Sunday, 11 August 2013
Mum's Office Big Family Diary - can it get me organised?
The start of a new school year brings with it many emotions and challenges, but for me it also represents a fresh start. Another chance, a clean slate to start again part way through the year, with a lovely new shiny academic year diary or calendar. Long-forgotten New Year resolutions of getting organised are re-kindled and I leap at the chance to start a-fresh in the grim, determined hope that this year will be different.
I am one of the mums at the school gate who only gets to hear last minute about mufti-day or the cake sale that was mentioned on a school missive months ago and has been screwed up in the bottom of the book bag ever since. I've turned up to doctor's appointments a week late - and once a week early. I've double-booked nights out and forgotten birthdays.
So this gorgeous looking diary looks to be the answer to my prayers.
I have got over my feelings of inadequacy that I don't have a beautician, a butcher or a cleaner who's number I can scribe neatly inside on the 'need to know numbers' section, and consoled myself that the next time the roof springs a leak I will have both the number of the guy who came out last time, policy number and telephone number of the insurance company who didn't cough up previously.
Whilst I do harbor the suspicion that this diary is for uber-glamorous, city-slicker mums with au-pairs and personal hair stylists, I do accept that it has something to offer every family.
Lets face it, before kids life was pretty straight-forward. I only had to worry about myself, and I could pretty well keep tabs on what I was up to on a scrappy piece of paper at the bottom of my handbag. But with family life comes swimming lessons; hospital appointments; play-dates; tea at friend's houses after school; governor's meetings and a plethora of other things I usually forget.
This diary has a space for everything. There's a handy section at the front for recording all your children's personal details including allergies; shoe size and term dates. I can pretty much stay up to speed with my one child, but if I had 3 or 4 I'm sure I'd get in a muddle. I think this section would be particularly handy if you have childcare - it's something you can leave for your nanny or babysitter and be sure in the knowledge that they could get hold of the doctor in an emergency.
The 'in case I lose my mobile' section could stop many a cold-sweat moment, and I need to fill that in right away.
Moving on to the diary section itself, it is a week-at-a-view style, with one page for my plans, so it will be great for keeping track of all my work appointments and blog schedule. The opposite side side is a grid plan with 4 sections so you can keep track of what the kids are up to; your partner's movements; use it for meal planning and shopping; budgeting...whatever suits your needs.
Overall, feelings of inadequacy aside, it's a great looking diary and one which I intend to use to the max. It measures 24.5 cm x 19 cm so will fit easily into today's cavernous handbag. I plan to leave it on the kitchen dresser so all the family can see what's on, and take it out with me as I grab my keys and mobile. This way, I will keep a note of everything all in one place - rather than some appointments on the wall calender, some in my phone and some pinned on the noticeboard - that's how things get missed.
The diary comes in three colour options - raspberry, peppermint or blackberry, and has a stylish faux croc skin hardback cover. There's an elasticated strap to keep it neatly secured, a pen loop to keep your writing implement handy and a useful gusset pocket at the back for notes; invitations and receipts etc. It's available from stationers and retailers nationwide, or from Amazon at around £16.
Disclosure: I was sent a diary for the purposes of this review. All opinions and images are my own. The link above is an affiliate link.
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I have one to and love it. Having three kids means life is crazy and being a teacher my year does start in sept so perfect for us!
ReplyDeleteOh yes, I didn't think about teachers Emma, perfect!
DeleteI love diaries like this, except I'm so disorganised that I generally forget to write in them or refer to them at any time! Do they have a magic column to help you remember that?!
ReplyDeleteYes, I hear you Jayne! I need to make a real concerted effort to keep it up. I'm sure it will pay dividends.
DeleteOoo I love diaries but never seem to get past using them for a fortnight - maybe I need to look again having read this!
ReplyDeleteI think being disciplined is the key to being organised (huh, guess that's where I fall down then!)
DeleteI love this, but I am so uber-organised that I live with my filofax and a print out diary for each week. (Having just said that I'm organised I've just glanced at my filofax and laughed at all the pieces of paper sticking out - letters to post, fliers I've picked up etc. etc.
ReplyDeleteWow you are organised Mel!
DeleteWow it looks gorgeous. I'm at a stage I have to write everything down or I forget. And for some reason I prefer physical calendars rather than online ones. But I need a small one I can carry around in my bag.
ReplyDeletePS - i don't have an au pair number either (maybe next year)
Thanks Susanna. Yes, it's not a pocket diary, but it fits in my bag!
DeleteYou know what 'mum bags' are like - bottomless pits!
Looks good! I still haven't made the transition to doing all this digitally, so a paper diary is still a must. I like the look of the cover, but not sure about all the pink on the inside - think it might look better with dark text?
ReplyDeleteHmmm,I wonder what the other colour-ways are like inside?
DeleteReally great post and cool looking diary. I prefer one you can keep in your handbag though. However, I do have a calendar, my mobile phone and a diary and still manage to miss some birthdays. I think a year planner is a great way to see where the expense will go for the months ahead and allow for forward planning, when there are too many birthdays all together in one month.
ReplyDelete