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Friday, May 6, 2016

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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10 comments:

  1. I have the EC planner and I need to get more creative with it! I think I just lack time to be creative... and, I sort of need to write in pencil as its my blog editorial calendar and things are constantly moving around! I am excited to hear more about The Happy Planner- I do like the rings and that they are gold colored! I hope you share pics of you using it, maybe it'll inspire me to be more creative with mine (which is one of my goals this month!).

    Carrie
    curlycraftymom.com

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    1. Its good to hear you use your EC planner for your blog as I'd like to do the same with mine. Yes I will share how I use it once I've had some practice on making it pretty :)

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  2. Love the look and idea of this. Sadly, I'm one of those people that is probably missing the mark but I just find a planner too much work and a huge distraction.

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    1. I know what you mean, but I don't think I'll get too carried away with the decorating because at the end of the day it is just a planner which is what I need to use it for :)

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  3. I love hard copy diaries. Love. I use a combination of a diary and a really big hard cover note book with coloured pens, stickers etc. Yours look heap fancier though. I love the scrap book vibe.

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    1. A girl after my own heart! I am stocked up with coloured pens and stickers and waiting for July so I can start to scrapbook my planner!

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  4. I live my life online but I LOVE hard copy lists and I've had hard copy diaries since I can remember. However... I tend to not have them with me when I need them and so they become redundant!

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    1. I was starting to find that as well that I didn't have my diary when I needed it so I turned to my phone's calendar instead. I will have to invest in a bigger handbag to carry my diary with me!

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  5. I had an EC last year and I loved it but I did find it too bulky to take to work each day.so I've gone with a Kiki k this year which is great but just not the same. I tried digital too but found I forgot things and you couldn't get a holistic view easily. I'll have to check out this one for next year! Shannon@ my2morrows xx

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    1. The Happy Planner is quite big too so I don't know how much I'll carry it around with me. I agree the digital is just to boring isn't it! They say the Happy Planner is going to be more popular than the EC due to the price and it's a bit more mature so I'm happy I picked it in the end :)

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