Hello, my Happy Bloggers!
Today, I wanted to share 3 items that I will be using to help simplify, organize, and declutter my life in this upcoming personal year of Selah. It’s easy to fall into the “go with the flow” mentality– especially when you find yourself with a lot of free time. I want to make sure I get as much out of this next year as possible, and I truly think these 3 items will help me do so 🙂
I also wanted to note that I am treating this as a Fresh Start and New Year for me. Some of you may think, “A New Year? In Mid-July?” Aaaabsolutely. 🙂 A new beginning doesn’t need to start at the beginning of the new calendar year– it begins with you making a CHOICE to start anew and take action to see change, progress & improvement.
So, here we go!
The first item I would like to show you is my Happy Stripe weekly Simplified Planner from Emily Ley (other designs available). [EmilyLey.com] This company also has daily planners available, but in order for me to keep this upcoming year simple, I chose the weekly edition beginning on August 1st! I have had a lot of fun filling this planner with important dates, activities, birthdays, anniversaries, appointments, trips, etc.
Who wouldn’t love a happy, colorful planner?? 🙂
The second item is a fun notebook from Target that I use solely for my business. I can hardly resist anything with some gold shimmer! 🙂
The third and last item is one that I am very excited about! This idea was inspired by Emily Ley’s Home Base Binder [https://www.emilyley.com/collections/home-kitchen/products/home-base-binder-navy].
It’s a binder designed to be a home management tracker for your home, events, and everything in between. When I first saw this binder on her website, I was ALL over it. However, I wanted to customize a few of the items inside the binder– which led me to creating my OWN Home Base Binder.
Here’s how I did it!
Items Needed (where I purchased my items shown):
Binder (Target)
Tab dividers (2 sets @ Target– actually going back to get a third!)
Washi Tape (Meijer’s journal section)
Permanent Marker
Organization Pages (EmilyLey.com Free Printables & Free Printable Budget Sheets @ https://www.emilyley.com/collections/resource-library & http://printablecrush.com/free-printable-budget-sheet/
I chose a binder that was sturdy, colorful, and of course– had a gold polka dot design 😉
Next– the pretty gold polka dot dividers:
I bought 2 sets of 5 divider tabs with blank, white tabs. As you can see, the tabs are not white anymore! 😉
First, I taped the tabs with clear tape to ensure that it would last longer & not rip from use. Second, I cut strips of fun (and gold) Washi tape to place over the tabs. This is PERFECT for a customizable binder. If you decide to move materials around, an easy rip-up of the washi tape will allow you to add a different tab title. Easy peasy.
Now that the set up is complete, let’s look at the contents of my personalized Home Base Binder!
Front of the Binder: Quotes, Reminders, Goals
This document is perfect for the reminders, quotes, and goals that I want to see throughout my day– things that will motivate and inspire me– hence it being at the very beginning of my binder!
Tab 1: Daily Devotions
I have this Daily Devotion section as one of my first tabs because it’s important to me to open up my day by digging deeper into God’s word. This year I want to prioritize my quiet times with God and really think about what I am reading in scripture. I don’t want to just read my verse of the day and be done– I want to think about what I’m reading and apply it to my life & solidify God’s Word in my heart.
Tab 2: Health & Fitness
This page is broken down into 4-day chunks. It has a place for the date, the amount of water you have each day, your fitness routine, and a place for what you have eaten for breakfast, lunch, dinner, & snacks. Go get your workout on!
*Great Fitness/Workout App: JEFIT (blue app with a white design)- this app allows you to customize your workout and track the reps, sets, & weight for each exercise, plus rest time in between.
Tab 3: Blog Planner
This will help me plan out my blog posts- it even has a nice little checklist for each post!
Yes, I did use this page for the post you are currently reading 😉
Tab 4: Recipes
Another big thing I want to conquer this year, is meal prepping. Having a recipe tab will allow me to have a place to write down any new & healthy recipes I find!
Tab 5: Grocery List
Naturally, after the recipe tab would be the grocery list tab 😉 I love that throughout the day, I can write this down in my binder and rip it out when I go to the store!
