My Filofax Collection

My planner collection is growing and I need to make sure that I am getting optimum use out of all my Filofaxes. I love collecting the different styles and colours and for variety I swap and change around with their contents as my planning and organising evolves. No one system stays the same for long as I find my way to planning efficiency. Life changes and so plans change - using my Filofaxes keeps my ideas fresh and more creative. 

Here is a list of all my planners and their current uses. There is only one that lies empty at the moment and that is because I need to match its colour with its use - the fluro-pink is so bright and cheerful and is crying out for fun and frivolity to be stored inside. Perhaps it could be a party planner - but we don't have parties here. Maybe it could be a fashion planner but I'm afraid I'm not into fashion, just wearing what I want to wear and not what fashion houses dictate. A Bucket list planner could be a good idea mapping out plans to put my wish lists into action - but I don't have a bucket list as I am content with what I have. I'll just have to keep thinking. Meanwhile here is my list as it stands at the moment.

1. Red Piazza personal

Christmas planner

2. Lime Piazza personal

Monthly, weekly insert storage from 2016

3. Black Finsbury A4

Home binder

4. Fuchsia Original A5

Ebay binder

5. Lilac Piazza personal

Monthly insert storage from 2015

6. Red Pennybridge pocket

Wallet and shopping planner

7. Ochre Malden personal

Daily diary

8. Dark Aqua Original A5

Hobbies binder

9. Ochre Malden pocket

Bullet Journal / Brain Dump

10. Ochre Malden mini

Weight loss recorder

11. Lavender Original A5

Recipe binder

12. Fluro-pink Original A5

Just there to be admired at the moment :)

13. Pear Original personal

2017 Diary for forward planning

14. Blue Active personal

Travel and Holiday planner, journal and diary

15. Burgundy Classic Cross personal

Paper storage

My main 'families' are the Maldens and the Originals. The Maldens to me are the workhorses that take handling in their stride, are comforting to touch and satisfying to use. The Originals are exciting and colourful and they to me are the eye candy of my planning empire being so simply stylish.

Happy Planning

PS I may use my Fluro-pink as a project planner. Now that could be exciting and fun!

Making my own inserts for the mini and the pocket Filofax

I've just spent an hour or so making new pages for my mini Finsbury and my pocket Malden. For the mini I cut up some To Buy and Notes pages from a pad bought at B&M. Cut to size and hole punched they are in my mini. To Buy is my shopping list for the week and the Notes pages are self explanatory.

Each page is pulled out when finished with.

The pages for the pocket, which functions as a Bullet Journal, are from a pad bought from Lidl, hole punched and cut to size. I mark the holes with a pen …

… and then punch them with a normal hole punch - one hole at once.

I round the corners with a corner rounder - do these things have a name?

Rounded corners seem to look better than square corners. Not that it matters.

Now I'm going to have to clear up all the bits that have fallen into my lap.

Happy Planning.

Colours of my Filofax collection

I've just noticed that my Staples box, which contains my Filofax bits and pieces, has colours in the pattern that match the colours of my Filofaxes.

Personal Red Piazza

Personal Citrus Green Piazza

Personal Lilac Piazza

A5 Fuchsia Original

Personal Burgundy Classic Cross

Pocket Tan Classic Cross

Mini Raspberry Finsbury

Pocket Red Pennybridge

They even match the colours of the crochet blanket that I'm working on.

My Kindle Fire cover also matches
(all right - it's not a Filofax!)

My A5 Dark Aqua Original even matches the newest stripe - just.

They'll probably match my Washi tape too!

Happy Planning.

Filofax Mini Finsbury in Raspberry

I use my Filofax mini Finsbury in raspberry as a wallet and it comes with me every time I venture out with a view to buying, travelling or recording information.

As such I keep here any cards I may need plus some added extras. The first page (badge holder) holds my ICE (in case of emergency) information with contact details of nearest and dearest.

On the other side is a list of my medication and major health issues just in case I have an accident. There's a little pencil I found tucked in the page. Next up are some holders of bus time information.

The middle section houses the diary starting with a yearly calendar, closely followed by ...

a week on two pages for the daily diary. The pages that came with the new to me Finsbury were 2011 but the majority of the year corresponds to 2016. I just alter 2011 to 2016 and I have a full diary recycled.

The notes section is cut down pages from a notes pad from B&M Bargains. They are easy pull out and I can jot down anything I wish - usually a shopping list but sometimes information or contact details.

A receipts pocket is handy for putting in … receipts of course ...

and there is a spare holder for any coupons. My ring protector is a crocheted version and tones nicely with the raspberry colour.

I did have a trolley coin hanging from the attached key ring but I changed it for some tinkling bells. They tinkle so much that I think I may put the trolley coin back and take these bells off!!!

At the back is a zipped pocket where I keep a few coins. They are not easy to get out but they are handy. The pen I found in my collection of motley pens and it just fits the pen holder.

Around the wallet is a large opening which contains notes.

The mini is small enough to carry around and large enough to hold what I want to carry with me as well as being a delight to hold.

Please click on the labels below for more detailed information linked to this mini.

