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I got off birth control in March, and started charting right away. I took a couple weeks off for our honey moon in early July, and got pregnant on our first try in august.
Charting ahead of time was definitely helpful. We were trying for a specific time frame, to ensure my husband got a little time home with us. He ended up getting 7 weeks because we were lucky on our first try.
That said, if we didn't have a specific time frame I wouldn't have charter. It was stressful.

But having the knowledge of my cycles helped a lot. We were traveling during my usual ovulation time, and I ended up ovulating a whole week late. No way I would have known if I wasn't taking my temp.

Maybe you could chart a few cycles just to get a better idea of what's going on, and then stop?

I started charting right after going off bcp in April, started trying in sept. I wanted to make sure I was ovulating after being on the pill so long, plus wanted to be able to predict my period while my cycle regulated. We also used charting as birth control (after I ovulated we stopped using condoms until the next cycle).

Like you, I didn't want to get too crazy but I would have gone more crazy not knowing! I am hopeful that I can be more relaxed ttc number two maybe?

I started a month or two before officially starting to TTC. I stopped once my RE said it was clear that I was ovulating, and I didn't need to do it anymore. At that point, I had enough cycles under my belt where I knew the average length of my cycles and ovulation dates.

Awhile ago I asked here what people's doctors thought about charting; most women said their doctors weren't so interested in it. So I would just be prepared for the possibility that it can be a great learning tool for you, but your doctor may not be up for analyzing all the dips and rises.

Good luck! There's a great "charters of the hive" thread that has been pretty quiet lately, but it really helped me when I was first learning about charting.

I wanted to chart, but my sleeping schedule is lame and I drink beer and wine often enough that the whole thing would be awful.

I would definitely suggest charting to figure out what your cycle usually looks like. I think all women should understand their cycle, even young girls shortly after hitting puberty.

I'm a big fan of these books:
Honoring Our Cycles:
http://www.amazon.com/Honoring-Our-Cycles-Planning-Workbook/dp/096708976X

Taking Charge of Your Fertility: http://www.amazon.com/Taking-Charge-Fertility-Anniversary-Edition/dp/0060881909/ref=pd_sim_b_3

I started charting as soon as I went off BC. I wish I had gone off BC months earlier and charted but oh well. I just got my period back at 4.5 months PP and am starting to chart (not taking temps quite yet) but we won't be TTC for a little whole longer.

ETA: charting temps was only helpful for me in that it helped me to understand CM better. My temps were sometimes wacky, but my CM, though also a bit atypical, guided me the most as to where I was in my cycle. I think that it sometimes easier to go by CM and confirm with temps. At least, that is how it was for me.

The other thing o like about Creighton is that we actually had a n instructor teach it to us. With this model, you meet with the instructor periodically to review charts, assess problems, and learn the method. It made me feel better and more confident about charting in general!

@PermaStudent: Well that's hard to say. For me I didn't want to start that early because at that point I had other things going on in my life and I had no idea if or when we'd ever be able to TTC. I just didn't want to start thinking about something that may not happen for a very long time. However, if you think you'd feel better knowing what's going on with your body now, I'd say go for it. I totally understand feeling frustrated with long cycles, my last one was 45 days and it drove me crazy!

I started charting over a year before TTC. I'm glad I did because I have irregular cycles and I feel like I have a much better understanding if how my body functions. You could always start with one piece of the puzzle (temps, CM, opks) and add more later. For me, charting/temping is really non-invasive. I wake up at the same time for work anyway, and one the weekends I wake up, take my temp and then go back to sleep. But other people find it to be more of a hassle or it doesn't work with their sleep schedules. Only way to know for sure how it works out for you is to start trying!

You could also try charting for a few cycles to get the hang of it, and then take a break until you're TTC

ETA- I completely recommend taking the plunge on purchasing TCOYF!

I started charting about a year and a half before we started trying. I went to the pharmacy one day to buy my birth control and they told me they didn't make it anymore! It was a really high dose of hormones, and I didn't want to have to adjust to a new high-dose bc two months before my wedding, so I just starting charting to avoid using the principles from Taking Charge of Your Fertility (including OPKs). There was also an app I used to keep track of it (FemCal). I later started using Selene as well to keep track of my cycle and I like some things about that app more than FemCal. When we had been married a little over a year, I stopped TTA and switched to TTC. Worked within 2 months, luckily! I added on the app Glow (https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/glow-fertility-ovulation-tracker/id638021335?mt=8) when we started TTC and really like its focus on conceiving as opposed to just charting without a goal.
After this kid is born, I'll probably go back to charting to avoid once my cycles are reestablished. I really like knowing exactly what's going on with my body.

I started charting more than a year before we started TTC, to prevent. I didn't/don't find it stressful AT ALL. For me, it really helps to think of each day's temp at part of a whole pattern, as opposed to live-or-die each day, and I think this mindset was easy to be in while I was charting to prevent. It didn't matter what the temps were, as long as I could identify my ovulation. Then when we began to TTC I already knew what to expect, and it wasn't a big deal at all.
If you can just keep yourself from obsessing over each little up or down each morning, I think you'll really find it helpful to start early

We charted for a year to avoid, and after that I was familiar enough with my cycles (we both were, really) that I only paid attention to CM (no temping, yay!) until we decided to try (first cycle bfp). I definitely recommend Taking Charge of Your Fertility as it is very informative no matter how you want to use your chatting (avoid, ttc, just to get familiar).

Doing it plenty ahead of ttc will help you get familiar with charting and with your cycles, and hopefully doing it just to learn and not with the pressure of ttc right away will help make it more enjoyable and not stressful. And like you said, ditching condoms for most days (or all days with pull-out if you prefer) is a nice side benefit.

This is a good book too:
http://www.amazon.com/Naturally-Knocked-Up-ebook/dp/B008QCVDOG/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr&qid

I started charting 9 months before TTC bc I had been on BCP for 10+ years. I'm glad I did in advance so I could figure out my cycles were long and getting longer but I was Oing. If I hadn't been temping, I wouldn't have known to keep DTD and I wouldn't have my 1 yo DD! I'm a huge fan of charting!

I don't recommend charting at all, unless your cycle is irregular. It was too stressful for me, and OPKs worked perfectly.