Thursday, August 27, 2009

Flylady vs. Amy Knapp wall calendar

I just received my brand new 2010 Amy Knapp Big Grid Family Organizer wall calendar in the mail and I'm thrilled!

I have been happily using the Flylady calendar for the past few years and love that the boxes have lots of space for writing everything I need in them. It has been durable and I love the back slot for keeping special papers in.

What made me change? I'm a bargain hunter!

I was looking to see if I could find the Flylady wall calendar with stickers cheaper than on her website. The calendar is $14.95. If you want the stickers with the calendar, it's $17.95. And don't forget the cost of shipping.

In my browsing around looking for a comparable big grid wall calendar I found Amy Knapp's Big Grid Family Organizer. The measurements are almost the same as the Flylady calendar. It measures 15 by 22 inches opened, and each box per day is 3.5 by 2 inches. (The Flylady calendar is 14 by 22 inches opened and each box per day is 1 7/8 inches by 3 1/4 inches. Not a big difference.)

I was pleasantly surprised when I opened my new calendar because it had features that weren't mentioned on Amazon.

  • There are several pages at the back of the calendar where you can tear off a small "to do" list. One page has 12 perforated lists to use and there are seven pages. That's 84 little to do lists to use.

  • It also comes with 300 small stickers at no additional cost.

  • There is also a small shaded area on each day to write down what's for dinner, something I currently do, but it was nice to see that it was there, reminding me to plan ahead.

  • There's also lots of room to write other notes, "project lists" and "don't forget" lists on each month. It is a great use of the space provided.

  • The paper is also "real" paper, not that glossy kind that a lot of calendars are made of. This is what I prefer.
The only con that I can see is that it doesn't have the big pocket/slot that the Flylady calendar has in the back. But that's minor to me and I'll find somewhere to put those few papers.

How much did this all cost me? Just over $10 and free shipping! You can't beat that! AND, I ordered it yesterday morning and it came via UPS this afternoon. Totally unexpected! (Not that Flylady isn't very quick as well.)




I wouldn't use a cheap calendar just because it costs less. It has to be a big grid calendar with plenty of room for writing and planning out all of the family's appointments and activities. Give this calendar a try and I'm sure you'll be as delighted as me.

For more tips about how to use a family wall calendar and to see exactly how I use mine, click here.

Saturday, August 22, 2009

Welcome

Welcome to the Plan and Organize Life Blog!

I plan to use this blog to share quick items with you as they present themselves along with some tips for getting organized.

Happy organizing!
Tracy