Do you use an organiser or planner? I've used one since I was at secondary school. I'm so forgetful so if I don't write things down I forget them. When the kids were little and I was at home I used a family calendar which hung on the wall in the kitchen. It had a column for each family member. And it was an easy way to keep track of what everyone were doing each day.
For a while I kept my appointments on my phone but then my phone died and I lost all my appointments. That put me off electronic devices to keep track of things. Now I've got Google Calendar on my phone, tablet and laptop, I could use it and not worry about loosing access to it but I've decided I prefer to write things down. I'm less likely to forget and it's easier to see an overview of what's going on.
I've tried a variety of different organisers/planners over the years. A couple of years ago I had a Filofax pocket size which was small enough to fit easily in my handbag but after a while I found it too small to be practical.
Recently I discovered the online 'planner' community. I didn't even know such a thing existed but something popped up on my Instagram feed and I clicked around a bit and within weeks I was following more planners than knitters. There's more planner photos in my IG feed now than there is knitting related stuff. I've also got a weakness for stationary. I love notebooks, sticky notes, pens etc. There is just so much cute stuff around.
One of the most popular Filafaxes around these days must be the Fluropink Original. It's all over Instagram. I kept seeing pictures of it and I love it! But Filofax is expensive. I did some digging and found one at 25% off full retail price on Amazon. And here it is (I stuck the flower on from a sticker sheet I got):
Isn't she beautiful? It is a very bright pink! Much more fluorescent than it looks in these photos. I first thought perhaps it was a bit too bright but after a couple of weeks of use I love it! I got the personal size. It's small enough to fit in my handbag but big enough to write stuff in. The thing I like about any ring organiser is that you can personalise it. You can change things around, add and take stuff out. There are also tons of stuff available online, especially on Etsy to personalise and make your Filofax more beautiful. Many of these Etsy sellers are based in the US and shipping times are long from the US and you often get stuck with custom fees. So I've been searching for some UK Etsy sellers. I'll list some of the ones I've found in this blogpost.
Today, I thought I'd do a little walk through of what's in my Filofax. I use this one for my personal stuff, deadlines and a few other things. I also have an A5 Filofax Domino for work stuff where I go into more details about work deadlines and projects etc. I'll share more on that in a later blogpost as I'm still waiting for some inserts for that one. And I've got a purple Filofax Original personal size for blogging, clubs and some other project stuff.
When you open my Filofax this is what you see. I've got my favourite purple Frixion pen (on the left). I love these pens because they come in amazing colours and you can erase what you've written. I'm planning to talk more about the Frixion pens in a future 'A Few Of My Favourite Things' blog post. I've also got a Paperchase pen, a bike paper clip which is more pretty than it is useful. There's a pocket inside the front cover where I keep a few sheets of stickers (more on those later) on. On the right I keep a few small lined sheets which I tore out of a notepad and punched holes in. Under that is a clear fly leaf which came with the Filofax. I stuck some pretty heart stickers on it to decorate it.
On the back of the fly leaf I stuck a Purlescence business card because it has a needle size conversion chart on it. Very useful. I have several of these and keep one on the notice board above my desk too. On the right is a dashboard which I've stuck some Post It notes on. I got these post it notes at Staples and they have sticky on most of the back. There is just in a small section that hasn't got sticky on it. This makes it stick on much better than regular sticky notes. I pulled a few sheets off the various sticky pads that came in the pack. This way I can tear one off when I need it. I write to do's on these and stick them on my book mark.
On the left is the back of the dashboard. I stuck a pretty washi tape on it. On the right I have a zipped Filofax pocket where I've put some washi tape wrapped around an old store card, some stickers and a money bag.
Next up is a Filofax business card holder which holds some more washi, stickers and a dental appointment card. On the right is a sheet from a notepad that I punched holes in. I came across an article online about better To Do lists so I've summarised it and stuck it here so I won't forget.
My first divider (I'll share the shop later on) is for my To Do section.
I keep a selection of the To Do sheets that came with the Filofax. I mainly keep long term to do lists here or specific project To Do list. On the right is my next divider which is my calendar.
First up in the calendar section is some sticky dots sheets from Paperchase.
Then the Filofax yearly overview which came with my Filofax.
Next is a Filofax year planner which I bought as an extra. I mark off workshops, deadlines, days off, holidays, shows etc.
I'm currently using the week on 2 pages calendar that came with my Filofax. I'm not that keen on these but I've got some new ones on order and will share these when they arrive. I've also got a page marker which I bought with my dividers. I move this from week to week so I can find the current week easily. It's fairly wide so I stick sticky notes on it.
My next divider is Bible.
In here I keep 4 questions which are general questions you can ask for any Bible passage. We use this for our house group Bible study.
I've made a note of a few of my favourite Bible quotes so I can flick to them quickly when I need to. I also keep track of what I've read so far in my Bible in a Year reading plan which I'm doing this year. I also keep a prayer and Bible reading diary in this section. I did originally keep this info in a separate notebook but it makes more sense to keep everything together here. That way, when I'm away I can quickly look up to see how far I've got in my reading plan.
Next divider is Addresses which I haven't filled in yet. I'm using the inserts that came with my Filofax.
The last 2 dividers are for notes and brain dump. In notes I keep track of important info that I may want to refer to quickly. And in brain dump I write down things that pop into my head at random times and keep it there till I can transfer it to it's proper place. I also keep notes on any patterns I'm currently working on. If I find a mistake when I'm knitting a new sample I make a note here so I won't loose it.
At the back of the Filofax there's a top opening Filofax pocket which I keep air mail stickers, Special Delivery and customs labels. Then there's the Filofax registration sheet which I haven't done anything about yet. That's followed by a clear fly leaf. The Filofax came with a pad of paper at the back which I use for shopping lists. Inside the back cover I keep my Weight Watchers membership card and vouchers.
I've been searching Etsy to find some sellers which are in the UK or close to the UK. The first one I found was Bel Planner Boutique, who is in Belgium. I bought these dividers and a page maker. I use the page marker in my Fluropink Filofax and I use the dividers in my purple Filofax Original. The stickers were little extras that came in my parcel.
Natalie Shauna Crafts is a UK seller and I got my beautiful birdie dividers, dashboard and page marker from her. These are the ones I use in my Fluropink Filofax. These have prints on the front and back of the dividers.
EllieBeth Designs UK does fun stickers for use in your planner. I ordered these from her a couple of weeks ago and there may be a few more on the way to me....
One thing I've struggled with finding is inserts. Filofax and Paperchase sell inserts but the Filofax ones are boring and the paper is a bit thin. There are tons of sellers on Etsy who do instant download inserts. These you print and cut yourself. As my printer is useless and currently won't print black ink this is not an option for me. I did order some inserts for my A5 from a US seller on Etsy weeks ago and I'm still waiting for them. Shipping from the US can take a long time. So I was happy this week when I found a UK Etsy seller who sells printed inserts. My order hasn't arrived yet so I can't comment on quality yet but I ordered some new week on 2 pages and note paper from Make A Journal.
- Do you use a planner/organiser?
- Do you know of any UK shops/Etsy sellers that sell cute/usefull planner stuff?
Tell me and I'll compile a list to add to this blog post. I'm planning more Filofax Fridays. It won't be every week but I'm thinking once or maybe twice a month. In the future I'll share about how I organise my other Filofaxes and how to use an organiser to keep a knitting journal.
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