Personal wallet/planner setup

My wallet has ALWAYS been big. It housed my cash, coins, 20-something cards, receipts, coupons, pictures and any other items I felt needed to be carried around with me at the time. So when I decided to return to a lovely Filofax system as my planner, it made perfect sense to double it up as a wallet also. Less to carry around (and as an mum of 2 under 2 in March I need to carry as least amount as possible)!

I am in LOVE with my perfect little personal aqua Malden! It is a similar size to my old wallet and holds five times as much. I understand the Filofax planner/wallet combo may be too bulky for some but to me it is an organised over-packers dream...

Here is my old Kate Hill zipped wallet against my Personal Malden:

After you have finished rubbing the soft yummy leather of this little beauty (yep, told you I was obsessed) you open it up and on the left you find all my most frequest cards in the 4 card slots: My drivers licence, bank card, Medicare, Flybuys and Woolies cards. Getting the cards out of the slots is simple as the leather is soft they don't get jammed in like so many do in past wallets I've had.
There is also a zip where I keep loose coins and a pocket for cash. The very top pocket above the card slots is a place where I store my super sticky lined Post-It notes for my grocery shopping list. I use this system as I enjoy writing on lines and like to stick the list directly onto the trolley handle for easy access.

To the right is my 'brag' page where I show off my daughter and a picture of my husband and I hidden under a washi tape framed clear fly leaf that come standard with the Filofax. The pen I use in my planner is my green Frixion ball clicker pen (from Officeworks for about AUD$4.00) and my orange Stabilo Swing Cool highlighter. Both fit perfectly attached to the side of my planner. The Frixion pen is clipped onto my aqua pen holder (purchased on eBay) which has been fixed onto the back inside cover. Can I just say that I ADORE my Frixion pens! They are smooth to write with and amazingly they rub out if needed with the eraser located on the top of the pen. So handy if your day alters and you need to re-schedule, which happens to me often. I would recommend using the clicker style and not the removable cap top pens however as the pen lid can pop off in your bag and the pen goes missing. :-(

Flip the page and you will find my 'dashboard' of different sized sticky notes (Post-It pink squares from Officeworks and 2 different shaped birdie speech bubble designs from www.mochithings.com) I use these for reminders and quick notes for my planner as well as jotting down info in a hurry.

Next is the colour code system I use for my monthly and weekly planner. This system works really well for me as I can see at a quick glance what is what and I don't miss big events like birthdays and appointments. I find this system works much better for me than a colour coding pen system as I do not need to cart around multiple pen colours with me.

The first of my planners, my monthly view on 2 pages is next. This section is divided with a home made fly leaf and note tab from Avery (from The Reject Shop for $1.00) with a clear printed label from my Dymo labeller. There will be a seperate blog explaining how to make your own EASY AND CHEAP fly leaf coming soon.
In this section I note quick important dates such as pay days, mortgage due dates and birthdays. I do this for the whole year then transfer the information week by week in my weekly planner section as needed.

Then comes my week on two page planner section. This section is also divided with my home made fly leaf system. Here I put all the information I need for that week: birthdays, appointments, bills, pay days, and any other relevant information. This is my 'bible' section that keeps my life organised. Each day is separated with a Muji stamp (purchased on eBay) with small check boxes and lines where I write in my daily to-dos. I also have an additional page attached between the weekly pages displaying my weekly to-dos (paper purchased from Kikki.K and hole punched by me). I find this system to be fantastic as things I have to get done on a certain day goes into the day section and things I want done that week without a certain day in mind gets placed in the centre page so when I have a free moment I can glance at the list and pick something to do. Another tip is to use check boxes as I find this a great motivation to get the list completed. I really enjoy the satisfaction of ticking off an item once I have completed it (is that weird?!) :-)

Here is a better view of the monthly and weekly tabs as well as the hand made dividers I created to separate the weekly planner into months.

Next, I have my 'Notes' section. I used to have multiple sections here (Finances, Projects and Personal) however I found I didn't use these sections much and gave the planner unnecessary bulk which drove me nuts. (I also have an A5 Domino Filofax I use as my home management system which I use to store all that information anyway - the next blog in my series to come)
In this notes section I have a 'Master To-Do' list in which I write all the larger projects I want to do around my home and personally. I also write up ideas of future projects, and other random information as well as some extra paper storage. I also have a small pocket which currently holds my transparent stickers.
The last part in this section is my 'Wish List' which is divided into sections for each member of my family as well as a home tab. This is for when I see something out and about which I think would be great for someone or as home decor. I will write what the item is in the corresponding section along with where it is located and how much it is. This is great for prepping for birthdays and Christmas gift ideas.

The last section of my Filofax contains my Coloured Dots I use for colour coding (from K-Mart AUD$1.50) stored in the Filofax top opening envelope which came with the planner.

A press closure envelope is next which houses spare postage stamps.

The very last page is where my other cards are located including: gift vouchers and membership cards. These things I don't need to access every day so they are great tucked away in the back. I also keep petrol vouchers and important information in the back pocket of my Filofax where they don't move or flap about.

So that is a look into my Personal Malden wallet/planner setup. I love it and it works perfectly for my lifestyle. If you would like to see my You Tube video showing the above, please visit my channel Organised Lifestyle: www.youtube.com/user/organisedlifestyle or this link: http://youtu.be/0A03tKRNlTo

Stay tuned for my next blog post this week: A Look into my A5 Domino Filofax Home Management System which houses all my house management and a more detailed planner. I will also include links to the inserts I have created for this system. :-)

Have a great day!

Jen