I am a planner junkie. I have had some kind of planner since I was in junior high. As a young adult, I was introduced to the large day planner of the 1980s and I felt like I had made a new best friend. Over the years I have tried digital planners, but I always come back to a paper planner. Yes, I use the calendar on my phone to record meetings and appointments but they are transferred to my physical planner weekly.

Every year I search for a better planner, one that will be even better than the one I used the year before. I have found some I love, I’ve spent a lot of money on some that I have hated, and didn’t even last a month with. For me choosing a planner is a very important decision. I have a lot on my plate.

I’m a wife, mom, mother-in-law, grandmother, sister, daughter-in-law, aunt, and friend. I run 4 businesses out of my home-blog, travel agent, Color Street Stylist, and Young Living Distributor. I’m a piano teacher at a Fine Arts Academy, I work a seasonal job for a Christian radio network, and I am on the tech crew for the Fine Arts Academy musical theater and dance productions. I also volunteer 15-20 hours a week with the Kid’s Ministry at our church. That’s 7 jobs,1 large volunteer gig, plus cooking, housework, family etc. I need a good planner.

One of the many things I keep track in my planner, along with appointments and to-dos, is spiritual disciplines. Prayer, Bible reading, books I’m reading etc. All those things are important and take time so they go in my planner. It is for this reason that the Spiritual Seed Planner excites me so much.

About the Spiritual Seeds Planner

Spiritual Seeds Planner is a planning tool designed to help Christians prioritize living a fruit filled life, guided by the Holy Spirit. The Fruit of the Spirit is Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Gentleness, Faithfulness and Self-Control. (Galatians 5:22-23) The planner uses a gardening theme concentrating on four garden plots – Friends/Family, Self, Community, Vocation/Work. Each month focuses on one Fruit, detailing actions to plant + cultivate + grow.  Actions are planned daily for highest yield. Cute garden themed stickers provide visuals for tracking growth. Unlike any other planner, Spiritual Seeds Planner prioritizes and plans Spiritual growth over daily “to do” lists and activities focusing on growth rather than achievement. 

What Makes this Planner Different:

• Puts God in charge
• Inspired, led and powered by the Holy Spirit
• Based on Scripture
• Impacts all areas of life
• Improves relationships
• Fills life with an abundance of Spiritual Fruit – Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, Self-Control

Features of the Spiritual Seeds Planner:

• Easy to follow instructions with visuals
• Vision Board 
• Monthly Fruit Focus & Planning Pages
• Monthly Inspirational Prayers 
• Weekly Planning
• Beautiful faux leather cover
• Fruit of the Spirit Bookmark with definitions and scriptures
• Fun Garden Themed Stickers 
• Back pocket 
• Blank pages for notes
• Brown Ribbon Bookmark
• Monthly Tabs

Mom Maven’s Thoughts

I am already excited that I don’t have to hunt for a 2021 planner!!! It is on my shelf waiting for 2020 to be over. I am excited to spend a year thoughtfully cultivating the Fruit of the Spirit in my life.

My current planner has 3 sections per day so that is the same set up as this one. I use the top section for meetings, appointments, chores, and meal planning. The middle section is for my to-dos. The bottom section is for my tracker sticker.

Personally, I don’t use the the times written in and I am glad they aren’t on every day, just the beginning of each week. I can cover them with washi tape and go about my life.

The faux leather cover is gorgeous and feels nice in my hands. I’m thankful for the elastic closure and the ribbon book mark for keeping things together.

The Spiritual Seeds Planner sells for $35 which is an amazing price for a 12 month weekly planner. If you use code FRUITOFSPIRIT you can receive 20% off your order!! You could also enter to win a planner by clicking the banner below.

The Spiritual Seeds Planner is a wonderful, tool to keep your life organized and focus on your Christian walk at the same time.

The post Spiritual Seeds Planner Review appeared first on The Mom Maven.

Building Blocks of an Effective Morning Routine

We are all different and we all have different needs but here I am listing the basic building blocks of an effective morning routine.

Wake Up First

Sounds simple right? I find my morning routine works best when I am awake 60-90 minutes before the rest of the family. Even now with 3 adults in the house I am usually up an hour to an hour and a half before Ron and Jordan. Why? It takes time to wake up and be ready to deal with other people. Each step in your morning routine is helping you prepare for your day ahead and being awake…and pleasant is a wonderful way to greet your family each day.

