“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:

• “I have always found planners and books of this type helpful in staying on task. The appointment book is going to be quite used and abused come 2008.“
• “This color-coded calendar pleased me a lot because of its flat binding and compactness…The tabs make it easy to flip to the month you need and there’s even an address book and other handy places to list frequently referenced things in the back. The book is a larger size than what I am used to, and I’m not sure about the flexible cover, but it lays very flat and I like all it has to offer.“

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:

• “Enter the monthly/weekly appointment book. This will be my constant companion in 2008, as I navigate a full-time work schedule.“
• “I can see this quickly becoming my Bible. For each month, there is a full-month view on one spread, followed by weekly views on the following spreads. This lets me flip back and forth to see either a big-picture or a detailed view of what’s going on…In the back of the planner, there is a phone directory, tons of room for notes, and even spaces for lists like “gifts to buy,” “books to read,” etc. (Presumably, Day Runner is promising to save us so much time that we will actually be able to read those books…)“
• “I am very much looking forward to jumping into the wire bound appointment book. I have looked through it and already filled out the appointments I know I will have coming up, addresses I will need - including a spot for web addresses! - and have this bad boy ready to come come January. The size was perfect for me for my desk. Anything smaller would get lost. Anything larger would be in my way.“
• “The paper monthly calendar is a great replacement for my current monthly calendar. It’s larger and has a lot more space for writing, plus it has color coded areas for each person…I’ve already started writing appointments and my school schedule on it.“
• “Out of all the products, the agenda book is my favorite. The agenda I bought last year is way too small - when I bought it I was thinking I wouldn’t need much space because exactly how much can a mother of two toddlers plan for any given day?! I particularly like that there is a To-Do list area for the entire week because - and do I really need to spell this out - there are some tasks it takes all week for mothers to find time to complete!“

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

• “Every day after school my kids put important papers from their backpack into their color assigned storage case. This has eliminated the stacks of papers on my counters and the loss of important forms.“
• “My favorite thing isn’t even the one I figured on necessarily using at all. The Storage Cases helped significantly decrease my piles and clutter from the plethora of papers that come up around here with mail, school and activities.“
• “The color-coded activity folders have already been put to good use in my determination to save some of the boyz’ schoolwork for posterity…Along with the folders, the color coded storage cases are great for documents pertaining to each individual in our family (conveniently, it comes with 5!)…No more digging through random piles of paper in the desk drawer!“
• “The storage cases were probably my favorite. Though they are designed for one per family member, I have stolen all five and plan to implement a new system to my piles to be filed. Bills to be filed, bills to be paid, etc…I wish they were made out of plastic instead of cardboard, and I wish the bottom laid flat better thanit does. “
• “What I love most are the storage boxes and activity folders. These are so useful to keep track of bills that need to be paid, papers [my older daughter] needs for school, paperwork I need for [my younger daughter's] next doctor’s visit, and lots of other stuff. I plan to buy some more folders so that each person’s storage box can have multiple folders in it for different activities.“

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:

• “These little guys are great for hanging on doorknobs so kids remember to clean their rooms. Or so people remember to wear pants that day for a hike, or a skirt for a party. Another one that was well used was “library books!” - we often get halfway to the library before remembering we left the books at home!“
• “Because only two of the kids are reading, I write their chores, or that someone called for them, or a reminder on their board and place it on their door knob. It saves me a lot of yelling. I do the same for my five year-old, only I use pictures, and it makes him feel like a big kid and prepares him for when he really is reading to look at his door for a message.“

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.