In addition to all of the wonderful products you can purchase from Limelife, they also offer a variety of printables for FREE! You can view them all here!

There are general ones such as calendar pages, a meal tracker, and several home-related checklists. I’m using the calendar pages this summer while I have a roommate so we can be aware of each others’ schedules/when one of us might be gone for a bit. We keep it on a bulletin board in the kitchen!

Also available are a variety of education printables, which are really awesome according to some teachers I’ve heard from (I think they look awesome too, but I’m not a teacher).

Lastly, there are also desktop wallpaper downloads. I used the Mandy Desktop Wallpaper on my computer at my internship last summer and was always getting comments from others about how cute it is. Once I get situated at my new job, I’ll get a Limelife wallpaper on that computer too – they are great for adding a pop of color to your workspace!

You don’t need any sort of code to get the printables and downloads for free, but if you’re interested in purchasing something else, here’s $10 off!

Feel free to say hi on Instagram @live.life.inspired! I’d love to see how you use Limelife printables!

We've all seen pictures of beautiful pinterest-worthy planner spreads and hoped we could one day make something as stunning.  I'm guilty myself of occasionally "planning for the picture."  Hundreds of thousands of planners are sold every year and a disproportionately high number of the "pretty" ones wind up on the internet.  For me, sometimes, what is behind the camera is another struggle entirely.  Even though I'm new to this, some people have told me they find MY plans inspiring, which I still find hard to believe!  

Occasionally I love the process of creating and organizing my week and showing it off is a bonus.  Other times, I am overwhelmed by it and wonder if people who expect to see me post on Instagram or a group will be disappointed.  In reality, I realize it's silly, but when my head space gets out of whack, it makes me feel inadequate.  Like anything else, too much of a good thing can take the fun out of it.

So today I thought I'd talk about getting back to planner basics.  All you REALLY need is a notebook and a pen or pencil.  If you really want stickers, head to a teacher supply store.

I like to return to my "planner roots" by making lists. It starts with a brain dump.  Literally, just write anything that pops into your head onto paper. Don't worry about how it looks or is organized or even if it's a note (noun or sentence), a task (verb or doing words), or encouraging quotation.  If you have a planner, don't be afraid to "ruin" it or use it!  That is what it is for.

Then, take the brain dump and categorize it.  Your categories may look different, but some examples are: to do, to schedule, to buy, to clean, or self care.  Occasionally I make a separate list alongside my categories of everything that is making me anxious.  I include a column that has a time component off to the side.  I've found that my anxiety triggers have a time element to them and they resolve or pass naturally.  Acknowledging them is all I need.

The categorized and anxious list is enough to get me through most of the time.  At this point, I may transfer to a "planner type" layout with set boxes but it's ok not to.  Just writing down the days of the week along with appointments or what tasks must be done that day is basic and will keep you organized.

15 Things To Do This Summer 

Summer Bucket List - Family of Four (Kids under 3)

It's officially summer in our home! With two educators and two kids, not yet in school, you can understand our excitement. 

Apollo is just under three years old and Aria a few days from turning one - we have to be creative. During the last few weeks of school, I began to brainstorm different ideas to keep our family entertained in my Limelife Planners A6 lined notebook. 

This size went along with me very easily from home to work because it fits nicely in my work bag and diaper bag. 

What's missing from this list? Anything you're planning to do with your family this summer break?

Even though the school year just ended/is ending soon, it’s getting to be time to think about your planner for the next school year! The great thing about Limelife is that there are so many great layout options. I’ll be showing you how I used Layouts B and C as a college student. (Note that Layout C has been updated slightly since I purchased mine, so it looks a little bit different in my pictures than it will if you order one—remember, you can always see what the layouts look like and try them out before you buy.)

This last school year was my first year using a Limelife Planner, and WOW was it great! I’ve always used a planner, but I hadn’t found a layout that I absolutely loved…until I tried Limelife’s Layout C. I used Layout C for the whole school year, and decided to order Layout B as my next planner since I’ll be transitioning from student to a 9-5 employee.