Hydrate

Your body has gone at least 8 hours without much needed hydration. Start your morning with an 8oz glass of cold water BEFORE dehydrating it more with a caffeinated beverage. Water wakes up your body internally and re-starts your bodily functions.

Stretch and/or Exercise

I am not a morning exercise person but every morning I do some basic stretches to get my body moving and work out the kinks after a good night’s sleep. Some of you would rather head to the gym, jump on the treadmill, such as the under the bed treadmill, or go for a run first thing in the morning. If that is you, go for it.

Reflect and Give Thanks

I start my day with a time of Bible study and prayer. This time alone on my comfy couch with my Savior is the most important time of my day. This centers me and focuses my mind and heart on what is truly important.

Do the Hard Thing

There are a few household chores that I hate or even tend to forget, so I added them to my morning routine. I hate emptying the dishwasher. I know it only takes a few minutes but I just don’t like to do it. Now if it needs to be emptied, I do it right after my Bible study time. Then it is done and nothing will pile up in the sink because there is room in the dishwasher for them. I also do my laundry as part of my morning routine. I start a load as soon as I get up and
I move it after my Bible study time voila, laundry done for the day…and I didn’t leave it sitting in the washer for hours!

Self Care

Do you like to shower in the morning? Do it early a nice cool shower will wake you up and get you moving. Take a few extra minutes getting ready for your day. When you feel good about yourself it helps you move through your day with confidence. If you are looking to buy a self-care kit, you may visit the UnboxMe homepage for more options.

Breakfast

Whether you eat breakfast alone or this happens after the family is awake and they join you at the table, eat a protein rich breakfast to help propel you into your day.

Mom Maven’s Morning Routine

Remember, my morning routine will look different than yours. My household is myself, my 20 year old college student son and me. I have been where you are, remember, we homeschooled for 16 years, my mornings haven’t always been so “me” focused.

• 7:00am Wake-up (Mon-Friday)
• Stretch
• Start laundry if needed
• Mix up my Plexus Slim with 12 oz water, take my Accelerator and X Factor
• 30+ minute Bible Study and Prayer time
• Move laundry if needed
• Empty dishwasher if needed
• 20 minutes of reading time while enjoying a cup of hot cocoa. I usually read a Christian Living or Business book during this time.
• Breakfast-usually eggs and toast or a P96 shake while scrolling through Facebook.
• Get dressed
• 8:30am Hubby gets up, he has been watching the news in bed for about 30 minutes
• 8:30am Mon & Fri out the door to my morning chiropractor appointment. Tues, Wed, Thurs get some housework done
• 10:00am Into my office and start the work day managing my blog, my travel agent clients and my Plexus team.

I hope this post has been helpful. Another great way to prep for your day is by having an effective Evening Routine. I hope to get a post up soon about how my evening routine, which is shorter than my morning routine, is helping me sleep better and start each day off smoother. If you have any questions or comments please, I love to hear from you!

The post How to Create a Morning Routine that Works for You appeared first on The Mom Maven.

Review of October Goals

Business

• Pageviews to 15,000 and uniques to 13,000. I’m at 13,300 and 11,900
• Book 3 vacations. It is National Plan a Cruise Month! Who is ready to plan a cruise? NONE!
• Sign 2 new Plexus Ambassadors and find 5 new customers. NONE

Personal

• Walk 5000 steps a day. I averaged about 3,000 steps a day.
• Drink 100 oz of water a day. Not even close
• Lose 5 pounds. I lost 2 lbs.

Spiritual

• Finish Believing God . Only 3 lessons left!

Household

• Menu plan. Done
• Daily Chores-I started a new way to organize this last week. So far so good!

Overall, once I got back home from all of my traveling on October 12th, it took me a whole week to just find my bearings again. Three weeks in a row out of the office is very crazy! Last week and this week, life has been back to “normal” so I am eagerly looking forward to November.

November Goals

Business

• Pageviews to 15,000 and uniques to 13,000.
• Book 3 vacations. It’s not too late to plan a Cruise or Disney vacation for the holidays!
• Sign 2 new Plexus Ambassadors and find 5 new customers.