Tab 6: Sunday Checklist
PLAN, PLAN, PLAN!
I love being able to take 30-60 minutes every Sunday to take a seat and plan out my week. Plan my goals, meals, cleaning schedule, etc. I even love how this sheet has a place for “Heart.” What things do you want to see God do in your life this week, or what are some things you need to work on spiritually? Maybe it’s to reach out to that person you’ve been avoiding from a past hurt, or maybe it’s not allowing comparison to overtake your mind each day. What is it that you want God to help you with this week? What devotions are you going to read this week? What church or small group gatherings do you want to attend this week?
Trust me, friends. If you take even 30 minutes out of your Sunday to prepare for the week ahead, write it down, and pray for God to help you accomplish these tasks (not just on Sunday, but every day), you will begin to more easily take hold of that simplified life.
Tab 7: Meeting Notes
This sheet is great for any meetings or meet-ups I will do throughout the week!
Tab 8: Cleaning
Yes, this page does say “Spring Cleaning.” However, I made a copy of this page for each room in my house. Another big goal of mine in this next year is to help clean out and declutter our entire house. Not just for me, but for my mom & siblings. We have lived 25 years in this house, and you best believe we’ve accumulated a lot of junk!
Taking this cleaning process one step at a time will honestly help destress your life. A lot of frustrations & stresses come from an unclean/untidy space. Allow yourself to come home to an organized & clean house in order to decompress.
It is a process, friends. But take 15-30 minutes each day to accomplish a few of these tasks and you’ll be amazed at the difference you will see.
A great Instagram page I’ve followed recently [ instagram.com/TheHomeEdit ] has a lot of good tips on how to organize your home! It will inspire you to go out & buy a million and two baskets, labels & containers for organization. Hey- that’s ok! Go out & spend a few dollars that will in-turn help you reach your organized, decluttered, and stress-free home.
Tab 9: Monthly Budget
$$$ This monthly budget sheet is very much needed for me- especially when I won’t have a consistent income this year. The first page is a general budget breakdown that will help you set your goals concerning your spending. A customizable version is also available! The last page is huge for me. Each night, I look at my account & write down each purchase I have made that day.
There is something about writing your expenses down or visually seeing it on paper that you realize how much you spend in a certain area. I know this has encouraged me to be more frugal in certain areas. Not only do I want to track my spending, but I also want to build up my savings!
Now, I know there are a lot of apps you can use to track your budget, and those are great!! But for me, I like to physically write it down– again, that’s just me 🙂
*EveryDollar.com is an online budget tracker that a good friend of mine recommended. If you want to go paperless- check this website out!
Tab 10: Notes
Notes, or as Emily Ley would like to call it- “BRAIN DUMP” 🙂 I have both the fully-lined pages and the list page.
So there you have it, friends! My personalized Home Base Binder inspired by Emily Ley.
If you are looking for more ways to organize and find the joys in a simplified life, I would highly suggest you look into purchasing a Simplified Planner, your own notebook or binder to customize, or print out a few of these sheets from EmilyLey.com (Budget Sheets found at PrintableCrush.com) and begin to declutter, organize, and simplify your life.
Once again, all of these things can also be organized on your phone through different apps, but I prefer having physically planners & notebooks. Do whatever floats your boat when it comes to organization! But I want to encourage you to at least take some small steps towards a more organized day-to-day life. Do unexpected situations come up and throw you off schedule? Absolutely- all the time! But having a few things on hand to fall back on (i.e. easy to make recipes, a place where you keep all of your supplies, etc.) will definitely help remove some stress.
*”Grace Not Perfection” is an amazing book (also by Emily Ley) that inspired me to start my simplified journey. I highly, highly encourage picking up a copy. It will not only inspire your physical life/situation, but your spiritual life. 
Friends, I also want to hear from YOU! What are some of you favorite organizational products? How do you stay organized? How do you plan for your week? I’d love to hear your feedback and suggestions!
Here’s to an amazing simplified year 🙂
xo
Melissa Joy ❤
“Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 3:12-14
Thoughts with Melissa Joy... 