Family Matters Planner Review – Tick Tock Tuesday

Boy do I have a bunch of fun products to review! I am really behind on my reviews and I am really ready to dig in and let you know about a lot of great products and books that I have been checking out and reading.

A few weeks ago, I received an organizational system that is geared toward families. In fact, the line is called Family Matters, which is so accurate. Not only does you family actually matter to you and it’s important for you to be organized for them, but the system also helps you take care of all your family matters. Great name, I just love it. You can get products from this line exclusively at Office Depot.

All of the products in this line work together. It is based on a color-coded system for a family of five. You can assign each member in your family a color and this has been fabulous for my family. My kids love it that they have a designated color.

The products I would like to tell you about today from this line, are the Wirebound Appointment Book and the Storage Case.

Here are some pictures of the Appointment Book.

More pictures and review below the cut.

The appointment book comes in 2 sizes – 9 x 11 and 6 7/8 x 8 3/4. The one pictured here is the larger one. There are several features that I love about this planner:

• The spiral bound feature of the book, makes it easy to use. You can fold the book completely in half for easier writing and it takes up less space at your desk as you are jotting things down.
• It has both the monthly calendar and the weekly calendar.
• The monthly spread includes color-coded blocks for important notes/appointments.
• The weekly 2 page spread has color-coded columns for each day of the week.
• It has the monthly tabs making it easy to switch back and forth between months.
• It has a section to record family information.

Now, this isn’t exactly a planner that you can carry around with you every where you go, unless you carry a brief case or large purse. I see this as a planner that is good for those who do not need to carry it around with them, but instead leave it in a central location at home or at your desk.

If you have a lot going on in your family life and you need a planner to keep any and all the information you could imagine, then this would be a great planner for you. There is plenty of room to write down a ton of stuff. Compared to other planners I have used in the past, this gets a thumbs up from me. I do wish it had pockets to store loose papers, but that’s just me.

The next product in the Family Matters line, is their storage cases. Here’s a picture of the blue one.

I really like using storage boxes in an office area. There are certain things in an office that can make it look cluttered, but it’s stuff that you need to be able to access.

I use this storage box at my desk. It sits right behind my computer and I keep my day planner in it, a book I am reading, magazines I haven’t been able to look through yet and a few loose papers that I need close to me for the next few days. Storage boxes keep everything in one place and looking neat and tidy.

These storage boxes come in the colors that correspond with the appointment book and the other products. Each family member can have their own storage box where they put important items. It keeps papers, magazines, etc off of the desk or counter area and in a contained space.

Overall, I am very pleased with both of these products. Later this week, I will tell you about my all-time favorite product from the Family Matters line. I have literally fallen in love with this product and use it on a daily basis and so do my kids. Yes, I know I am weird. Organizing products get me way too excited.