Getting Organised: Life Planner Inspiration

It's no secret that I absolutely love organising and being organised. 

But the problem I'm finding is that I have everything in different places .... A calendar on the fridge for our social events and appointments, menu plans I write out each week and then bin them, my blog schedules and ideas in a notepad, budgets and renovating projects on the computer and to do lists all over the place. 

I would really like one place to keep everything organised and so it is accessible at any time. 

I want to be able to pick it up in my hands and flip through the pages and see at a glance what's happening the week ahead or what the menu plan was last month or who's Birthday is coming up.

A one stop shop if you like of everything happening in the Jarrah Jungle household!

For as long as I can remember I've had a hardcopy diary, up until last year, when I decided to get with the times and get online and use the calendar on my smart phone. I had everyone's Birthdays with reminders and appointments and it was really handy having it at my fingertips on my phone whenever I needed it. 

But the phone's calendar layout is really limited and it's just so uninspiring. The clincher came when I upgraded my phone and lost all my precious data and information - it was gone completely.

To be honest, I never really liked the idea of entering all my personal details into an electronic device anyway as it is no doubt being backed up onto the web somewhere that others may be able to access it, so I wasn't using it to it's full potential as I would a hardcopy diary. 

So I'm reverting back to my hardcopy ways but this time I don't just want a diary - I want a life planner!

A life planner is like a scrapbook or journal where you document what's happening in your life, from celebrations, to holidays, to menu plans, and everything in between your usual bills due, appointments, budgets, etc. 

What I'm really in love with is the creative side - there are so many things to decorate the planner with and personlise it - from coloured pens, to stickers and embellishments, washi tape and so many creative items you can use which makes it a really fun and creative way of remembering your daily life.

I have found so much inspiration online on life planners - from Pinterest to You-Tube and Etsy I spent many hours researching the kind of life planner I want.

I also joined a couple of planner Facebook groups to get an insight into what real users like, advice, recommendations, what to buy and where to buy etc. These groups have given me so much inspiration as they share in my excitement of all things planning, organising and crafting!

Lots of bloggers have done product reviews on the different types of planners available which I found really useful as well when trying to pick the right brand of planner for myself.

I became obsessed with Erin Condren - a very popular American planner company and has rave reviews all over the internet. 

Erin Condren was having a 50% off sale on all life planners (due to 4 months of the planner year already gone) which had the planners starting at $25 but the $40 shipping fee was too much for me - this would total $65 US which is approximately $85 Australian and I'd only have 8 months use of the planner.

So I started to look at alternatives and came across Blitsy a crafting website who have daily sales and discounts and stock the 365 Happy Planner made by Me + My Big Ideas.

The Happy Planner looks very similar and comparative to the Erin Condren planner except it had more appealing features - it was an 18 month planner which will start in July 2016 - December 2017 so will give me a lot more use, it was on sale for $20.99 and the shipping was just $10 so in total cost me $30 USD so approximately $40 Australian which is less than half the price of the Erin Condren planner. 

Many have compared Erin Condren with the Happy Planner and say the Happy Planner is more versatile and user friendly due to the ring system which allows you to easily remove pages to decorate or add new pages in, plus the price difference, it wasn't too hard to convince myself to order the Happy Planner!

I'm really looking forward to receiving my Happy Planner and have been on a shopping spree buying planner stickers from Etsy so I'm ready to go!

I can see having a Life Planner is fast becoming my creative outlet and obsession!

How do you stay organised? Do you have a life planner? 

If you join Blitsy and make a first time purchase it would be awesome if you use my referral code HERE - you will get great discounts and I get a $10 reward to spend on my creative obsession so I can share more product posts like this one with you guys!

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Curly Crafty Mom - The Creative Corner

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[Images via my Pinterest - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7]