Getting organised for the new school year

In many ways, the start of September is more of a fresh start, a time to reorganise and reflect than January 1st.  After a lovely long summer holiday with my family, I always feel refreshed and ready to face the challenges ahead.  Unlike the beginning of January, the sun is more likely to shine and the sky is that little bit bluer and I think that helps your mindset with any plans and changes that are ahead.

The children have already been back a week in school and they all seem to have settled into their new routine and I am fiercely determined to get myself organised for the new year.  As always I am juggling family life, my job, blogging and writing and I have so many ideas and plans in my head that I need to sit down and organise my thoughts and ideas before I start.  One back to school habit that I have never been able to break since my own school days is treating myself to new stationery.

Whilst I do have to admit to a somewhat large collection of notebooks, my stationery addiction has a positive impact on my life now that I am a busy mum.  My notebooks all have different uses.  One is the start of a bullet journal, bullet journaling is something that I aspire to do and to do better as it is such a brilliant organisation system and can look amazing too.  Another is an ideas book where I try and jot down those blog post or story ideas that I would otherwise frustratingly forget.  A weekly desk planner has become an essential thing.  I keep it in a central location in the kitchen and we all add things for the week.  The children add sporting fixtures, my husband adds his weekly meetings and evening commitments and I add everything else; clubs, appointments, birthdays and things that need doing for that week.  Having tried different things, this is the perfect family organiser.  A to-do list is another essential and my youngest son uses it a lot to manage his homework as it does build up and it helps if he has a list he can tick off as her goes.  Finally, I have an academic diary that is mainly used for work and I carry that around in my bag and use it to jot down notes for meetings, things I need to remember and all things school-related. Of course, nice pens are essential too.

Whilst I know many people wax lyrical about the digital age, I am and always will be a pen and paper girl.  It works for me and really helps me to keep on top of everything.

Someone who is passionate about stationery and certainly agrees with me is Sarah Sibley, founder of Got2Jot which is a rather lovely fashion stationery business which is now bookmarked as my go-to site for all things stationery. Like me, she sees this time of year as a good time to get organised.

After the long summer holiday where routine goes out the window, September is always seen as a fresh start with the new term and kids back to school. Its a time where I certainly have more energy to get sorted and catch up on lots of jobs ahead of the dreaded Christmas build up. For me, stationery has always helped to keep me focused and organised as I love nothing better than crossing off jobs on my to-do list.

I set up Got2Jot as I have always had a passion for stationery. It keeps me organised and is a sort of comfort blanket as I know if it’s on the list it stays there till it’s done. However, stationery doesn’t need to be boring and there are so many lovely products out there to help you stay organised whilst being a stylish addition to the home or handbag. I’m always looking for lots of fabulous products including sourcing from smaller UK designers to bring to the range.

I chose this to add to the range as there are so many people like me who had a business idea but needed help with structuring, planning and clarity of thought. Inside this pad there are lots of templates which can be used to jot down all your ideas and help with new ones too. September is a great time to do this after the break and to kickstart you to begin planning your next big idea.

 

I’ve always loved this planner as it was one of the first products I picked for the range. Got2Jot is all about colouful, fun yet stylish stationery and this ticks the boxes. This product can brighten up the desk and has been particularly popular for teenagers to help with planning therir homework and activities after school. Its a good discipline to get them into early in the school term.”

 

I couldn’t resist this dotty to do list. With the gold foil effect and lovely colour dots, it’s a stylish way to stay organised. With a magnet on the back, it can also go on the fridge so it’s handy to use.

Food planning is something that I have discovered over the last year and not only does it help me to save time and stress during the week, but it also saves money so I would definitely recommend it.  To help with the weekly shopping, Got2Jot has a brilliant All out of shopping list (£5.95) and I have never seen anything like it before but I already love it.  I will be showing it to my husband too as he is a devil for using something up and forgetting to tell me before I do the shopping, so this will hopefully stop that happening.  Sarah says,

The All out of shopping list – Again really popular to help you stay organised and save money on your weekly shop. With a magnet backing you can simply tick the boxes when you run out, add a few extras and tear off ready to go.

So there are four amazing products that I know will make a huge different to my life and will ensure that I keep myself fully organised and as I love using gorgeous stationery, it is a joy to use all of these and that is motivation enough to keep on track.  Got2Jot is all about giving you lots of stationery ideas and smart organisation for your work and home and there are lots of amazing products like these and more so I would really recommend that you visit the website and take a look for yourself.  If you use the code stressmum15 before 2/10/16 you will get a 15% discount off contents of your basket (not delivery) and it is free delivery when you spend over £20.  I may have to invest in one of these Mum’s iPhone charger stickers as I am always fighting everyone in this house for a charger (there is one for dads too).

 

 

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