I loved the six boxes of Layout C and how easy it is to customize them. Because I had a consistent schedule, I mostly kept the boxes the same for an entire semester. If you plan to keep your boxes the same for several months, check out these wonderful customizable box labels!

Here’s how I used the boxes in Layout C:

Class #1

Class #2/Job & Apartment Search (This class was only for the first half of the semester, so once that was done I changed up my labels.)

Class #3

Class #4

Work

Misc (Social Events, Extra Curriculars, Errands, etc.)

I use the boxes for my classes to write down homework for the next class period and big projects or exam dates.

Here’s how the same week looks planned in two different layouts (top is B, bottom is C)!

A little disclaimer about Layout B (hourly): I didn’t get it for college, I got it to start using after my Layout C planner finishes up soon. Though the hourly layout was alright, it wasn’t as great of a fit for my college schedule. I found it to be redundant writing out my class times that are the same every week, and it’s more structured than I liked, especially for homework. However, I loved using an hourly planner for my internship last summer, because meetings were always at different times each day/week, and no two days were the same. That’s why I got a new hourly planner to use for my first adult job!

While I don’t have experience with any other layouts as a college student, I’d highly recommend Layout C for your next academic planner! As a student, another thing I love about Limelife over other planner brands is that you can pick your starting month. No more having to buy a January start and have one academic year in two calendar year planners!

Start thinking about what planner you want to use next school year, and order soon! There’s still plenty of time to order in time for August or September, but remember to allow about 3 weeks from the time you order for all of the customization goodness that Limelife does + shipping. That would mean ordering in early July if you want an August start!

Ready to buy your next planner or other Limelife goodies? Have fun shopping—here’s $10 off!

Follow me on Instagram @live.life.inspired or check out my blog to see more Limelife goodness!

If you're like most of us, January began with a commitment to having a stronger hold of your finances.  February was good, too. I mean it was only 28 days! Then all of the pretty things caught your eye and - whoops! What budget?

Marketing, spring fever, retail therapy - whatever caused this budget slip, it happens. The great thing is, you can get back on budget TODAY. 

Before we get into the steps, I do want to say that l believe a budget should have built-in opportunities for you to have fun. There should be fun money/blow money/allowances for you to enjoy things that you like. Even after going off track. 

Okay, so...

1: Start today!

Mistakes happen. Don't beat yourself up about it. Get back on track by recommitting to your budget today. Maybe the mistake was that your budget needed a little tweaking. Did you forget to build in that fun money? Whatever it was, focus on moving forward. 

2: Write it out.

If you are not writing out a plan for your budget,  stop reading after this step and get to it! This is essential for getting back on track. Write down what you plan to use your income for. Plan for it all of the way down to the last penny. (Zero-based budgeting) Hello - savings! I'm a tried and true fan of The Total Money Makeover. A [written] budget is telling your money where to go, instead of wondering where it went. (Dave Ramsey)

3: Assess What Happened

It's easy to get off track with your budget if you cannot see where your money is going. Not only should you write down what you plan to do with your income, you should write out what actually happens. Last month, we were hit with several Dr. visit co-payments when our youngest caught a nasty virus. Fortunately we'd started a sinking fund for medical payments. I wrote all of that out in my budget notebook because it helped us to better understand where our money went and how much we need to adjust our budget for future months. 

4: Make Adjustments 

As I mentioned before, you should have fun. Budgeting is not a way to eliminate the things that you want. Following a budget should put you in a place of confidence when you're making a purchase. Confident that the money isn't needed for something else, confident that your necessities are taken care of, and confident that the card transaction won't be declined. Each month will be different. Some months you'll need a oil change or a new transit pass. Some months, you won't. It's so important to plan out each and every month. I really like having the budget notebook because I can see when certain annual or semi-annual payments are, right away. Revisiting your budget each week may even be necessary for the first few months. Things shift and you will have to plan for it. 

