Welcome to my series on Preserving Memories in the digital age! This post contains affiliate links. My website is my job, and helps to support our family. So if you decide to purchase something you see mentioned here, we would be so grateful if you clicked through my links. Thank you!

I’ve jumped on the planner bandwagon this year. But I didn’t do it for the planning aspect. I mean, I am a planner, and I like planners, and planning. Ha! But my purpose for this planner is to preserve memories.

Off and on in years past, either my husband or I have kept little notes throughout the year to remember the little things. Maybe we went to a movie, or someone lost a tooth, or we grilled burgers in the yard. These aren’t always the big events; they are the small, everyday things that our lives are made up of. And having them documented is so sweet. We love looking back on these little notes and getting a glimpse into our normal life.

For our kids, it’s an absolute gift! They won’t possibly remember every little thing about their childhood. Unless someone makes a point to preserve the memories. Imagine being able to look back on your life in a series of photos and notes and seeing the little, average, daily things your family did.

My husband has kept daily notes in a simple spiral notebook. I have kept scrapbooks with many versions of notes and pictures in the same way. And now I’m trying the Memory Planner route.

This is what inspired me— Count Your Many Blessings in a Planner 

I received this planner for Christmas and love it. There are many, many planners out there, but after lots of looking and considering, I chose this for one reason: the ability to customize it for my purpose. Which is memory keeping. I like that it’s not so structured that I have to write in appointments and to-do lists. I want to write in it after things happen. At only $20, the Heidi Swapp Memory Planner is also inexpensive compared to many other brands. I need affordable and simple.

I’m really excited about my other Christmas gift: the Life Print personal iPhone printer! This little gadget prints 2×3 photos straight from my iPhone’s camera roll (or social media accounts). And it’s wireless! It’s the perfect companion to my new Memory Planner, because I don’t have to wait to order prints. I can literally print a photo as soon as I snap it, and the best part??? Each photo has a self-adhesive back for adhering in a book. (You can leave the adhesive backing on and treat it as a normal photo, if desired.) The Life Print operates with ZINK (Zero Ink) technology, so there are no ink cartridges to buy. It’s kinda like a Polaroid photo; the technology is in the paper.

So let me share some photos:

As a long-time scrapbooker, I’m exited to continue the craft I love in a smaller, easier way. So I gathered a small stash from my scrapbooking supplies and put them in my desk drawer for quick, easy access. I may have also purchased a few new supplies because they were so pretty!

By the way, here’s the desk in my kitchen. It’s the command center. And it often looks much worse than this! But this is where I’ll keep my Memory Planner and I want my supplies right at hand to make a note, add a photo, and include any memorabilia I have.

I tested the Life Print photo printer on one of my daughter’s senior (gasp!) pics. See how adorable?? And for my Memory Planner, I’ll simply remove the adhesive backing and stick it in the book!

I look forward to using these two tools to preserve the little day-by-day memories in our family!

So, comment below! Do you have a handy method for preserving day-to-day memories? Have you considered the Memory Planner? Are you interested to see how mine evolves this year? Don’t you want a Life Print???  Follow me on Instagram and check out my hashtag #nickitruesdellmemories.

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Completed Planner Pages

January 2018 Memory Planner

And check back here at nickitruesdell.com for more in my series: Preserving Memories in the Digital Age.

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Nicki Truesdell is a 2^nd-generation homeschooler and mother to 5. She is a homemaker at heart, and loves books, freedom, history and quilts, and blogs about all of these at nickitruesdell.com. She believes that homeschooling can be relaxed and that history is fun, and both can be done with minimal cost or stress, no matter your family’s circumstances. Nicki is a member of the Texas Home Educators Advisory Board. She also teaches ESL online from home. You can follow her on  Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.