Erin Condren Life Planner Review

You guys– I’ve been wanting to share this with you for SO LONG, but as excited as I’ve been, I thought I ought to use my new planner for a couple months first to give a fair review. Suffice to say: I am just as in love with my Erin Condren Life Planner now as I was on day one!

I am a paper-planner-person. I love technology and I DO use my phone for some reminders and calendar events, but for day-to-day tasks and reminders, I still prefer a paper planner. There’s just SOMETHING about being able to see everything spread in front of me in a week-long spread that I can scribble all over that helps me make sense of my time management. I don’t get that same satisfaction or peace from viewing it on my tiny phone screen in the Calendar app, or even on my bigger laptop screen. So if you’re a paper-planner-person like me, you’re going to love the Life Planner!

(Imagine glowing light and angels singing here.)

NOTE: I am receiving no compensation for this review, and all the opinions are my own. However, you can get a $10 off coupon code if you use my referrer link (and I’ll earn $10 as well–thanks for supporting this blog!) .

This thing has become my BEST FRIEND over the last few months. It’s the perfect balance of prettiness and functionality. Let me give you a quick tour…

Erin Condren Life Planner: Highlights

Here’s the 2014-2015 ECLP promo video, which gives you an overview of the planner’s features:

THE COVER // There’s a HUGE selection of covers to choose from for your planner, and almost any of them can be customized with your name, a quote, or special colors or fonts. You can even have photos of your family or pets added to the cover. Even better, they are made of a heavy weight laminate material that is perforated in such a way that you can pop the cover off and replace it with a new one if you get bored!

MONTHLY LAYOUT // For each month, there’s a tab and a 2-page spread with the entire month. I honestly don’t use the month layout much. I mark major appointments, holidays and birthdays here, but rarely refer to it.

WEEKLY LAYOUT // Behind the monthly tab, you’ll find 2-page weekly spreads for each week during that month. The week starts on Monday and ends with Sunday. Each day is divided into “Morning”, “Day”, and “Evening”, then there are lines below for meal planning, exercise logs, or whatever else you can dream up. There’s also a “Weekly Goals & Notes” section along the far left.

I use my weekly layout pages for pretty much EVERYTHING. The far left I use for general reminders and to-dos that have to get done sometime that week, but not on a specific day. I use the morning/day/evening sections for tasks, appointments and reminders that have to be done at a specific time on that day. I use the lined section under each day to write in what I’m going to make for dinner that evening.

I use color coding in my planner — purple are freelance clients, orange for appointments, red for anything super important, blue for household/family stuff, green for projects (e.g. blog, craft projects, etc.) and black for miscellaneous. I started out using the Erin Condren markers (which I like and still use), but I also got a big set of Paper Mate Flair markers with even more colors, so sometimes I throw those in just for variety!

I also use washi tape a LOT in my planner. (I blame the We Love EC group on Facebook for this new-found addiction!) Sometimes I use it to cover up an event that got moved or cancelled — instead of scribbling it out, I cover it with washi (so much prettier!). I use washi to make a vertical divider between Friday and Saturday to highlight the weekend, and another strip of washi horizontally to cover the words above the lined section at the bottom. Plus, it just makes things fun and bright!

THE GOODIES IN THE BACK // In the back of the ECLP, there’s a big section of blank pages (some lined, some unlined) for note taking. I use this area to keep all sorts of lists: Christmas shopping, paint colors being used in our home remodel, and ideas for blog posts, to name a few.

Behind that you’ll find four pages of colored stickers. The first page’s stickers are all printed with “birthday!” so you can use them to mark your calendar. The second page has a mix of other events you might want to highlight (e.g. “day off!”, “hair appt.”, “vacation!”). The third and fourth pages of stickers are blank. When I first got these stickers, I went crazy with them, marking all my birthdays and other events throughout my planner with them. As I’ve used my planner more, I’m very lukewarm on the stickers. They’re nice but they just don’t suit my style. I’ve found I prefer to use prettier washi tape and write on it with a Sharpie instead. (Just me.) However, I do like using the stickers folded in half to make page-tabs in the notes section!

After the stickers comes a “keep it together” pocket. This is a thick cardboard sheet that has a pocket on each side. I use this to hold bills that need to be paid, paint chips that I’m debating over, sticker-sheets, and miscellaneous notes I’ve made and want to keep track of.

Inside the pocket there’s a removable perpetual calendar and contact book. Originally these were part of the planner itself, but in this year’s calendar, EC made this removable so you can move it from planner to planner each year and you don’t have to re-write out all your contacts and special dates that occur on the same day each year. I’ve written things in here, but honestly I don’t use it.

Lastly in the back of the planner, you’ll find a thick plastic zipper pouch. It contains some cards and stickers to get you started. I’ve put extra stickers into mine and occasionally receipts that I don’t want to lose. Unfortunately, it doesn’t hold much and if you try and stuff it too full, your planner won’t close!

ACCESSORIES // The ECLP comes with a bookmark-ruler to keep your current page marked. It happens to be the same width as a day-block on the weekly calendar too, so it’s perfect for ripping your washi tape perfectly-sized. (Not that I’m crazy and OCD about that or anything… *ahem*)

The EC website also has other accessories like coil clips, a pen holder, and elastic bands to hold your planner closed. (You can see ALL their accessories here.) I ordered the elastic bands and the pen holder to start with. I love the elastic band and use it whenver my planner is in my bag so that the pages don’t get crumpled. The pen holder seemed a TEENY bit too tight. I always struggled to get my pen in and out of it, which irritated me – so I wound up ripping it off and throwing it away. (Probably just me.)

What I Like

There isn’t much I don’t like about this planner, honestly! I tend to plan my life week-to-week, or in two-week chunks, so I really like the week view layouts with lots of room to write. I like that the design is cute, but leaves you plenty of room for customization too. (Who knew customizing a planner could be this much fun? NOT ME!)

What I’d Change

The only downside to the Erin Condren Life Planner is that you have to be patient. When you order, you can see an estimated shipment date, and if you ask for additional customizations to your planner, it could take even longer. I also recently ordered an On-The-Go Notebook, and it took almost 3 weeks to ship. It’s a small company doing highly customized, beautiful work so it’s understandable — just something to keep in mind when you order!

Get $10 of your first Erin Condren Order!

Are you itching to get your hands on your own ECLP?! (Can’t blame you – after my friend Ronni introduced me to them, I had to have one!) Don’t forget to use my referral link and you’ll get $10 off your order!

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