My Erin Condren Flip Through

Ok, yes it's true... I am a convert!
I never would have thought it but I love the Erin Condren Life Planner. I have seen so many reviews on this planner and did not understand the hype. I didn't really like the layout with those little boxes, the headings didn't work for my life and week on two pages didn't seem enough as I was currently a day on 1 page kinda girl. But most of all I love my ring planners (Filofax and Gillio) and didn't like the coil as it's not as simple to add and remove things.
However, I had the opportunity to purchase a friend's 2014 life planner for a very decent price and I decided to give it a whirl and find out what all the fuss was about. Thus began my love affair...
It's an A5 size without the bulk of a planner so is lightweight and compact. The craftsmanship is fabulous. The coil is solid and sturdy and the pages are thick and crisp.
I love all the pops of colour, the tabbed months and the pretty covers.
After 3 weeks I am very surprised to say that the layout is working perfectly for me. I have all the space I need and I love to be able to see everything at a glance.
The only thing I didn't like were the headings so I created sticker strips to place on top of the old ones replacing morning/schedule, day/to dos and night/notes. It works great and looks fantastic (if I do say so myself!)

Here is how I have been using my Life Planner

                                 

                                 

I am really enjoying customising the planner too. A few decorative stickers here and there but mostly everything has a purpose. I can't have my planner too 'busy' with decoration or my information gets 'lost' in the prettiness.

I'm loving using stamps and stickers to help me to organise.

The planner stamps I am using are:
StudioL2e - www.studiol2e.com
Tiny Stamps, Big Plans - https://www.etsy.com/au/shop/TinyStampsBigPlans

Here are some of the stickers I made:

I also tried my hand at making a cover. It's ok, but will do better next time! It's currently got a Kikki-K planner band around it. The band is great as it not only keeps everything together, but can store 2 pens in the stretchy loops.

Overall I am really enjoying this planner. I am using my Gillio still but now it functions as a wallet with notes, financials, social media and my tracker.

I will be placing an order for my new 2015 planner next week (with a few other goodies I will share soon!)

Click HERE to view my corresponding video to this blog post :-)

Have a great day,

Jen

Do It On A Dime - Organised Cheap Life TAG

Hi Everyone!

One of my favourite YouTubers is Katherine from Do It On A Dime. She is a real down-to-earth home owner who comes up with cheap, classy and creative ways to organise your home 'on a dime'.
The downside is that she is American so all the awesome stores she buys from (Target's dollar store, Dollar Tree, Container Store etc.) we don't have here in Australia. Can you believe they have $1 stores where items are... wait for it... $1!!!??? Last week I went to a $1 store and picked up an item that was $23.95! I gently put it down and walked away. BUT I digress :-)
Katherine created a YouTube TAG called 'The Organised Cheap Life' where she asked 3 simple questions and shared her answers. The link to her video is HERE.
I loved the video and found it really useful, so I decided to do it too! HERE is the link to my video.

1. Name 2 new organisers you are loving at the moment:

i) My Filofaxes - My personal Ochre Malden is beautiful and so helpful! I use it as my wallet/organiser. I LOVE it. Perfect setup for me and perfect size.
My A5 Aqua Malden is my Home Management 'bible' where I keep everything. I would be lost without it. It holds everything from appointments and chores to quotes, journalling and vlog/blog ideas.

ii) My 'What's On' Wall Planner - The perfect simple organiser for the family. I just write all important information and appointments for the family over the following 2 weeks on there and at a quick glance we can all see what is going on. Even hubby knows how to use it  ;-)

iii) I was naughty and added one more item - My Orla Kiely organiser. I ordered this beauty from eBay (as Australia doesn't have a groovy Target like the States do). I have only had it a few days but I think I'm in LOVE! My video on this organiser will be up shortly to show how I am currently using it.

2. Name 2 cheap sale items that you love:

i) My Smash Nude Food containers. I purchased this on a sale from Coles supermarket for $2 and it is so handy and versatile! I use it for everything from my toddlers sultanas, fruit and other snacks to my hair ties and bobby pins (PS - it holds 4-5 rolls of washi tape perfectly!!)

ii) My daughter's green chair. I love this mini couch chair. It's perfect for lounging, sitting like a 'big girl' watching telly and is the only place (other than the high chair) where I can get her to sit down to eat - she like to constantly be on the move!! She's my little whirlwind :-) The best bit, it was only $10! We brought it secondhand off Gumtree (like Craigs List in the States?) I love Gumtree as you can get some real local bargains. Selling things on there is fantastic too because unlike eBay, they don't take a cut of the profit - it's totally FREE to post and sell!

3. Name 2 life improvement items that are working for you:

i) My DIYfish inserts - These have seriously changed my life for the better. I love the style, the layout, the price (and the fact that my friend prints, cuts and folds them for me!) If you are interested in these inserts please feel free to check out my video review HERE.

ii) My toy storage/rotation system - My lounge room no longer looks like a toy minefield and my daughter gets to play with and enjoy all her toys at different times. To learn more about my setup visit my video HERE.

So there it is, my Do It On A Dime TAG for an Organised Cheap Life :-)
I hope you enjoyed and if you would like to take part in this tag please comment below or on my corresponding YouTube video as I'd love to check out your favourite organisation items!

Have a great day!

Jen

Find Me:
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www.organisedlifestyle.blogspot.com.au
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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

Hi from Jen and a love affair with Filofax :-)

Hi everyone and welcome to my very first blog!

I am not the most creative and innovative person is the world but I am trying. I 'borrow' others ideas and re-vamp them to make them my own.
Now I am using these inspirational ideas to help me become more organised. I am a teacher by trade (so very much into being organised in general) but have never been too good at being organised in my home life. So, now that I'm currently a SAHM with my 14 month old daughter with another on the way in March, my aim is to be organised and have fun doing it! Hence the filofax!

I have always loved writing in a diary planner since I was at school. You could decorate and personalise it any way you wanted. I also found I remembered things better when I wrote them down too rather than just typing on my iPhone iCal app. So I decided it was time to go back to what I know works for me.
So off I went to my local Officeworks - and boy was I lucky! Not only did they have personal and A5 style Filofaxes on clearance for $79 but they were also marked down FURTHER to $5 EACH! So I went crazy and splurged a whole $15 on 2 x A5 Dominos (one black and one maroon) and 1 x red Metropol.
I then went straight to work pimping my filos out with washi, stickers and craft paper and I couldn't be happier! I went on You Tube and found some great 'inspiration' (aka. stole some ideas) from other wonderful filofax users to help me with how I wanted to plan and it has been a love affair ever since.

During my many You Tube visits I fell in love with the aqua personal Malden and with much pleading from my husband I got one from www.filofaxshop.com.au (and this one was NOT $5!) With the price of this baby it was my early Christmas and 30th birthday present all wrapped into one. After using it for about 3 weeks now I must say it was sooooo worth it! So soft and beautiful this little beauty doubles as my wallet and planner in one.
My A5 maroon Domino I use as my home management system. I love the size of the A5 and it holds so much. I am not a great lover of the Domino design, but for $5 how can I complain!
The black A5 and the personal red Metropol I am currently using to store extra paper and inserts etc. which is working well too.
I will write up a blog this week detailing how I use my personal Malden and A5 Domino as my wallet/planner and home management system with corresponding pictures. I have already put a video up in the mean time if you'd like to check it out:

http://youtu.be/0A03tKRNlTo

Hope you are having a lovely day!