This post is in collaboration with Plum Paper. All thoughts and opinions are my own (and I honestly love this brand!). You can read my full disclosure policy here.
I love the start of a new year. It’s a clean slate, a restart on getting your life together. Organization is not really my forte so for years I had been searching for the perfect planner to keep all of the important dates, times, tasks, etc in one place and in a way that I would actually use. I know I’m not the only person who has bought a planner, used it for a couple of months, and then let it collect dust.
Three years ago, toward the end of 2015, I discovered Plum Paper as I was searching for a new 2016 planner. I ordered one, fell in love with it, and haven’t changed brands since. I bought another one (different style!) for 2017, and this year for 2018 Plum Paper caught wind of my obsession and sent me a planner in exchange for sharing their brand with you.
Below I’ll show you why these planners are not only so useful but also so fun to design, and walk you through the one I use.
Plum Paper Planner Styles
Plum Paper planners are seriously FUN to design! And as silly as it may sound, having a fun planner that you love makes it much more likely that you’ll actually use it. Our planners can’t keep us organized unless we use them, right?!
Variety Sizes and Add Ons
There are 2 sizes of planners: 7″x 9″ and 8.5″x 11″. The first year I ordered from Plum Paper I got the smaller size, which I liked but I really found that I was using it so much, writing so many notes in it, that I wanted something bigger. In 2017 I ordered the larger size and that is perfect for me. Think about if you need to tote it around with you. I primarily keep mine at my desk, but if you are taking your planner on the go a lot, the smaller one is a bit lighter, a bit easier to take with you.
I’ll touch on some of the add-ons below, but you can see that you can customize your planners in many different ways, AND you can grab matching accessories like notebooks.
Durability
Plum Paper has a million different gorgeous cover options. Choose one of their cool backgrounds, and then you can add a photo, your name, your business name, choose the fonts and colors, really make it yours. That pretty cover stays nice throughout the entire year because Plum Paper uses a tear-proof and water resistant material for the cover itself, PLUS it comes with a clear plastic protective sheet on top of that cover.
Can’t decide on just one cover?I feel you. It’s hard to choose! Now there is the option to add interchangeable covers, too! Pretty fun (and it would be neat to change these out each season!).
Customization Options
I have so much fun ordering these planners each year. The customization options are pretty much endless. This screenshot above is just to choose the background of your cover! There are tons of vibes to choose from – flowery, nature, geometric, and many more. When you select one, it will show you the preview so you know how these patterns will actually look as your planner cover.
One of the best things about Plum Paper planners is how you can customize the pages inside to meet your needs. I use mine mostly for business, but since balacing work and home life is the never ending juggling act, I keep a lot of personal appointments, the kids’ soccer games, all of that stuff in my planner as well.
You can in pages to track your travel plans, your weekly menus, your budget, and lots more. This makes your planner that ONE PLACE to keep everything. In the past I’ve jotted notes in a million places and then can’t find them or don’t remember what notebook I’ve put them in. Now absolutely everything goes in my planner. When I take notes on a phone call, they go in my planner. These customization options keep me so much more organized.
My Plum Paper Planner
I save all of my planners because as I mentioned above, I jot down a lot of important notes in them. These are my 3 Plum Paper planners from 2016, 2017, and the upcoming year of 2018. You can see the size comparison between the smaller one (upper left) and the larger size, 8.5″ x 11″, I am sticking with now.
I LOVE the cover of my 2018 planner! These photos don’t do it justice but it’s just super pretty with one of my favorite pics of my kids on there. This planner represents my daily grind, and that picture of my kids is a constant reminder of why I bust my tail working. I selected a circle frame, and there are other options as well. You can choose the font for your text, or go with no text at all. There are lot of ways to customize this!
Just inside the cover is this year-at-a-glance that allows you to record special dates. I put things like birthdays, anniversaries, and other important things I want to remember on these pages.
At the beginning of each month is a place to do a little goal planning and jot down some notes. It’s amazing how writing this stuff down actually helps you accomplish it! I love these pages.
There’s a full spread calendar for each month so you can look at the entire month in one place.
Each week has a spread that looks like this, with a separate column for each day. There is plenty of room here to write down your daily tasks. On the left side I’ll write down things I need to accomplish that week: send someone an invoice, schedule an appointment, finish a blog post that’s due.
Speaking of all those blogging tasks, as a blogger I love that Plum Paper offers add-ons for me. I have a whole separate section for planning and tracking my business info.
There’s a monthly overview that gives you a place to brain dump post ideas, or brands you want to work with.
I really like this little section that lets you track your social growth as well. I try to keep an Excel spreadsheet for this, but honestly I forget most of the time. And this goes back to the benefit of having EVERYTHING in one place. I won’t forget since this planner is going to be right next to me pretty much every day of the year, and I’ll never lose the data.
There’s also a place to track your mileage, which I’m terrible at recording as I should. This is something new I added to my planner this year and I’m really excited to use it.
Finally at the back of the planner is a quick glance at the next year and a little folder to place any important papers in.
Hopefully that gives you a good overview of some of the ways I’m using my Plum Paper planner. I tweak it a bit every year that I order one as I see what I’m using and what I’m not. I do have a bunch of blank notes pages sprinlked throughout, too. I just love how you can customize them in so many ways, and I love the FEEL of it. It’s a sturdy planner and it truly has helped me so much to have one place that has the capacity to hold my… life!
Save 10% On Your First Order
Plum Paper didn’t give me a specific discount code to share, but they do have a referral program we can use to help you save. If you want to place an order, email me and let me know you’d like a referral to Plum Paper. I can send you an email through their website that will get you 10% off your first order of $30 or more (must be used within 30 days of when you get that email).
Learn More
You can probably tell I truly love Plum Paper planners. I would love for you to check out their website and shop around. These planners have kept me as organized as I’ve ever been, and that’s really saying something! Be sure to get some planner inspiration on their social outlets as well: Facebook and Instagram.
Kathryn says
OOOO! Love your review – which prompted me to go to Plum Paper and design my own planner. Interested in receiving a discount!
Lindsay Frank says
Kathryn, email me at lindsay@seemomclick for info on that discount! I have to send you a referral link. Thanks!!