How I set up my organization planner on a budget

I have a diary, where I list everything I have to do on certain dates.

I have a to-do list with everything that I have to do for the month.  This list I kept in a file folder in a desk drawer in my home office.  My list of passwords were also kept in this folder in my desk drawer.  If I needed my to-do list or to check a password, off I would go to get this folder.

I have a list of frequently called phone numbers.  If I needed to make a phone call, I would have to go elsewhere to get that list.

One day I realized that whenever I wanted information on anything, I had to be going all over the house to get it.

I had been seeing videos on organization planners, and it made me realize that instead of having a diary plus keeping other info all over the place, it would be better to have everything all in one spot.  I cannot believe it never occurred to me to do this before.

I have two three-ring binders, 8" x 9", that I had bought several years ago as a photo album, and they were just sitting in the drawer where I keep my other photo albums.  I took out one binder and fixed it up as a planner.

I tore out the pages from my diary, punched them, and put them in the binder.

This is my three-ring binder.  I use a hair band to keep it closed.

I glued an envelope to the inside cover of the binder to put bills to be paid.

This green dotted cardboard is the inside from a cologne box that I had been saving for years.

I made a divider from a placemat.

I cut a piece from a kleenex box to use as another divider.

I used the front of a card I received a few years ago to make this divider.

My list of telephone numbers is printed on brightly coloured paper, so it is easy to spot from the top view.

This is the channel guide from my cable company.

I also added a page to keep track of petty cash.

I got this calendar from a supermarket at the end of last year.  I cut off the part with the supermarket's name, etc. and left just the calendar section, which also showed all the public holidays for the year.  I fold this down the middle to fit.

I have been functioning so much better since fixing up this planner.  Everything I need is right in there, including my diary, my standard monthly to-do list, password list, etc.  This planner does not leave my house.  I should get a couple years' use from this binder, and when it eventually falls apart, I have the other three-ring photo album to take its place.


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Bullo Slush

During my years at primary school I would buy a patty, crust, or fritters at the school gate. I have never tasted patties so good as the smoke-filled ones from the patty pans with the hot coals underneath.

All those years, at lunch time, a cart was pushed into the school yard with huge pots of food, and the children would shout "Bullo man come!"  I did not pay much attention to it, I just knew that those huge pots held cooked food that the children called bullo slush.

I discovered bullo slush in my last year of primary school. In fact, my only regret at primary school was that I did not 'take bullo' from the day I started school. I loved it so much, and missed it so much, that after I started high school I used to ask the helper to make it for me. I would describe the taste, and she would attempt to make the saltfish stew with macaroni. There was a tart taste that was missing, but I didn't know what it was. (Maybe it's better that I didn't know). I also loved the cornmeal dumplings with the oblong shape, that was served with the stewed peas (really really thick, and no meat) and I loved the turned cornmeal on the side.

We would also get half of a ripe banana, a peg of grapefruit, or a slice of watermelon with our meals. It was a really balanced meal.

In recent years, the primary schools were getting something called nutribun. What's that about?

P.S. Since writing this, I have read a couple articles where it is said that bullo slush was a free lunch provided by the government. I know that I had to pay for the lunch. It might have been heavily subsidised, though, because the cost was minimal.

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