Now that we're in the last month of 2015, it's time to talk about planners for 2016. It has been a year of planner love for me, and I'm still obsessed. I try to keep it practical though. I want so many -- Kikki K, Kate Spade, Filofax, Rifle Paper Co, the Happy Planner -- it's ridiculous how many cool planners are out there. However, I can't stand not using a planner for an entire year, and I just can't think of collecting planners and never using them. That's why over the past month I thought long and hard about what worked for me and what didn't work during the past year, and I had to pin down exactly what I want to use for next year. I decided that I will be using three like I did this year -- one for work, one as my journal, and one as my life planner. [Check out these posts -- Midori Traveler's Notebook: My Life Planner + My 2015 Journal and Work Planner.] Next year, it will only be slightly different. I'm merging my life planner and journal, then using a separate work planner like always, and I'm starting a separate creative pursuits planner.
Let's start with my life planner for 2016, the Erin Condren Life Planner. I've been using my Midori Traveler's Notebook this entire year and I still love it to bits, but I felt like I needed more space. Next year, it will be my planner for all my creative projects, but for everyday things, I'm moving to the ECLP. I've been wanting this planner forever actually, but it's pretty pricey, and for the longest time I kept holding off on buying it. Then I told my friend Clang about it, she loved it, and we thought we could save a lot on shipping if we order together. When we checked the website back in November, we saw that the limited edition rose gold planner was back just in time for the new year. When it first came out several months ago, I let it slip by even if I was so tempted to get it, because I still had my planners for the year and I didn't want an 18-month planner. The holiday release sealed the deal. I wasn't going to let it go again.
It took around a month to get here. Let me tell you, I have no EQ for online shopping. I can't take the waiting and delayed gratification. We finally picked up the package at Johnny Air Megamall last Saturday and un-boxed it immediately. If you follow me on Instagram, you most likely saw my photo of it, which was taken as soon as I got home.
When we ordered, we used a referral link from one of my favorite blogs, Pretty Neat Living, and we got $10 off. If you're thinking of getting one, you can use my referral link. You'll get $10 off on your first order, and I get $10 in credit too. How fun is that, right?
Okay I'm rambling. Here's the unboxing!
How pretty is the box that the planners came in? (I'm biased because it's orange.)
Opening it up!
Love the wrapping paper!
Happy!
They include a lot of freebies with your order. There was a sticker, some gift labels, and a postcard.
So much thought came into the packaging. This sweet note says I get another $10 off on my next purchase.
Adorable labels!
Everything was safe inside this huge bubble wrap.
The elastic bands we ordered
The pen holders
My personalized stickers
Clang's personalized stickers
My custom cover!
Clang's custom cover
A coupon for a free custom cover
There it is!
What is it like inside?
What drew me to this planner was how personalized it is. You can order a bunch of stuff to accessorize it with, you can get it in the exact colors and design that you want, you can choose an 18-month one or a 12-month one, and you can even have them print your own design on the cover. I ordered a sheet of personalized stickers, a custom cover to interchange with the rose gold one, a set of elastic bands to keep the book together, and a pen holder so I'm covered in case I'm out and about and I forget to bring a pen with me.
Personalized stickers, custom cover, elastic bands, pen holder
This planner is gorgeous! I adore the sturdy rose gold coil, and I'm in love with how the pages are laid out. I'm normally not into very colorful things, but with this planner, color just works.
How it looks with the elastic band and the pen holder
Even the back is adorable
Look at that beautiful rose gold overlay.
The first page
So much motivation
Goal-setting
Each month is introduced by a motivational quote. The planner also comes with a clear snap-on marker that you can move from week to week.
Here's what my favorite month looks like.
Month-at-a-glance
The weekly pages. There's so much space to write on in the sides and bottom. I also love how each day is halved into three boxes, but it doesn't force you into anything. You can customize what you would like to do in each box. You can make it Morning, Afternoon, Night. Or, you can create your own categories, like To-Dos, Meal Plan, Work, etc. I don't know what I'm doing with it yet.
September is the hubby's month.
Each month has a different color scheme.
I actually love this gray ombre color scheme. It looks greenish in the pic, but it's actually a soft gray.
There's a very spacious notes section in the back of the planner.
There are ruled pages, as well as blank ones.
There's also a calendar for next year so you can plan ahead.
More free stickers! These are for marking birthdays.
These say "game", "hair appt", "dentist appt", "sale", "doc appt", "concert", "mani/pedi", "party", and "vacation".
There are also blank stickers that you can write on!
Even more stickers!
At the very back of it is a "Keep It Together" folder for any bits and bobs you may have.
This is where I put my custom stickers that say "date", "work", "workout", "hanging out", and "julls time".
The folder is double-sided one. It comes with a lovely mini notebook and perpetual calendar. Next to it is a clear envelope where you can keep more knick-knacks. It also came with more freebies -- a sampler sticker sheet of their Do-It-All Dots, some compliment cards, and a Coil Clip for snapping a little card or picture into the middle of the planner.
Here is the planner with my custom cover. I chose the Honeycomb design, in Sapphire and Tangerine. I'm so in love with it!
The inside of the custom cover
And the back.
Whew! That was the longest post ever. I can't wait for January so I can crack it open already! I'll be posting then to show my setup and how I'm using it. I'm so ready for 2016!
Have you chosen your planner for 2016 yet? Tell me all about it in the comments.
It's sooo pretty! I love that it's so colorful!
ReplyDeleteI am definitely planner-ing next year and asking you so much about it.
You still have tons of time to pick one! Go! :)
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