My Plum Paper Planner!!

When I was in high school and college I absolutely loved having a planner.  It made life so much easier being able to write down and keep track of everything that was going on in my life.  When I left school I didn't really bother to continue since I could pretty much handle knowing when I needed to work.  When Roman was first born I purchased a big magnetic calendar for the fridge to keep track of all his appointments and play groups.  But now that Roman is involved in more things and I have my blog and Steeped Tea business, the big calendar just isn't cutting it.

After watching a few videos on YouTube and looking at all my opinions, I decided to purchase a Plum Paper Planner!  Of course as soon as I decided on a planer I became obsessed with it before it even arrived at my door.  I watch countless videos on how to decorate your planner and different DIY projects for customizing your planner.  But before I get into that, which will likely turn into more blog posts in themselves, let me give you a tour of what these amazing planer looks like!

 

I decided to go with this cool chevron pattern for the cover.  On the website it can look gold but it's actually this great distressed wood grain pattern.  This card stock cover is protected by a frosted plastic cover, which is handy for durability, but I think I might just end up laminating the cover itself.  We'll see.  The great thing about Plum Paper is that they allow you to make a ton of customizations to your planner.  My planner starts in the month of April and I decided to add in a few extra months to extend the life of my planner, so it ends in July 2016.  Maybe after a few years I'll be able to get back to the standard January-December planner.

 

 

After the cover is a full year calendar, and in my case, there is one for 2015 and 2016.  I like full year calendars because it makes tracking bi-weekly payments/recycling schedule/paydays easier to track.  I really like the weight of the paper itself.  It isn't thin and flimsy but it isn't super thick either.  It has a smooth texture to it as well which is kinda cool. 

 

 



Each month of the planner starts and ends with a "NOTES" section.  I'm not sure exactly what I'm going to use this section for, but I'm sure I'll come up with something.  At the very least they will make good coloring/doodling pages for Roman.  After the notes comes the monthly view.  Obviously I couldn't help myself and I've already started decorating for Easter.  Most of these stickers and washi tape I picked up at Dollar Tree or Dollarama.  The weekly view in the planner is awesome because there is so much space to write!  There are a few different setups you can choose from for the weekly view but I decided to go with an undivided column.  The weekly view also includes a small monthly calendar, which is nice to have for reference. 

 

 

The last section in my planner is for my blog.  It includes a variety of sheets from to-do lists, post idea pages, posting schedules and blog stat pages.  Granted I've never been that organized with my blogging but I think it will be nice to have a designated place to write down my ideas and keep everything together.

 

At the end of the planner there is a section for special dates, contacts, and another 2016 calendar.  There is also a card stock pocket that I think will be handy to hold those stray papers that seem to accumulate on my entertainment stand until I can find a permanent home for them.

 

All said and done I love this planner even more now than I did the moment I ordered it.  The quality of the planner is great and the fact that you can make customizations to it is fantastic.  I was also incredibly impressed with the shipping from Plum Paper.  My planner wasn't scheduled to ship until March 13th and I had already received it on March 12th!

 

Now if you'll excuse me I need to get back to decorating!!!!