Happy Planning

Filofax system

At the moment the following system is working for me. Of course, systems change all the time due to circumstance, re-organisation and whim!

1. Brain Dump

This Filofax Pocket Malden is a 'take around with me in the home' place to put down everything that occurs to me - facts, ideas, things to do, thoughts. This Bullet Journal way of working has proved to work in motivating me to 'Get Things Done'.

2. From here I filter relevant details to my -

a. ABC list and information black organiser

b. Filofax Personal Malden Daily Planner and Diary

c. 'Out and about' Filofax Mini Finsbury wallet

d. Hobby organisers - Filofax A5 originals

e. Home Binder - Filofax A4 Finsbury

3. Then comes the action. The facts are noted and acted upon if necessary. e.g. looking up the date of St. George's Day and digesting the information.

The ideas are added to the Project List if necessary and further broken down for the Master To Do list. 

The To Dos are put in the daily diary so they will get done.

The thoughts are pondered upon and may be put into action or dismissed.

So far, so good.

Happy Planning.

Using badge holders for credit cards in a Filofax

For the grand total of £1.28 and a few weeks wait for the order to arrive from China, I now have some plastic holders for my cards, which will fit in my Filofax mini Finsbury. 

The pre-punched holes in the holders were spaced exactly in the right place and I only had to punch 2 more holes for them to fit.

I received 20 of these holders and I can see a further use for them in my mini, holding printed information on bus times plus more.

Happy Planning

Re-purposing old or out of date Calendar and Address Filofax pages

Firstly those multiplying diary pages. I recently bought a Filofax mini Finsbury which came with 2011 diary pages. I was about to relegate these to the scrap paper folder when I had a thought. I wonder when this yearly diary will come round again with the same days and dates. I compared it with my 2016 diary pages and was excited to note that the days and dates were exactly the same so I altered 2011 to 2016 with a black pen and now have an up to date diary in my mini. This made me think which other years were identical in days and dates so I looked it up on the great net and found this site.

Now that was funny, why wasn't 2011 exactly the same as 2016? The answer was that in between there are leap years. I was comparing the calendars in March when the days and dates lined up. If I compared them in January or February they wouldn't line up so my 2011 to 2016 calendars only match from March onwards. Not to worry, if I'd started in January I would have only had to alter 2 months of dates.

My easy answer for matching calendars is to just add 5 on to your old calendar year. The answer will give you a year that is compatible from March onwards or, if you want to be exact, go to the calendar matching site but here you could wait quite a while before your old calendar comes around again.

My easy answer is a compromise but would work if you are not too fussy.

eg.

1999 - 2004 - 2009 - 2013 - 2018

simple and no more throwing away old calendar pages.

Next those calendar pages or other pages of which you have no need. My answer to this is Washi tape. I'm not into decorating but if it saves wasting paper then I'm in. 

Below is a weekly page with the lettering just covered over in tape.

I made a To Do page using this method.

Here's an address page (These pages multiply like nobody's business.) 

which I've taped and white stickered over to make a Notes page.

There is hope for your old pages so give them a new lease of life and help avoid waste. Eventually these pages, once used and written over will either be archived or recycled in the compost or council paper waste.

Happy Planning

A little bit of history

In February 2016, when I started this blog, I'd already collected quite a few planners.

From left to right there is:-

1. a Kindle cover (not a planner)

2. A cheap, yellow planner from China which was advertised as leather on Ebay but was actually PU leather which, when I looked it up, is man made.

PU (Poly) Synthetic Leather is a man made material that will represent the look and feel of Genuine Leather but in fact is NOT. This PU material is far less durable, considerably cheaper in cost, and may not last long if used often.

4. A brown, personal Hamilton, which I purchased from a Charity Shop. This planner has now been sold as I found it a totally different style and feel to the newer planners.

5. A personal Classic Cross Filofax, which was my second planner and first Filofax, bought at a discount price from WHS.

6. A lime, personal Piazza Filofax. I just liked the colour of this one and when it arrived from Ebay it was lovely to touch, had a wonderful colour and smelt divine.

7. A red personal Piazza Filofax - having already purchased a citrus green I decided another of this style would be in order. I felt a collection was coming on!

8. A fuchsia, A5 Original patent Filofax. The collection was definitely coming on as I fell in love with this A5, all in the name of research of course. Would the A5 offer different possibilities for planning? Could it be easier to use?

9. A black zipped planner which was the start of this planner adventure, purchased from the Charity Shop way back in 2013.

10. A black A4 Finsbury Filofax, which added another size and more possibilities for recording and planning.

Since then I have acquired more planners on my Filofax adventuring. It looks like an addiction to me.

Happy Planning

Finsbury Filofax Mini

Just arrived this morning - my Finsbury Mini in Raspberry.

I bought it off Ebay for another bargain price and I intend to use it as a wallet to house my cards, coins and notes. I am awaiting some plastic badge holders to hold my cards and paper inserts so the full set up will have to wait until they arrive.

Filofax do not make mini Finsburys any more so this is old stock.

New to me, though and it even tones in well with my crocheting.

I shall carry it around with me for the rest of the day!

Happy Planning.