What’s Your Favorite Calendar Planner System?

People often think I’m organized.  But they don’t realize that’s not how I feel.

I exist in a constant state of seeking organization.  Never quite feeling like I’ve found it.  Guilty of high standards that aren’t easy to satisfy.

I’ve probably owned and half-used more calendars and planners than most people would think normal.   Even created a few. I can walk into someone else’s space and help come up with ways to organize them.  But for myself, I’m like a wandering Fool who can’t settle down.  And I’m the same way about purses and yarn bags.

What can I say?  I like good tools.  Nay, I probably even worship them.  But anything that falls short of the balance, I will drop in a heart-beat.  Either you’re saving me time and heart-ache, or you ain’t organizer-planner thing.

Toward that end, I’m currently in the middle of searching for a new weekly-monthly calendar planner for 2015.  Preferably one that does everything.  I want the bells, the whistles and the cup holders too.   And I’m not a fan of digital calendars for my purposes.  I remember things I hand-write better.  But I also use my calendars each year as records.

My favorite family calendar is the More Time Moms Calendar.  I’ve been using that one for our family for years – at least since the first time John deployed.  It has the largest squares to write in, it’s strong and comes with great little stickers to use.  Though I kind of miss some of their old stickers.  But I love the iconic use of imagery to be able to put more information into a space, that I can glance across the room and see in an instant.  It’s great.  Oh look, there’s a pair of scissors on tomorrow’s date. Haircut!

But… when it comes to business stuff, managing orders and contract work – I need something much different.

I prefer to use a full blown 9×12 size spiral planner with one week spread across two pages.  And the more boxes it has for me to use for lists and notes, the better.  Some of the planners marketed to moms are good starts, but I find many are just too small.  The kind of planners that allow you to write out a schedule for multiple people are nice, because you can use those extra schedules for projects, not just people.

Last year I found a great little weekly-monthly calendar by DayTimer that seemed to have a bit of everything I wanted.  It was called the FamilyPlus Planner.  I could organize up to 6 people or projects, multiple boxes for different kind of notes.  Some lines sections, some not lined (I like having both) and even a quick dinner menu list, which I found kinda handy.

Well, that cool calendar has apparently been discontinued.  What to do.  And I haven’t found anything else like it.

Certainly, one option for me is to find another Maker who’s doing free calendars.  They might have closer organizational needs to mine.

Or better yet, maybe I should give up and just design and print my own.  But before I take on a painful job like that, I figured I’d ask y’all.

What are you using?  Why?

What features do you value?  What’s your favorite?

Let me know in the comments below.  Links encouraged!

PS –  It dawned on me that I should make it clear that I do not want to design and make my own calendar.
I want to buy one and use it today.  That’s why I’m asking you what you like to use.  Recommendations and time saving.  Making my own would be an act of desperation under protest and anguish.  Just in case you’re wondering….