It all began the Spring of 2014. I saw a YouTube video all about this planner by some woman named Erin Condren that seemed to be obsessed with rainbow colors and putting your name on things. I was immediately interested. Not by the rainbow colors, I'm more of a neutrals girl, but by the idea of my new married name prominently featured in bright gold lettering on a large planner that helped one get more organized. I am all for organization.
I was, at the time, back in school and only using a $10 Target planner for homework assignments and the random work schedule. I only pulled this out when I was bored in class. I knew at that time that spending almost $90 on a planner was obscene. I shelved the idea.
The following fall, I saw yet another planner video on this Erin Condren lady's planners, which were suddenly referred to as "agendas" and because of this, made them sound far more grown up when the women featuring them in their videos covered them in stickers and brightly colored tape. Design options? Fun stickers? What the hell was all this extra fun? I had to know.
I became obsessed with finding discount codes, the price was still obscene to me.
It wasn't until February 2015 that an amazing coupon came out (25% off on a metallic planner! Gold coil! Yes! Yes!) and I JUMPED! I got a grey covered metallic planner, with my name personalized in gold letters, just as I had been dreaming of.
The real task was making it worth the $75 I had just spent on it (nevermind the steep discount Condren was having on her site the week AFTER I had purchased... I got what I wanted and tried not to cry.) Multiple YouTube videos and Facebook planning groups later, I had purchased a little over $100 worth of washi tape (new to me, essential to the planning community), and stickers. This agenda shit was a real investment. Luckily, I have not really spent much more since as I got myself all stocked up in the beginning. This summer, I purchased a second planner cover, pictured. Oh, yes.
Starting off, I was absolutely obsessed but I was apprehensive. Was this just a phase? Would the honeymoon wear off after a couple of weeks?
I am so happy to say that about 7months later, I am still on the planner bandwagon and have been faithfully keeping up with her. My Erin Condren has been keeping my schedule on track, keeping me up to date with my bills, and has helped me keep track of my money like a boss. I feel so organized every time I open her up and see her cute stickers and expenditures!
Only lately have I felt that going into the new year, Erin Condren (EC), feels a bit immature to my agenda game. I feel that she was my gateway, paving the way to agenda love. But now I am ready for something a bit more serious, a bit more adult and more me.
So I bought a Filofax.
With a Filofax, you can customize EVERYTHING!!
While my beautiful Filo has already arrived, I am still awaiting on her inserts for week on two pages, month on four pages (with notes on both sides!), some notes, a year at a glance pull out, and an expense pull out for a year. All on much thicker paper than comes with the standard Filo. All of this was purchased on Etsy and with the help of FaceBook communities and was painstakingly annoying to decide on.
So here my Filo sits, unusable. There is also the matter of price. Shit is expensive for Filofax! And in terms of personalization, sometimes, it's just better for one to DIY. I can't find a dashboard, inserts, or dividers that fit what I am looking for.
So I am going to make them myself. And I am terrible at things like this.
So in preparation, I have purchased:
- 1 laminator-1 6 hole punch for personalized agendas
- Thermal pouches
I still need:
Craft paper
Laminated/thick folders with cute designs (apparently this is a good idea to use as well)
1 paper cutter
1 really good xacto knife!
1 cutting board for crafting. I didn't know this was a thing? But I guess it makes sense.
I am so pumped to make my own inserts for my Filofax. I have no idea what I am doing. But the point is to document the experience so that other uncrafty people like myself can either learn from my mistakes, or see that anyone can in fact do this.
So let's do this!
She's NAKED!!! July was a particularly good decoration month, which is why it is featured. Nothing else as of late looks nearly as nice since I've recently purchased a new home and don't have a desk. Life. (And I have no shame showing how much I save having two hybrid cars. Everyone should switch. #noshameinmyhybridgame )
More fun to come!
-Courtney
No comments:
Post a Comment