated for the 2018-2019 year.

We really enjoy seeing all of your kiddos holding our signs, so if you would like to share with us on social media you can tag us @ThePolkaDotPosie or you can use the hashtag #thepolkadotposielastdayofschool

Stay tuned for a few more summer freebies this month!

Wednesday, April 24, 2019

Get Ready for Teacher Appreciation Week!

I saw an interesting Facebook poll not to long ago that asked teachers what they really hope to receive during Teacher Appreciation Week. Many teachers responded that they didn't want anything at all...unless it was supplies for their classroom :) While we LOVE the idea of giving supplies and special handmade gifts to our teachers to acknowledge their hard work, we also know that teachers:

A. Spend a LOT of their own money for classroom necessities.
B. Love to be organized.
C. Require a lot of coffee

We also know that in the crazy month of May {or as we like to call it, the month of Cray}, Teacher Appreciation Week often sneaks up on us quickly. So if you are in the same boat as many other parents who want to acknowledge their wonderful teacher, but didn't get those special handmade gifts done or ordered, let us help you.

As a teacher myself, I know that Target, Amazon, iTunes and Coffee gift cards are a saving grace throughout the year, so we've put together these adorable, easy-to-print and assemble gift card boxes! You can download the entire set {HERE}. All you will need is a pair of scissors and a glue stick.


Next up, if you love word art as much as we do, you can download this FREE printable set {HERE} that you can frame for your teacher, or give along with a gift card. There are six quotes to choose from and they are sized for easy 4x6 printing. 


And finally, if your teacher loves to be organized and you want to give a gift that keeps on giving year after year, be sure to head over to our Printable Shop {HERE} and get this special offer for a Printable Teacher Planner! You purchase the set and we personalize a gift card that you can print and give to your teacher! Then we take care of the rest :) It's fast, easy and such a wonderful gift for a teacher that loves to plan.


We hopes these great, easy ideas help you pull together the perfect Teacher Appreciation Gift (even if it is last minute :) 

And to all the AMAZING teachers in our lives...thank you for all that you do!!


Saturday, March 30, 2019

FREE Easter Printables!

With Easter just around the corner, we wanted to make sure that you have everything planned and read for the Bunny's arrival with this new Printable Easter Planner Page!


As with all of our new one-page holiday planners, this printable gives you plenty of space to jot down the Easter Bunny's shopping list, plan your decor, list your projects, crafts and other things to make, AND plan your easter dinner menu and activities!

This printable is perfect for hanging on your fridge, or download one of three different planner sizes {HERE}


And while you are busy printing, check out these fun Easter lunch box notes and download them {HERE}!



We hope you enjoy these freebies! Have a wonderful Easter! 

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A FRIENDLY REMINDER



Please feel free to share the link to our shop blog with all of our Easter goodies, but PLEASE do not link to the downloads directly. These printables are free to download for personal use, but they MAY NOT BE EDITED, SOLD OR PRINTED FOR RESALE in any way. If you have questions about these printables and how they may be used, please contact us in our shop. If you like the beautiful cliparts used in many of these printables, they can be purchased from one of our favorite Etsy shops, © Erin Bradley Designs | erinbradleydesigns.etsy.com

Wednesday, March 13, 2019

It's Time for Spring Cleaning!

Is it just us, or were you worried that this winter would NEVER end??! Here in Illinois we aren't out of the woods yet (Mother Nature loves to give us an April snow shower), but tomorrow we could see temps as high as 70 and that is cause for some celebration and maybe even a little SPRING CLEANING!

 Decluttering is certainly a big part of Spring Cleaning, but so is the seasonal maintenance that needs to be done in and around your home. To help you with this process, we've put together two FREE Spring Cleaning printable to help you get started.


We created these fun Spring Cleaning printable a few years ago, and we are happy to see SO many people still pinning, printing and using them every year! A friend told me recently that the reason she loves using them is because it not only gives her a plan when the weather turns nice, but filling everything out makes her feel motivated to get stuff done. And isn't motivation half the battle when it comes to Spring Cleaning??

You will see that this set comes with two different lists. The first is a blank checklist that is perfect for jotting down specific tasks to do inside and outside your home. We recommend keeping this list in your planner of family binder all year long so you can jot down ideas as things break or need replacing.

The second printable is a more detailed checklist with seasonal tasks that have to be done every year. This list was inspired by my favorite cleaning queen, Martha Stewart. She was the first person to ever suggest that I wash and store my winter linens as a seasonal task but I have to tell ya...I feel SO accomplished when I check that item off my list each Spring :)

As always, these printable come in 3 planner sizes and you can download them all {HERE}.

We hope you enjoy using them!!

Thursday, January 31, 2019

NEW Valentine's Day Printables!

Thanks to the Polar Vortex, we've got major cabin fever here in the Midwest! Thankfully, tomorrow is February 1st which means we are one month closer to SPRING!!!

But to help you pass the time indoors on this chilly Thursday, we've got two NEW Valentine's Day printables we think you are going to love.

First up, for all of our planner lovers, we are staring a new freebie series this year! In 2019, we want to create a new one-page planner for ALL of our favorite holidays and annual events. We will share them here on our blog, as well as on our Facebook & Instagram pages, so be sure to follow along!

First up, we have our new Valentine Planner!


This fun page has everything you need to plan the basics, like cards to send (or pass out in school), decor, things you want to make, gifts you need to buy, etc. We also have plenty of space for writing your Valentine's Day plans & menu! This page will come in all three of our planner sizes, and you can download each of them {HERE}.

***

While scrolling through Facebook this week (during one of our many snow days), I saw an awesome Valentine's Day tradition that I am excited to try this year. The idea is simple...you write little love notes on paper hearts and stick them to your kids' doors on the days or weeks leading up to Valentine's Day! While it is perfectly easy to cut out your own hearts out of construction paper, we wanted to make the project a little more fun (and easy)!



Our printable set comes with a cute sign to hang on the door so that your kiddos know to expect new hearts every day! We also included a space where you can sign who the notes are from. That way, you can include mommies, daddies and/or siblings in on the fun!

The set also comes with 5 sheets of pre-filled hearts, and a sheet of blank hearts so you can write your own personal notes. You can download everything {HERE} All you need is a printer and a pair of scissors and you are ready to go! 

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Once you start to fill out your Valentine Planner, you will almost immediately remember one of the most time consuming tasks of Valentine's Day

CLASSROOM CARDS

With all the extra time some of us have to spare in the house this week, why not try printing your own? Our bubble Valentine Cards have been a huge hit the last two years, and you can check them out and download your FREE set {HERE}. 


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And finally, one of our ALL TIME favorite Valentine's Printables...



Even my 5th grader still loves getting notes in her lunch box, and these little Valentine Lunch Box notes are the perfect little "I love you" to send with them each day.
And while you are at it, you can download ALL of our Lunch Box notes {HERE} and prepare for the holidays to come :) 

We hope you all have a magical Valentine's Day!!