I have to admit, I am one of those people that lives and dies by a planner. I have the memory of a gnat (or as I like to call it, permanent momnesia). Due to this memory problem and my ridiculous desire to be super organized, I have to write everything down. Every year I buy a new calendar and pick out the perfect new planner (ok, I am a nerd). My planner becomes my trusty companion for the year! I will be the first to admit that I love getting a new planner; it is an exciting fresh start!!!

Once these items are purchased I am usually incredibly good about writing down all of our activities in my planner/calendar. I also like to place additional information or lists on post it notes (yes, I am one of those people)! A written planner and post it notes seems incredibly old school and low tech but it works or it was until recently.

I am now struggling to keep our family organized! I feel like I have items written in my planner, some on my calendar at home, my calendar at work, my phone calendar, and my husband’s calendar. AHHHHHHHH!!!! For an organized person, this is awful and incredibly overwhelming. The problem lies in me not sufficiently transferring my information from place to place.

Many people (including my husband) have encouraged me to just use my phone calendar because it is always with me. While I love technology, I don’t love my phone calendar. I use it for quick reminders on the go, but nothing more! I always go back to my trusty old companion my planner! Well my trusty old companion isn’t cutting it! While I make a habit of checking my planner, my husband doesn’t. We need something that we both can universally add too and access easy. I just feel like we need to be on the same page.

I have seen the “Mom Planners/Calendars” but they aren’t me. I have also seen some great homemade calendar centers, but I don’t think my husband would use it because he is the “tech savvy” one. So I think I have finally stumbled across something that will keep us organized (or at least I hope it will). A fellow mother and friend (Mindy) has introduced me to Cozi. She says it is a great resource and keeps her busy family organized.

So what is Cozi?? It is a free online calendar and mobile app (for when you are on the go) that is supposed to keep busy families organized and on the same page. Cozi has won tons of mom and parenting award. It has also been featured in several magazines and on television shows, but these accolades didn’t help my skepticism. It almost sounded too good to be true! Despite my reservations, I decided to give it a shot. What did I have to lose…it is free! Might I say, I think I am in love!!!

Cozi has a ton of features (to many to list). Here are a few I will definitely be using to keep my family organized. A color coded calendar, which is much easier to read than my regular phone calendar. It is easy to enter appointments. Plus, I love that you can have important reminders sent to your phone or your e-mail (can we say library book return reminders…I need these!). I think the feature I will enjoy the most is the ability to e-mail a weekly agenda to my husband. Often times we make appointments individually and the other doesn’t know or remember it. It will be nice that we both can individually add appointments to our family’s site.

I also like that I can make a simple to do list and a grocery list on the site. How often do you forget those lists when you run out the door?!?!? I know I do! I think it will be great to be able to pull them up on my phone if I need too. Cozi has a ton of other features that I am just learning about. They also have a paid site that has more features and no ads. I think I can tolerate the ads (especially since it is free)!

I don’t know if Cozi will fix all my family’s organizational/scheduling woes, but it is worth a shot. Maybe we can all just get on the same page a little more and have a more central location for our scheduled activities (a mom can only hope)! I know I won’t give up my old trusty paper planner or post it notes, but I will (with a little hesitancy) try to become more “tech savvy” for the sake of organization. Oh…how I don’t like change?!?! I will let you know how it goes.

Does anyone else struggle with keeping your family’s schedule straight? If not, how do you keep your family organized? Do you have any tricks, resources, or great programs that you use? Would love to hear any of your tips!

Can’t wait to hear from you!