A Look at the 2014/2015 Erin Condren Life Planner
In 2011, I dropped what I consider to be a significant amount of cash on a calendar. A paper calender, y’all. Yes, I had a smart phone. I had the Google suite of products and sync’d my contacts, calendar, and email. Yet, I always seemed to be behind and unorganized. I saw something online about the Erin Condren Life Planner and decided to ask for it for Christmas from Rial. When it arrived, I was in love. I loved the stickers, the Morning/Day/Night layout, and all the “extras” that came along: gift labels, personalized stickers, a “keep-it-together” pouch, and the ruler bookmark. I had very little qualms with my Life Planner, and wanted another the next year. Our budget in 2012/2013 did not support this purchase, however, and I’ve been without my beloved Life Planner for over 2 years.
As you know, we began working towards homeschooling Alden this year and I made the executive decision to include a new Planner in the budget with home school curriculum. Today, my planner arrived. Our post-person must be a sneaky ninja because I was locked in on the tracking page and when it said, “Delivered” I expected it to be out in the mailbox. Nope, on the door step.
I pulled out my phone, took some pictures, cut the bubble wrap in half (one for each child), and began checking out all the features that have been added since my original Life Planner in 2011.
For those of you who have never owned a life planner, or haven’t in a while, here are the features I especially LOVE:
- Laminated Monthly Tabs
- Clear, Snap-In Ruler bookmark (previously, it was opaque)
- Goals on EVERY weekly spread
- Blank lines on the bottom of each day for logging exercise, meals, to-dos, whatever
- Double-sided “Keep-It-Together” folder at the back of the calender
- Removable perpetual calendar (previously included in the front of the life planner pages)
I keep EVERYTHING in order in my Erin Condren Life Planner. I keep important times and appointments on the monthly spread, as well as more routine-oriented tasks on the weekly spread. I use the Morning sections for our home school tasks. Most of my events happen during the evening slot: band practice, ballet, judo, Pampered Chef. In the miscellaneous list section, I track my weight, my goal weight, and my exercise goals.
I use the stickers on the monthly pages for important dates, and because I didn’t use all of them from my last life planner, I have plenty to use for the weekly dates as well.
I’m not a super crafty scrapbooker, so you won’t really see me adding a lot of Washi Tape, stickers, or pictures. I’m a planner purist I guess you’d say, and I really just use plain ink pens and the stickers provided. I feel that I’m able to see more and feel more productive that way.
One feature that I have yet to see anywhere else that I am absolutely IN LOVE with is the theme consistency throughout the planner. In my 2011 life planner, each month would have a different theme, and different designs for the weekly pages. In the new 2014/2015 planner, the Party Pops theme is carried throughout the entire Life Planner. Each month has a color scheme, but the dots are used on every single month. It’s that kind of attention to detail that I love in Erin Condren products.
Am I the only one still using a paper planner? I think they are really making a comeback, and I’m super excited. I love whipping out my life planner to schedule Pampered Chef shows or doctor’s appointments and getting compliments.
Another cool thing about EC products is the awesome referral program. When you sign up using my link, you get $10 off of ANY order and I get $10 for referring you. Win-Win. Join me in my love affair with all things Erin Condren, won’t you?
