There are so many type of calendars available, it can feel a bit overwhelming when trying to pick out a suitable one for yourself. My love for calendars and planners developed in middle school when it became necessary to have one to keep track of my school assignments. Over the past two decades I have tried out many different kinds of agendas and in most recent years have settled on a Filofax as my planner of choice. As a calendar lover, however, I am always on the lookout for interesting agendas and over the past year have come across a few different styles and brands I find noteworthy. I thought I would share my 2014 calendar picks with you!
Some like to keep it small and simple when it comes to their calendars. Here are some of my top picks in this category:
Every year since I was about fifteen I’ve had a Mary Engelbreit Day-To-Day calendar on my desk. This small, easel style day on a page calendar is a great way for me to enjoy Mary Engelbreit’s whimsical illustrations and uplifting messages on a daily basis. This style calendar where you tear off a page every day is available in many different variations from cute animals, to sports trivia, and much more. At just about $10 it is an affordable option if you’re in the market for something fun and personal to keep track of the date.
I only just recently learned about the company May Designs, which offers customizable notebook style planners in an affordable price range. For $22 I purchased a non-dated weekly calendar May Book, which I customized to suit my style. With over 300 covers to choose from, you can truly make this darling planner your own, especially if you opt to add a monogram. They also offer a dated version as well as other kinds of record keepers, including a meal planner, calorie & exercise journal, wedding & bump diaries, and more! You can even order a blank journal with different types of pages. It’s slim and lightweight, but still large enough for room to write.
I have used and loved Moleskine notebooks over the years for a variety of purposes. The Moleskine Soft 18-Month Weekly Planner is a great option for the person who prefers a non-fussy calendar. It comes in two sizes, 3.5″ x 5.5″ ($16) or 5.25″ x 8.25″ ($20) and includes year and month-at-a-glance calendars in the front, a handy timetable and travel planning pages, and a week on a page calendar with space to make notes.
I’ve become a big fan of a couple of organization blogs this year, both of which offer their own print-at-home planners for purchase:
The iHeart Organizing Daily Planner comes in a standard 8.5″ x 11″ printable size. You can purchase the instant PDF download file at blog owner Jen’s Etsy shop for $13 with meal planning and $10 without. The planner comes with a colorful cover sheet, two-page monthly calendars, and two-page weekly spread calendars. For $4 you can also order a custom cover page printable from a choice of fifteen colorful options with your name on it. Jen also offers other printables for sale in her shop, including budget planners, contact sheets, and more for $3 each.
The A Bowl Full of Lemons The Rainbow Planner is available in either an 8.5″ by 11″ or A5 (5.75″ x 8.25″) size. You can purchase the planner through blog owner Toni’s webstore for $15 upon which you receive an email with your downloadable printable PDF file. The planner comes with a cover (which you choose from four options), month on one page and week on two page calendars, as well as a daily task organization sheet, a notes page, and directions for double-sided printing (which is very handy!). You can also purchase add-ons such as a financial kit, tasks kit, cleaning kit, and weekly organizer ranging in price from $5 to $7.
The costs of these print-at-home options does increase when you consider paper, ink, and binder or notebook supplies necessary to house your planner. I purchased 98 bright 32 pound paper from Staples (#1) in a ream (500 sheets) for $17 to print out both planners on high quality paper that wouldn’t bleed through with double-sided printing and marking with pens. I also chose to punch the planners using an M by Staples Arc System Desktop Punch (#2) that cost $43 so that I could fit each planner into a Martha Stewart Home Office with Avery Discbound Notebook (#3) that I paid around $25 each for at Staples.
As a planner fiend, I personally prefer full size organizers that offer me lots of space to write and come with beautiful covers and bindings:
I have become quite the Erin Condren fan over the past few months. Her designs are playful, vibrant, and uplifting! I decided to purchase one of the classic Erin Condren Life Planners (specifically in the style shown above called Zen Gems) to try out as my video and blog planner for 2014. The baseline price is $50, but increases once you add your name and/or photos to the cover, as well as additional add-ons such as custom calendar stickers, special pens, matching notepads, and more. My Life Planner ended up costing $96 when all was said and done! Although it is definitely on the pricier end of the calendar spectrum, it is a beautifully made planner that I believe would suit many different kinds of calendar lovers.
Receive $10 off your first purchase when you sign up for the Erin Condren website (which means you receive the occasional email on current promotions and new products from them) by clicking here.
As I mentioned earlier, I am personally a Filofax fan and have used and loved the same Filofax A5 Finchley Organizer as shown above for the past few years with great success as my personal planner (sadly this model is no longer available). I shared an in-depth look at my Filofax earlier this year, which you can find here if you are interested. What I like about this beautiful leather binder is that it is fully customizable. I can purchase a wide variety of inserts for it to suit my own needs. I currently use three types of Filofax calendar inserts, including the A5 Month on Two Pages, the A5 Day Per Page, and the A5 Full Year Horizontal Planner. As for accessories, I use the A5 Zip Lock Envelope and the A5 Ruler/Page Marker also available from Filofax.
There are many other brands and small businesses that sell inserts that fit Filofax and similar binder style planners as well. One of my new favorites is Charlotte Victoria’s Etsy shop, CharlottesWeb86, where she sells one of a kind Filofax Dividers and Filofax Today Markers like the ones shown above that she creates by hand. She also offers them in the pocket and personal planner sizes and you can contact her directly through her shop for custom orders. You can also purchase ABFOL’s The Rainbow Planner (shared above) in the A5 size and print, cut, and punch it to fit in your A5 size planner. There are so many more options available to customize this type of organizer!
Check out the video below if you’re interested in a closer look at these products as well as my thoughts on each one:
My hope in sharing my top picks for 2014 is that I can in some way inspire you if you’re in the market for a new calendar. Or, if you’re a planner enthusiast like me, perhaps you just enjoy seeing a few of the myriad options out there. I also wanted to share my love for beautiful calendars with you by hosting an accompanying giveaway to this post. Since so many of you have used my Erin Condren referral link that gives you a $10 credit for your first purchase (see link under my Erin Condren blurb above if you missed it!), I had enough credits to cover ten $100 ErinCondren.com gift cards!
The ErinCondren.com Giveaway will run until Saturday, December 27, 2013 at 6 PM CST. The giveaway is open internationally (you can find information about Erin Condren international shipping costs here). All entrants under the age of 18 must have parental permission to enter. There will be TEN winners! Each will win a $100 ErinCondren.com gift card like the one pictured above. You can enter the giveaway by following the directions in the Rafflecopter widget posted below. I’ll announce the ten winners on THIS blog post and contact them directly, as always. Good luck!
*** GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED ***
Congrats to Erin, Katalin, Margaret, Stephanie, Caroline, Anna, Darcia, Paula, Skylar, & Amanda on being selected as the winners of my ErinCondren.com Gift Card Giveaway!
The Poll Results for *What type of calendar do you prefer to use?* out of 3802 entries:
Full Size Organizer – 73%
Small & Simple – 18%
Electronic – 5%
Print At Home – 4%
I don’t keep a calendar – 0%
Sometimes Rafflecopter experiences technical difficulties. If you can’t enter for some reason, try again later and it will probably work.
*This is not a sponsored giveaway. All prizes were purchased using my Erin Condren referral credits. This post contains affiliate links. All opinions are my own*