Personal

• Walk 5000 steps a day. I’m doing a 21 day walking challenge with Leslie Sansone’s Walk at Home program so hopefully I will surpass this goal.
• Drink 100 oz of water a day.
• Lose 5 pounds

Spiritual

• Work through Good or God?: Why Good Without God Isn’t Enough by John Bevere. This may take more than a month.

Household

• Menu plan-Already done!
• Daily Chores-I’m trying a new way to organize these, I’ll let you know how it goes!
• Decorate for Christmas the week before Thanksgiving!

Do you blog your goals? Please join our goals blogging linky!

The post Goals for November 2015 appeared first on The Mom Maven.

Review of September Goals

Business

• Pageviews to 15,000 and uniques to 13,000.-I did 13,000 and 11,000 which is fine for being away from the computer for about 2 weeks.
• Book 3 vacations.-I didn’t book any
• Sign 2 new Plexus Ambassadors and find 5 new customers.-I got 4 new customers

Personal

• Walk 5000 steps a day.-If I average out the month I did well, thanks to the cruise!
• Drink 100 oz of water a day.-I did great until the cruise. The bottled water available on the cruise was horrible and metallic tasting so I didn’t drink nearly what I should have.
• Lose 5 pounds-I lost 2.2 pounds while on the cruise!

Spiritual

• Continue with my “Believing God Bible Study”-continued
• Begin to read “Good or God” by John Bevere-started

Household

• Menu plan-done
• Daily Chores- sort of done

October Goals

Business

• Pageviews to 15,000 and uniques to 13,000.
• Book 3 vacations. It is National Plan a Cruise Month! Who is ready to plan a cruise?
• Sign 2 new Plexus Ambassadors and find 5 new customers.

Personal

• Walk 5000 steps a day.
• Drink 100 oz of water a day.
• Lose 5 pounds

Spiritual

• Finish my “Believing God Bible Study”
• Continue to read “Good or God” by John Bevere

Household

• Menu plan
• Daily Chores-I’m trying a new way to organize these, I’ll let you know how it goes!

The post Goals for October 2015 appeared first on The Mom Maven.

Review of June Goals

Business

• 12,500 Unique Pageviews on the blog-UGH! I am under 9,000 I don’t know what else to do.
• 2 new Young Living Team Members-I did nothing with my Young Living business this month due to changes and new requirements. I am re-evaluating my commitment to YL as a business.
• Complete my Travel Agent training. I worked about 3 hours a day 5 days a week on my training, I love it! I have finished all of my Disney training and my Royal Caribbean Cruise training. There is a lot more to go.

Personal

• 5,000 steps a day-I took the month off from wearing my Fitbit
• 64oz water a day-I got at least 20oz of water a day

Spiritual

• Finish reading “Thrive”-still reading
• Begin the Beth Moore-Breath, the Life of God in Us Bible study with some friends from church.-started

Household

• Menu Plan-did great again this month
• Daily Chores-improved!

Business

• Pageviews back over 10,000
• Book at least 3 Disney vacations! Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, Aulani…where do you want to go? Let me help you get there!

Personal

• 5000 steps a day-put that Fitbit back on and move!
• 64oz water a day

Spiritual

• Finish reading “Thrive”
• Finish the Beth Moore Bible Study through church

Household

• Menu Plan
• Daily Chores

I you blog your goals please feel free to join the linky!

The post Goals for July 2015 appeared first on The Mom Maven.

Review of March Goals

Business

• Pageviews are way down this month I didn’t even hit 10,000. I know part of this is because I was offline 4 days straight while I volunteered at Friendraiser but it is still frustrating.
• Thankfully, the Type-A Challenge for March still hasn’t been posted because I still haven’t gotten to February’s yet!
• I got some work done on my ebook but I am still behind schedule

Personal

• I did better on my steps in March but I am still having trouble even hitting 5000 a day on most days.
• Water, I did much better on. Now I just need to keep it up.
• I hardly read at all in March even though I enjoyed it so much in February.

Spiritual

• I did not finish the Covenant Bible Study on time. I have 9 days of work to finish but I really hope I will finish it by Easter. I always spend noon-3pm on Good Friday in the Word and worship so this year I will be focusing on completing this Bible study.
• I decided not to sign up for the next online Bible study, partially because I was behind on Covenant. Instead, I’m going to start Thrive by Mark Hall after Easter.

