About Us

Hi, I'm Irene, Founder of Really Useful Calendars. Born in Adelaide, South Australia. After a lifetime of working with people, I've shifted gears to making products that help people. People like me.

Creating opportunities for South Australians is important to me, which is why my products sold in Australia will always be SA Made. If they are sold overseas, I'll do my best to use their local printers so that I support their local communities but to start off with, it's all about being South Australian made.

My inspiration came from an Italian couple who needed more space on their calendar for medical appointments. They didn't have enough space to write in both their medical appointments. That was my AHA moment!

I got in contact with Jo from Bittersweet Design, the graphic designer I have used for years and Really Useful Calendars was born so to speak, in 2023. Together, we came up with the Calendary, a large text book that is a cross between a calendar and diary.

It seemed like a good option at the time for older people but it wasn't. The older couple explained to me that they like to walk past their calendar on the wall to remind themselves of future appointments. That was my second AHA moment and I went back to the drawing board. The Italian couple still needed a larger calendar for their wall.

The Calendary became popular though with a different audience. I was working in the NDIS sector and people asked me what I was working on. I explained the Calendary and they loved it. I sold a few and gave some away including to a lady with dementia who said it "saved her life".

From that point forward, I started to think about time. Time we use, time we look back on and time we share. Calendars could be used for more than tracking appointments.

As I age, I value time more and often find that I waste far too much. My calendars are for people like me who don't just want apps to record stuff, we want something to look back on and to actually see every day.  People like me who are always trying to improve something in their life and who want to celebrate the little successes in life.

I want more than a diary, more than a photo album. I want to see how I spend my time and I love watching my grandies grow up. They will be parents one day and I want to be a fit great, grandmother watching their kids grow up too if I am lucky enough to have that time.

Time is important, we all have different amounts of time and we can't control how much we have so I want to make the most of mine and help you make the most of your time too.

I created the Fitness Calendar to improve health and mobility as I age. I find that it takes me awhile to be focused to make changes and that if they work, I sometimes forget what I did. It will help me with weight loss, strength, mobility and being more active. As on older person, I don't want to end up using a walker but to avoid that, I really need to do everything I can to age well. In the end, if a walker is needed, so be it, but at least I won't regret not taking action.

The Savings Calendar helps you focus on each day, each week and month. Every take away coffee and dollar saved can be tracked. It can encourage better financial choices. I know that I waste far too much money. The cost of this Calendar is equal to just two cafe breakfasts with coffee in a year. Am definitely giving this one to the grandies to encourage better money skills than I had at their age. Might help one of them save for their own stuff instead of asking Granny to take them shopping.

The Business Calendar supports home-based business owners by providing a clear, daily overview. I wish I had one when I started business years ago and it can help those starting out a side hustle or hobby business too.

The Baby Calendar tracks milestones and creates cherished memories for parents, grandparents and others. As a Grandparent, I wish I had one for each of my gorgeous grandies because I would of written in lots of memories that I could of handed down to their children. This might be really important as a health record as kids grow up and have their own children.

Finally, the HUGE Calendar was designed for busy people, busy families, people with low vision and older people with lots of health appointments. I see that some people use a whiteboard because until now, there hasn't been a large, useful Calendar but try the HUGE Calendar and see what you think. I can see myself giving this one as a present to the amazingly busy mums and dads that I know with events, family, dance, sport and school stuff to coordinate. At least they can keep the HUGE Calendar as a keepsake whereas they wipe off the whiteboard each year.

The Calendary, loved by NDIS clients, helps capture life's precious moments. I aim to use it to document aging, grandkids' growth, travel, and even my garden's progress. It's about "capturing life." I think it can be a useful sign in book for anyone having services in their home and it can help people understand funding if they have NDIS or My Aged Care services in their home.

We all create memories differently and value different things. I hope my Calendars make a difference in your life.

Please contact me if you have any questions, are interested in selling these products or have a suggestion.

You might be a Florist wanting to add the Baby Calendar as a gift to flowers congratulating new parents or you may be an OT wanting to give one to each of your clients. Let's talk if my products can add value to your business or organisation.

Email me - rucalendars (at) gmail.com

Write to me at PO Box 225 Smithfield SA 5114

Thanks for visiting,

 Irene