Day Runner Family Matters - To Each Their Own « The Parent Bloggers Network

Day Runner Family Matters - To Each Their Own

“It’s not ME that’s disorganized, it’s my kids.”

Ain’t it the truth? Along with those whirlwinds known as children, I expect many women would point the finger at their spouses too. Because as one blogger put it: “As the Chief Operating Officer of this family, I am the one to whom the fliers for school activities come, the bills, the junk mail, and the miscellaneous pieces of paper that life somehow manages to distribute to me on a daily basis.”

The second set of parent bloggers to review the Day Runner Family Matters line were no less hungry for organization than the first set. None of us enjoys feeling as if our lives are out of control, but as one blogger commented: “I love organization, but had no role model for this, so I clean and clean and have no tools or understanding of how to KEEP things tidy and neat. So, within a day or two, I’m back in full clutter mode. Yes, it is a vicious cycle.” She needed a system, and Day Runner Family Matters provided that system with its wide variety of organizational tools.

The flexibility of the Day Runner Family Matters line allows families to pick and choose what works well for them. Judging from the range of feedback we saw among the reviewers regarding the various items they received, the old adage “to each their own” certainly applies.

The erasable wall planner was a godsend to one blogger who’s dedicated to keeping up with all the writing and erasing and re-writing: “I love the one that Day Runner sent me because (1) at 17″ x 24″ it’s big, (2) I can include notes to myself in the sidebars, and (3) I can look at it and always see 35 days out. For me, this means that it doesn’t look like a traditional calendar with day 1 at the top because I’m weekly erasing the old week and inserting the new week that is still four weeks away.” But another blogger found that the dry erase approach didn’t work as well for her - or her family: “I did have a bit of a problem with the erasable calendar. No sooner would I get something written than it would need to be changed, and in my zest to erase the old info, I’d also erase part of something else. Also, there was the time that one of my kids erased the entire calendar and filled it in with such delights as Buy me candy and Eat at McDonald’s.”

Still another blogger is on board with the dry erase routine, but had logistical challenges: “I am the queen of dry erase, I use a similar calendar in my office to keep everything straight. I take great joy in actually erasing things…[But] I can’t find a convenient place to hang it in the kitchen/family room which is (dis)organization central at our house. I’ve decided it does have great potential as a chore keeper-tracker for my girls. I think it will be perfect on the closet door in their room.”

And just to illustrate how different personal perspectives can be, one blogger explained that the erasable calendar wouldn’t work for her family because “I want all calendar-related things in one place: my agenda book! I don’t want to have to check two places every time I need to know what’s going on this week.” Meanwhile, another blogger loved it for that exact reason - she had everything in one place: “The thing I liked best about using the Family Matters system, is that the information was all in one obvious, clear, easy to access place. I hung the erasable wall planner with all of our monthly plans in a central location that the entire family could glance at and see what was happening on a certain day.”

To each their own, right?

Moving on to the wirebound appointment book, which generated more excitement among this group - perhaps because 2008 is less than a month away! Some bloggers were already dedicated planner users:

And one blogger hadn’t even realized how much use she would get out of such a planner until she received this one: “”My favorite Family Matters product is the wire bound monthly/weekly appointment book that I had no idea how much I needed until I had it. The planner is also color coded and is divided up into monthly and weekly sections…I prefer the monthly view but I can see the weekly view being useful during very busy weeks.”

All told, this appointment book was a big winner:

Next up, the folders and storage cases. As before, these were put to excellent and immediate use:

While I wouldn’t go so far as to characterize them as miraculous, they’re not only drawing compliments from visitors - “The storage cases and folders are color coordinated to go with the set as well…(I have had more people comment on how clever I am to color code the kids’ paperwork. I totally take credit for the ingeniousness of it!)” - but they’re promoting marital harmony too - “…now [my husband] knows the new system and doesn’t have to wonder where I might have filed away some paper of his. He can also file papers into the color-coded folders on his own without worrying that he might mess up my filing system.”

Finally, those erasable door reminders - it seems they’re either a home run or a strike out, and better suited to families with older children. One blogger lamented: “When I tried to put a door reminder to use, I realized the pen covered up 1/3 of what I wrote…I was planning to use this as a reminder to keep [my daughter] from dying of Tidy Bowl poisoning or dropping an iPhone in the toilet. Instead the bathroom door stayed open more than ever since it was impossible to close with this thing hanging from it.” Another mother with young ones simply uses the reminders in a different location: “Kitchen cabinets at eye level are so much more effective for me: right next to the phone and the keys to the car so I can write both phone messages as well as reminders of things not to forget before heading out the door.”

On the other hand, one blogger (who does have older kids) noted: “I can see this being an incredibly useful tool for down the road when my teenage kids are arriving home and perhaps I’m not here, the door reminders would be great for leaving messages and hoping they actually get noticed.”

As in the first group, there was a request that these reminders be magnetized too: “I think a magnetic strip on the back would be a great addition to the hangers so they can be placed on the refrigerator when not hanging on a doorknob. My kids use theirs to remind them of things they need to take to school. They are the perfect last minute reminder as we walk out the door to the garage.” But another blogger may have already found the solution: “A really big hit with my daughter was the erasable door reminders. These are terrific! We hung one on each of the kids’ doors as well as one on the refrigerator. (Suction cups, baby.)”

Not only were they deemed useful for kids:

But they’re a great reminder to adults too - “These are by far my favorite of the Day Runner Family Matters products. The cute little reminder men hang right on the door handle and virtually whisper in my ear as I try to escape the house in the morning. I have them hanging on the front and garage doors so that I don’t leave things behind.” - and aesthetically welcome - “The door hangers are wondrous. My usual method is to tape a giant note to the door, but these hangers are a more pleasant and attractive alternative.”

The Day Runner Family Matters line includes five colors, which works well for many families. But a couple of our bloggers with larger families weighed in as to how they modified the system somewhat to fit their needs. One took over the entire range of colors for herself:

“Each category of my life has a color, and when there is something coming up in my life, like a review for example, I don’t have to do anything more than lift my eyes from the computer and see my huge dry erase poster I’ve placed in my office for the answer. The cardboard filing units are neatly arranged near my desk, and I am now reminded of what the surface area of my desk looks like. It has transformed the way I conduct my personal business, and significantly reduced my time spent doing so as I now spend a lot less time searching for papers.”

Hey, if Mom’s organized, the rest of the family has a much better shot at being organized too.

Another blogger explained: “We have more members than colors! I solved this by doubling up, but I wish that there had been a way to add additional members/colors.” She went on to conclude: “All in all, I think that Day Runner has a great product, and this system is great for small to medium size families. Parts of it work for large families, you just need to be creative.”

Thanks to the flexibility of Day Runner Family Matters and some creative thinking on the part of our bloggers, each of them found a way to make it work for their family.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 12th, 2007 at 5:00 am and is filed under Household. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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Day Runner Family Matters - To Each Their Own

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