Household

• With Jordan leaving last week we are in the midst of shifting chores around.
• I’m getting better at completing my daily chores.
• We have also gotten more work done in the den/office.

April 2015 Goals

Business

• Get up to 12,500 pageviews.
• Spend at least 8 hours working on my ebook.
• Launch my Young Living Essential Oils Business.
• Get caught up on the Type-A Challenges.

Personal

• 5,000 steps a day minimum. Start doing a Leslie Sansone workout 3 days a week to help reach this goal.
• Get to 64oz of water a day, every day!
• Read 30 minutes a day.

Spiritual

• Finish the Covenant Study.
• Thrive is a 30 day devotional so hopefully I will be 75% of the way through it by the end of April.

Household

• Daily chores.
• Keep the kitchen sink clean.
• Continue meal planning.
• Move the white dresser into the den/office and hang my whiteboard over my desk.

Have you blogged your goals? Add them to the linky so we can all support each other in our efforts!

The post Goals for April 2015 appeared first on The Mom Maven.

I am a planner junkie. Even though I keep a lot of day-to-day appointments in Google Calendar, I like to use paper planners too. I think it is because I like to see the big picture and the minute details. We still have a family calendar in the kitchen that everyone writes their schedules and activities on. This way, hopefully, nothing gets missed and I know where everyone is!

I have actually been using the 2014 Daily Planner from Sue Hooley for a few months now. It has  become my blogging planner. I’m sure that isn’t a typical use for this planner but it has worked well for me. I’m really looking forward to using my 2015 Daily Planner from Sue Hooley because the 2014 planner has been so helpful to me.

2015 Daily Planner by Sue Hooley-TheMomMaven.com

About the 2015 Daily Planner from Sue Hooley

The planner is a 6×9″ spiral bound planner. This size fits in large purses, tote bags and diaper bags for the busy mom on the go. I love the Scriptures sprinkled through the planner as well, it helps me keep my focus on what is truly important. The planner starts with yearly mini-calendars for 2015 and 2016, this is a great place to record important events and dates so they are not forgotten. Next is the monthly calendar. Each month is a 2-page calendar with a notes section in the margin of the page. Following that is the weekly calendar section. These 2-page spreads start with a Tasks List and then include areas for all 7 days of the week AND your menu plan! Next is a Tasks List section-this is a great place for your larger projects and monthly cleaning lists. Next is Projects where each box is a half page with room to make notes on the steps needed to complete a project. The Info section is where you can list names, addresses and phone numbers or you could use this section as a password journal. Lastly the planner has 1/3 page detachable shopping lists. The 2015 planner is on sale now at the link above, the cost is only $13.99 and there are discounts for buying multiple planners at one time.

I need to check out the 2015 Daily Planner from Sue Hooley!
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Mom Maven’s Thoughts

As I said, this planner has become my blogging planner. In the yearly calendar I list my monthly themes and holidays. The monthly calendar is where my editorial calendar lives. The weekly section is the section I use every day. This is where I plan out what posts I’ll be writing on any given day. In my Tasks Section I make notes of which posts I have shared with my tribe for each week so that I don’t duplicate content. The projects section is where I break down any blog series I have planned. The Info section contains my passwords and I use my shopping lists as additional notepaper.

For me, this system is working well. I know planners are very personal items but I think any busy woman would like the 2015 Daily Planner from Sue Holley.

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Time Management for Bloggers-Schedule

In my first post in this series, Time Management for Bloggers-Writing, I shared my daily schedule with you. In that schedule I include 2-30 minute blocks of time to get my housework done. Yes, the bulk of my housework gets done in a total of one hour a day. Keep reading and I will show you how. I also include dinner prep in my schedule.

As I have said before, having a schedule is crucial to managing your time. If you don’t know what you are supposed to be doing at any particular time, you will probably end up wasting that time.

Time Management for Bloggers-Housework

Over my 22+ years of marriage I have tried several ways of organizing my housework. When the kids were between the ages of 8-17, they did the bulk of the housework, and it was wonderful! Now that Aaron is working 60+ hours a week and Jordan is on the mission field the housework has shifted back to being my responsibility. I have found that for me I need a not-too-strict schedule that will help me get everything done without making me feel stressed out or upset when something doesn’t get done. I am pleased to say, I have finally found that balance.

