Hi, Emm from @planwithemm here! You can find me on Instagram and YouTube. I recently moved into my very first house, and promptly started a new journal to help me manage it all. My house is over 100 years old and between a funky foundation, discovering a flock of termites under our porch, and leaks upon leaks, there’s a LOT happening. And I’ll be honest... It’s overwhelming! While there are items I can deal with immediately (hello leaky pipe under my sink), others require time, licensed professionals, and money.. Ugh.

So today we’re focusing on what we can do, making lists and organizing tasks to give our brain a well-earned rest, and planning out future projects in a fun visual way.

Let’s dive in!

SUPPLIES

• Notebook:  I used an A5 size notebook to make sure I had tons of space, but pick whichever size is your favorite.
• Calliographs
• Washi Tape
• Your pen of choice
• A pencil for any sketching

You could also jazz these spreads up with some stickers! Make sure to use my affiliate code PLANWITHEMM10 to save 10% at Archer and Olive.

FLOOR PLAN

Home ownership is a challenge, but it can also be fun! You can decorate however you want with no oversight from finicky apartment complexes (don’t get me started on HOAs though). But take a moment and bask in the freedom, because you earned it.

My first spread in this journal is a quick floorplan of our home. I left off measurements because this is meant to be more decorative, but it does provide an overview of the house’s flow. You can go through your dwelling and get detailed measurements, or just guesstimate for your sketch. Precision isn’t important for this! That being said, you could easily take measurements, scale it down for your journal, and then use that as a blueprint for furniture placement. If that’s the case, you can cut out paper to the scale of your furniture and use this floorplan as a base for laying out your items. (Honestly I wish I’d done this, rather than moving my couch an ungodly number of times)

 
But at a high level, looking at the floor plan gives me ideas for how I want each room and hallway to function and this can lead to future projects! For example: when you enter, you’re immediately in our dining/gaming room. We may want to create an area for dropping off mail or toeing off your shoes that isn’t just tossing them on the table or floor respectively. The floor plan can also help you decide which room you want as living, dining, etc. We initially thought our living room would be at the front, but vent placement and the general layout convinced us to switch it with dining!

And of course, the floorplan  wouldn’t be complete without a little “our home” in the corner. It’s the little touches that make a house a home and that make this spread feel special and personalized to you.

PRE-MOVING CHECKLIST

Moving is incredibly stressful and no two moves are the same! Creating a pre-moving checklist allowed me to think a little less about remembering all of the details and focus more on actually accomplishing tasks. Often these can be time-sensitive (i.e. setting up utilities at your new dwelling before you actually MOVE there) or just cumbersome (like canceling internet from certain providers). 

Items you may want to include on your pre-moving checklist include

• Updating your mailing address
• Forwarding your mail
• Buying boxes, bubble wrap, packing paper, and tape
• Hiring movers / renting a moving truck to do it yourself
• Donating items you no longer have a use for
• Canceling internet and utilities at your old address and setting them up at your new address
• Cleaning your old dwelling
• Turning in any keys and parking passes
• Taking measurements of your new dwelling
• Ordering items for your new home (e.g. a washer/dryer, a new desk, etc)
  
  

 
On our list, I also included some pre-move projects that would improve our quality of life once we actually moved in. This included things like measuring for and installing blinds, putting in toilet paper holders in our bathrooms, and setting up our bedroom’s closet. We didn’t need to do these before we moved, but it certainly made things easier when we did. Plus nothing feels better than checking items off of a list!

RENOVATIONS KANBAN BOARD

So many projects, so little time! Often when I’m going about my day, I’ll notice a project that needs doing (I’m looking at you, front closet) and then it completely slips my mind. This’ll repeat 5-10 times before I actually remember to write it down somewhere. This spread is my dedicated place for projects, big or small. More than that, it allows me to track future projects in addition to those that I’m currently working on. The main point of this spread is its flexibility. Using sticky notes allows you to easily move your projects around, be it putting them off or completing them!

 
A quick explanation of my Kanban board categories...

1. To Do: This is where projects that aren’t urgent or are planned for the future live. These can also be things I don’t want to forget but don’t have the bandwidth to deal with right now. One item I have here is setting up a garden in our backyard! It’s not time-sensitive, but something that I’d love to do later.
2. Not Started: These are projects that we want to work on soon. You best believe that my front closet is in this category! There’s no limitation to how many projects you can have here, apart from the space on your page.
3. In Progress: These are projects that we’re currently working on. These could be anywhere from just at the planning stages, to having purchased necessary supplies, to nearing completion. Try not to have TOO many projects in this column at once - we usually have 1-2 that we’re actively working on at any given time. We want to actually finish them and not get overwhelmed by the sheer amount of tasks to do. (Though easier said than done, honestly)
4. Done: This is my favorite section! When you’re putting a lot of time and energy into projects, they deserve to be commemorated. Even small things like installing a doorbell can make a huge difference on your quality of life, so celebrate them!

 
You can customize the categories to fit your plans - maybe omitting done and adding a “on-hold” or “pending” category instead! As long as it takes a bit of weight off your brain, it’s fulfilling its purpose.

If you want to try out some of my Kanban board in your journal, I’ve created printables for your DIY pleasure. 

IN-DEPTH PROJECT PAGE

So you’ve decided on your projects, but now it’s time to actually DO them. For my laundry nook, I sketched a layout of where I wanted shelves, cleaning supplies, and other items to go. This is often iterative as you find more things to store or discover that things don’t fit exactly how you wanted. Planning out your project before heading to a hardware store is crucial, so you don’t have to make multiple trips or purchase items you don’t need.

Once you have a plan, it’s time to measure! What’s great is that I can write the measurements right into my notebook and take it to the hardware store with me. At this time, I’ll also make a list of supplies that I need for the project and cross-reference it against any tools that we already own. Then in my journal, I’ll schedule time for when we’ll actually DO the project and any steps it may require. For example, we need to paint the wood for our shelf and let it dry before we actually mount it to the wall. 

 
And voila! We now have a journal set up that can help us with moving, new home projects, and beyond. Use this journal however best serves you - I’ve got pages of lists about unpacking, inventorying our toolbox, and more. You can also check out the associated YouTube video for these spreads and check out this blog for more moving and home journaling inspiration.