5: Celebrate your success 

Going from no budget to a zero-based budget may feel like a big step. I get it. How do you keep on track? You celebrate the baby steps. Stay within budget, of course. Small celebrations don't have to cost money. Let's say you get back on track and have a full two weeks of on-budget-spending. Celebrate! Spend an extra 10 minutes in your bubble bath or watch an extra episode of whatever show you're trying not to completely binge watch. You deserve it! You adulted and adulting is hard. 

Let me know in the comments how you're doing on your 2017 budget. Also, check out the budget notebook that I use in the Limelife Planners Shop. 

Hey fellow Limelife lovers! I’m Erin, one of the new Media & Creative Team members. Today I want to show you how I’ve been using my Sermon Notes notebook! As a college student living away from home, I typically watch my home church’s sermons online. I do this either by live-streaming it or watching the recording later in the day/week. I’m thankful that my church provides the sermons online so they can be viewed at any time, and over and over again! While it’s not the same experience as being AT church, it is better than nothing!

I wasn’t really a note-taker in the past at church, but sometimes I would find myself wishing I had written something down. Then I discovered Limelife’s Sermon Notes notebook! It’s a beautiful 7x9” notebook with space to take notes for 64 sermons. I love the size of the notebook; it has a good amount of writing space for each sermon, but it’s not too big to toss in my purse! While the cover it comes with is wonderful, you can also pick a different cover if you’d like (I got the standard cover). For those of you who are loving traveler’s notebooks right now, it also comes in Cahier and A6 (both have room for notes on 13 sermons).

One thing I like about watching it online is being able to pause the video when I want to write something down. I am able to watch the sermon at my own pace, which is great. Here’s what my first spread in my Sermon Notes notebook looked like!

I love the flexibility that this notebook offers, while still providing some structure for the date, speaker, and title of the sermon, along with a box on the left and a quote and “what I want to remember” area on right. For example, in the box on the left side of the spread, sometimes I hand letter a short phrase or quote from the sermon, while other times I write out something longer like a Bible verse.

The notebook is made of the same lovely paper that Limelife uses for their planners. I’ve been using a purple Ink Joy Gel pen (my favorite pens at the moment), and I haven’t had any issues with the ink bleeding through, even where I did some hand lettering. It shadows just a tiny bit, but that doesn’t bother me at all!

This sermon notebook would be great if you usually take notes on the back of your church bulletin, or if you’re like me and wish you would take notes but not have a place to keep them. You can also use the notebook for taking notes on special church events, conferences, or guest speakers in addition to taking notes on the regular weekend sermons.

If you’re new to Limelife and would like to try the Sermon Notes notebook, you can get $10 off your purchase!

Follow me on Instagram @live.life.inspired or check out my blog to see more of my sermon notes and planning goodness!

It’s Springtime already! Time sure has flown. And with the change of seasons, it’s also time to announce our new Media & Creative Team. Please join me in welcoming this talented new group of ladies.

Jasmine

Jasmine is known on Instagram as @simplybyheart. She’s active in the planner community and loves florals.

Amanda

Amanda is known on Instagram as @leftyloveslimelife. She’s into bullet journaling and is sure to inspire you with her beautiful hand lettering. Subscribe to Amanda's YouTube channel here.

Erin

Erin is known on Instagram as @live.life.inspired. She’s a college student and blogs at www.livelifeinspired.wordpress.com.

Please be sure to follow our new M&CT members, use their $10 off links, and interact with them in our Facebook group. Welcome to the Limelife family ladies! We cannot wait to see how you inspire us with your talents and creativity.

If you're interested in joining a future round of our Media & Creative Team, make sure you're following us on Instagram, Facebook, and subscribed to our newsletter. We'll announce there when we start the search for new members.

You know how there are days that you just say to yourself, UGH is this day ever going to be over? Do I have to wake up and do this? We all have BAD days, but you know that saying "A bad day does not mean a BAD life!?" Well, it's true. Life can be so much worse. Just because you have a bad day or bad report or bad anything doesn't mean it's the end of the world.

