Today I am going to be doing a little review of the Erin Condren life planner.. & showing you a peek inside my planner! These planners can be purchased at www.erincondren.com and select Staples locations. This is the 2015 planner that runs from January - December 2015. They are currently 40% on the website and you can save an extra $10 if you use this link! The new planners will be released next month and will run from July 2015 - December 2016.
Here is my planner. This cover is actually not from Erin Condren, it is from the etsy shop Ashbrooke Designs. That is one of my favorite things about this planner.. you can change out the cover! You can order different ones on the EC website, etsy or even make your own!
This is the first page of the planner. As you can see, mine was decorated by my 2 year old daughter Ella (on the very first day I got it no less!). I love how colorful all the pages are!
Full of inspirational quotes in beautiful, fun colors and prints!
Here is the year at a glance! I really enjoy having this as a reference to future dates, especially birthdays and vacations.
Now on to the good stuff. This is what the month in a glance looks like. Every month has a certain color scheme. There is also a quote at the top of each month. The boxes are a nice size to write in, I usually keep track of important dates and bills that are due during the month. I also enjoy using the notes section on the right to keep track of the things I want to accomplish throughout the month.
This is what the weeks look like. As you can see, this is February, and it's a completely different color scheme than January. I really love that they change the colors up (and if you don't like a specific color you can always decorate with washi tape!)
I really like the set up of the weeks. Every day has it's own column and every column is broken up into MORNING, DAY and NIGHT. I know they are changing some things with the new planners that are coming out next month but I really hope they still have this layout as an option. It is very functional for me as a stay at home mom. Things being listed hourly does not work for me, because as you probably know, being a mom of a toddler is unpredictable and planning things hour by hour just does not work... but I do like having the structure of planning my morning, day and night.
There is also a section on the right for goals & notes and a section at the bottom of each day. I know a lot of people use it for meal planning and I do as well sometimes, although I am not the best meal planner!
After the months there are several lined note pages and several unlined note pages. They all have a little bit of an embellishment on each page. I haven't mentioned it yet, but the paper is nice and thick and I have no problem with shadowing or bleed through with any of my pens or stamps, unless I press down too hard or write over the same thing a couple of times.
I really like how many note pages they give you. I use mine for my cleaning schedule, favorite quotes, books I've read this year and some of our favorite meals.
At the very back of the planner are stickers! Ahhh, stickers. I have loved stickers since I was a little girl with my "sticker collection" and I have rediscovered that love since I discovered this "planner community".
It comes with event stickers like birthday, anniversary, day off, etc. It also comes with blank stickers in different colors which I really love! You can order more of these stickers on the EC website and I'm pretty sure you can even customize them to say what you want them to say.
Last, but not least, is the keep it together pocket and the clear zipper pouch! So perfect for carrying around extra planner supplies, keeping track or receipts or business cards.. or anything your heart desires. I try not to keep too much in there at once because it makes my planner rather bulky.
And now a look at a couple of finished weeks inside my planer. I am still finding my "planning groove" and finding out what works best for me, as well as my decorating style. I love washi tape and stickers, especially functional stickers. If I could find a little sticker to represent every thing I do during the day, I would use them!
Final thoughts :
I really, really love this planner and will probably continue to purchase one every year. They are a bit pricy, but if it is something that helps you stay organized and you utilize every day then, in my opinion, the price is worth it. I have used cheap planners in the past and the format never flowed for me and I would always stop using them after a couple of weeks. The layout, pretty colors, changeable covers & awesome planner community has kept me interested and excited about using this planner and it helps give my day more structure! I highly recommend checking it out, especially since they are so cheap right now. It would be the perfect time to order and see if it brings you the planner peace you have been looking for.
xoxo,
megan
