it all started in 5th grade. it was like magic landed on my desk. my first assignment notebook. 5th grade meant big time. angel choirs might have sounded in my mind as i flipped through all those clean, white, lined pages. oh the potential for those pages. and what color should i write in? visions of listing, crossing out, counting down till school breaks and holidays, and space to doodle during class under the guise of planning. like i said. magic.

pretty paper + color coding + organizing + keeping track of everything all in one place = love.

my love for planners, ridiculously, has continued. i tried for awhile to get on board with ical. i use ical, and it is really helpful for sharing purposes. the color coding is great, as are the pop up reminders. but there is nothing like writing things down and crossing them out. or flipping ahead. are there people out there who can remember to do things without writing them down? i sort of wish i was one of those people, but then i’d have to give up my love of planners.

for a few years, i stifled my planner love, settling for a strictly online calendar. last year, i caved. i saw this day designer planner at target and had to buy it. it was my first favorite planner for these reasons:

it was very affordable.
the planner ran from july – june. my head loves a planner that works around the school year calendar.
the july-june calendar had vertical columns for each day. i prefer vertical over horizontal.
each column started with a section for today’s top three.
you could see a whole week at a time.
each week had a space for gratitude.

my one complaint about my day designer planner was that each day ended up to be one long to do list, even despite the today’s top three section. i just have more than three things i have to get done in a day. as a result, personal to-do’s were mixed in a big long list with work, family, and all other to-do’s. not to mention actual scheduled commitments. it was hard to prioritize.

despite this one tiny gripe, i set out to buy another day designer planner this past july. i figured i would just make categories for myself for each day. you can tell from my cart that i had fun shopping. i was all set on the day designer again until my friend hollie showed me her plum paper planner. she is a fellow blogger and has similar life and work to-do’s. it was the answer to all my planner needs, and it has become my new

favorite planner ever.

the plum paper website is beautiful. i could browse the options for hours. i finally decided on the large ME planner. this is the one that allows you to organize your day into categories, and then write your appointments and to-do’s from there. you can also customize your cover.

the difference between plum paper and the day designer? the price. the plum paper planner is more expensive. despite this, i was able to rationalize these benefits {insert eye roll from my husband here}:

plum paper allows you to start your planner in any month you want. i started in july and did an 18 month planner. while this saved money {i don’t have to buy another one for 18 months!}, it did add to the weight.
the ability to break your day up into categories. at first, it was hard to determine how i wanted to categorize my day. i decided on personal, family, life, blog post, blog to do, social media, and dinner for my categories. the dinner category was wishful thinking {insert another eye roll from my husband and everyone i know}.
you can add on sections. i added a blog, notes, and to-do section in the back.
the colors! oh my goodness the colors are so beautiful and make me happy just looking at them!

when my new favorite planner landed in my mailbox, it was magic. just like 5th grade. i’ve been using it for 6 months now and i don’t have any complaints. it suits my lifelong love of planners quite well.

do you share my love of planners and all things pretty and paper?? well then, i created this FREE weekly calendar printable just for you. it includes all my planner favorites: vertical columns, a whole week view, categories for you to fill in, LITTLE things, and fun colors.grab your own FREE weekly calendar printable here.

want 10% off your own plum paper planner? email me erin@noticethelittlethings.com and tell me you’d like my referral discount. it’s THAT easy!

happy planning!

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