I came across a wonderful daily cleaning schedule at FrazzledJoy. She was even awesome enough to make FREE printable forms so that we can all organize our housework. The idea is that we have daily chores that must be done and then other chores that can be done 1-2 times a month. I used her template and created my own list which I even colored to match my kitchen. This list hangs on my refrigerator so that I see it often. I also made an arrow from a post-it note flag. I move the arrow every time I complete a box so that I know what the next day’s chores are.

Our homes and needs vary but this is what is on my list…

Daily Chores

• make the bed
• wash the dishes
• wipe the kitchen counters
• wash one load of laundry
• sweep the floors

Rotating chores

• Kitchen counters (deep clean), stovetop & microwave
• Master bedroom sheets, clean out refrigerator
• Bathrooms-mirrors, toilets, sinks &  floors (2x)
• Dust living room and clean off kitchen table
• Mop floors in kitchen, hall & living room (2x)
• Fold laundry & clean laundry room
• Declutter any area for 30 minutes (2x)
• Wash kids’ sheets, clean out refrigerator
• Clean desk, pick up master bedroom
• Scrub bathtub & shower walls (Aaron’s chore)
• Clean out car, wipe down kitchen cabinets and appliances

Some chores are done twice during the 14 weekday rotation. On one Saturday each month we try to plan a day to do some deeper cleaning that needs to be done but as you can see, the basics are covered by my schedule. If you are looking for more organizing tips and tricks make sure you follow my Organization board on Pinterest.

Time Management for Bloggers-Meal Planning

I have been on and off the meal planning wagon many times over the past few years. For the last 3 months, I have found a schedule that works for me and my family. I plan 4 dinners a week and schedule them on days that at least 3 of us will be home. For us Sunday we eat with our small group and we each contribute to the meal. Monday the kids go to church so it is just hubby and I so we usually do something light or leftovers. Tues-Sat there is at least one night where hubby is working or the kids or I have plans so planning 4 nights a week works for us. I found this great FREE printable that I use from Life in Yellow that works perfectly for me.

How I Meal Plan

I have a spreadsheet of all of our favorite meals separated into basic groups: Beef, Chicken, Pork and Pasta. I plan a month at a time.

1. I print and date 4 meal plan sheets and I add 3 meals to each list rotating between the 4 recipe types. I write all the ingredients under the recipe title.
2. I fill in the 4th box with a new meal that I have pinned on my Recipes I Want to Try board on Pinterest. This way we try something new each week and we decide it it gets added to our master meal list or not.
3. I file the upcoming menu plans in my household notebook.
4. I take the current list to the kitchen and cross off ingredients I already have on hand.
5. I look at the family calendar and decide which night we will be eating each dish and not that in the appropriate box.
6. I add other needed items to the list.
7. I check for coupon match ups for my list and I pull or print the coupons.
8. I put the list in my AnyList app which auto-syncs with my husband’s app and include notes about coupons.

My husband does most of the grocery shopping and he goes 2x a week. We are both self-employed with no guaranteed paychecks coming in regularly so we shop with cash on hand + coupons on Saturdays and Wednesdays.

I hope these tips have helped you get more organized and better manage your time. Next week we will talk about making sure we spend time with those we love.

Other Posts In This Series:

Time Management for Bloggers Part 1-Writing

Time Management for Bloggers Part 2-Social Media

Time Management for Bloggers Part 4-Family Time

The post Time Management for Bloggers Part 3-Household Responsibilities appeared first on The Mom Maven.

Every kind of label is customized with your child’s name so even if your child doesn’t have a common name or spelling, they can still get customized labels! On most labels you have a choice of colors and designs too. Now through September 28, 2012 you can get a great deal on their Ultimate Back to School Combo for only $42.00!

As you know my kids are 17, 17 and 19 and they were all excited to receive their Mabel’s Labels Tween Packs for this review. School starts next Monday and we haven’t done much shopping for supplies because they don’t know what they need until they attend each class for the first time, but here are some pictures of what they have done with their stickers so far.

As you can see Mabel’s Labels has something for everyone, I personally use their Bag Tags on my camera case and laptop bag Have you used Mabel’s labels before? Which kind is your favorite? Leave me a comment and let me know.

Dsiclosure: I received 3 Tween Packs, one for each of my kids for the purpose of this review. All opinions are 100% mine. There are affiliate links in this post.

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