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REVIEW by Kelly Huckaby for The Family Corner Get Organized Now!™ Easy Organizer by Maria Gracia Keeping track of all our responsibilities can be challenging. Your time is valuable. A good daily planner can help you spend your time more wisely at home, at the office, or around town. While I realize that one planner doesn't work for every mother, I've found one that will please the majority of the female population. I loved, the Easy Organizer, from Get Organized Now!™ This planner, created by Professional Organizer Maria Gracia, is a full-sized, 3-ring binder with 8.5" X 11" pages. This is a fantastic reference tool for any home. I call it a reference tool because this planner is ideally suited to sit on the counter in your kitchen, on your desk, or wherever it can be easily accessed, much like an unabridged dictionary. It's also a great reference tool because of the variety of pages you get. The Easy Organizer comes complete with over 60 different pages, or tools. These tools are separated by 31 tabbed dividers that come in a rainbow of colors. You get two of each tool, including an order blank for ordering more copies of the sheets you want (or you can make your own copies.) All the pages are one-sided making them crisp, clear and easy to read. An index is in the first section, along with instructions for using each of the tools. I really enjoyed reading this section. Maria kept the instructions short and to the point. No wasted words, yet still personal. I felt like she had written them directly to me as a friend, not just a customer. As I mentioned, the tools are full-size, 8.5 inch X 11 inch pages, and they're very specific. This is good for two reasons: more room and adaptability. Let's look at some of the sheets so you'll see what I mean. As with any good planner, you get an address book. With the Easy Organizer you also get an E-mail Log. This is especially helpful if you are part of an e-mail list. You'll probably only have a name and e-mail address for many of the list members so a full address book isn't needed. Besides the usual To-Do List, the Easy Organizer also has pages for Calls To Make, People To Visit Or Contact, Places To Go, Movies To See, Books To Read, and Restaurants To Visit. The Calls To Make page is just for phone calls: if you have business calls to make; if you need to contact other parents for a school or sport function; if you are part of a prayer chain. The other five tools are set up in yearly formats. If you have an elderly relative you can schedule regular visits throughout the year. How about a New Year's resolution to read a new book each month, or to visit six new restaurants next year? Schedule seasonal day-trips for your family on the Places To Go sheet - you'll be prepared for birds migrating, flowers blooming, or opening day of your favorite amusement park. The Easy Organizer is unique in many of its tools, including the one for Doctor Visits. If you put all family members on the sheet each year, you'll have a record for insurance purposes. Or, make a sheet for each family member and you'll know their medical history at a glance. This planner is also well suited to business women. Besides tools for planning and taking notes at meetings, there are tools to assist you in training other people, and for delegating tasks. All of these tools I've told you about can be easily adapted to just about any lifestyle you may lead. As a homeschooling mom, I can see how the Major Goals tool can be made into a scope and sequence. The Decision Making tool can help you choose curriculum materials. The Presentation Outline can be used by older students who are giving speeches. The Contacts-Prospects tool is a great place to list potential field trips or curriculum vendors. Start out by implementing only one or two tools, or pages. Use them for two weeks, until they are part of your daily routine, then add more sections, one at a time, until you are using a full planner. With a little creativity, you should be able to use all the different pages in your planner. (c) Copyright December, 2000 - HomeWriter Return to the Get Organized Now!™ About Us Page Return to the Get Organized Now!™ Home Page |