In certain moments, even certain days I catch myself thinking ugh, is it 8pm yet? (Bedtime in our house). Or why do I have to attend this event or can everybody just leave me alone for a little peace and quiet! The fact is we all need a little peace for our sanity sometimes, we all need a little one on one with ourselves, our partners and even our children. It's important to take that time out for ourselves. The truth about it is ... Some of us can't do that, some of us don't have anyone that can "fill in" for them while they take a minute or a night for themselves. The truth is some of us don't have the luxury of a night out because they are a single parent and maybe live far from family or don't have family left, maybe they can't afford a sitter or maybe they don't trust anyone because they have anxiety or have been in a situation before. The truth is the reason I'm saying all that is because sometimes I'm ungrateful for things that others clearly don't have.

Sitting here really makes me think about the little things I complain about and then how little and LUCKY I am. Even at the end of a rough day, there's always things to be grateful for! For instance ... Breathing, waking up, have a warm bed, roof over my head, food on table... the list goes on. 
Life as I know it is actually pretty great. Don't get me wrong I do not live the perfect life AT ALL, but I do feel blessed with the life I live. Every night before bed, I remind myself of this, I remind myself that even though there was a lot of tantrums, tears, no naptime and bedtime took over an hour, I have to remind myself YOU ARE LUCKY! You wake up... You have 3 HEALTHY, HAPPY (and sad at times) children, who love to play, who love you with all they have no matter how much you suck that day! You are lucky you were able to conceive three babies, carry them on your own, pay for them, afford them, give then food and a bed. You, Jamie, are so blessed.

Like I mentioned before I have days NOTHING is right and I whine about small things, that others can't whine about. EVERY November a lot of people do the 30 days of thankful - some people get annoyed by this social media posting, others join in and people like me took it all in and continue it through the year. During November while doing this 30 days of thankful I realized it reminded me of what I have and what others might not. We all can vent and no one is perfect, no family is flawless and no relationship is full of no fighting. Things like that make relationships and family stronger. By continuing what I call my Grateful posts , I have found myself going to bed smiling more and waking up more grateful - less unhappy. When I hear my babes at night lately - I don't complain ... Thank goodness she's crying, this means she's alive, thank goodness she wants me, this makes me feel alive, thank goodness she wants to be rocked - one day she will be too big.

All these things were becoming so blurry to me, until I start keeping GRATEFUL posts in my planner! I have a perfect spot on my weekly layout that I just write a word, or maybe a sentence, or a person. Really anything to remind me BE GRATEFUL BE THANKFUL! It's nice to look back and see why I'm grateful or who made me feel grateful. For instance, one of my good friends was diagnosed with cancer while she was pregnant. I didn't know her then but after diagnosed I heard her story and we talked and it was like I've known her for years. I can't tell you how many times I say I'm grateful she's in remission, I'm grateful for her perfect, healthy baby boy, I'm grateful we met, I'm grateful to call her my friend! I'm grateful for her in every way and as much as I hate CANCER, I'm grateful that it brought her me and me her. I couldn't imagine not having her around. Her strength and smile are so contagious. She's so courageous and I just I am grateful for her.

She is one example of why I keep this journal - it reminds me of who I'm grateful for and why. My soul sister - I'm so grateful for tee ball! I'm grateful I signed up my son and have met amazing families after 4 years. I'm thankful I got pregnant with my oldest when I did, I think about it every day, he made me a better person, he saved me, he was my reason to finish school and get my Bachelors. I wrote one day I was grateful for the rain, I was grateful to enjoy the gloomy day indoors with movies and all day PJs! I've been grateful for COFFEE a lot lately ... with late night editing ... coffee is a MUST.

My lists of gratefuls could go on and on. Even though I still might complain this keeps me remembering daily how much there is in this world to be grateful for! Try keeping a list - some great spots for them are in the notes page or on the side of the weekly layout. Or use the bottom of the weekly layout as I do.

Why not start today with what you are grateful for?