I was thoroughly sick of having bits of paper scattered about with lists for this and that, my vague and ultimately unsuccessful attempt at getting organised, so I decided to splash out and purchase some sort of diary/organiser to keep everything together in one place.

I have never been a diary keeper, I have tried on occasion but never had the commitment to keep it going. So I need less a diary and more of an organiser. I prefer notebooks that are ring bound rather than having to squish down pages, and so was happily surprised to hear a recommendation for the organised mum yearbook on the magicmum discussion boards.

As you can see in the above photo taken from the website, you can also purchase a zip up leather cover for it, which I did. Handy for protecting the notebook from the inevitable spillages that occur in this house and for holding bills/letters etc that need to be dealt with.

Its an excellent organiser. 16 months running from September 2007 till December 2008 so I’ve already started using it. It has the usual, 2007/2008 at a glance pages, notes pages, each month at a glance summary pages and then each week is displayed over 2 A5 pages, with margins at each side for notes. I like it for many reasons, one of which is the equal space given to weekdays and weekend days. There’s plenty of room for mundane lists, appointment and notes.

Additional pages are provided in the December section for presents planning etc etc. The back of the organiser has an address book section. Some plastic section dividers/finders and stickers are also included.

I bought mine online from the organised-mum website at a cost of approx €28 including reusable cover, and I believe they may also be available in Dubray bookstores.