Personal Planner Review & Giveaway

I used a "paper planner" a lot in high school and University.  When I graduated I was a mom, and for the past 8 years, I've mostly used a calendar on the fridge for scheduling.  I was excited when personal-planner.com asked if I'd like to try one of theirs!  I do love list-making and writing, so I was excited to get back into using a paper planner!

The planner arrived over a month ago (at a time when I wanted to try vlogging more).  I'm not giving up on it, but I haven't done as much of it as I thought I would.  I think seeing this particular vlog embarrassed me, so I wasn't too excited to make another one! haha :)  Especially the first part of the video- I cringe to watch myself because I can tell how unnatural I feel talking to the camera ;)  Oh well, it does give you a bit of a view of the planner, so I'm going to share it after all.




So, when I got onto the website I decided on the A5 sized planner (they have 3 other sizes available) and then checked out the patterns and designs available (there are more available now than there were when I ordered).  I decided to design my own (love that they have this option- you can use your own photos and personalize what it says on the front if you want).  I found a pretty digital scrap-booking paper and uploaded it for my background and decided not to write anything on the front.

I used the same pattern for the front.  When I photographed this, I noticed that my back is faded!  I'm not sure if it was always like that or if the sun faded it (it was sitting on my night stand near a window for a while, but I'm not sure if the back side was up).  So that's too bad if they printed it that way, and too bad if it fades too!  But at least it's the backside that's faded - I still love the front!

[Edited to Add: I wasn't going to contact personal-planner about this issue because I decided it wasn't that big of a deal, but when they saw my review, they checked into it & found it was a mistake with the colors so the brightness on the back didn't match the front. They were great about this- apologized for their mistake & made up for it by letting me know they were sending me a new planner- now that's great customer service! If you have any problems with your planner, be sure to contact them- I trust they'll be very helpful!)

You also get to choose the colour for the elastic closure.  That tab you see there is not part of the planner - I added it later.  It's a removable sticky tab by Martha Stewart that I found a pack of, on clearance at a store one day and just so happens to match my planner perfectly- love it! :)

Next you get to choose the inlay design (which is the pattern along the top of the planner- mine is a blue-turquoise colour with a light sunburst).  You also get to decide what kind of lines you want, what colour your ruler will be, and whether you want to include some extra features like a place to keep track of workouts, or weather, etc.)

Then you choose your modules (which are the sections across the bottom of the planner- purple and orange for mine).  I chose "List of the Week", "Ruled", and "To Do This Week".  The little calendar is automatically included.

Next you get to decide what you want the back pages to be like.  They have a lot of fun options here for three sections (the first section is 8 pages, the second is 10 pages, and the third is 40 pages) and there are different options for each.  I chose a year in review for the first section:

(and by the way you can start your planner on any month- mine started part way through the year, so I was happy that this year in review section could span 2 years)

...and I really like to write things out, take notes, and make lists so I chose lined paper for the other two sections (I know- boring... but I love it! :)

Other tempting options were colouring pages for your kids, sudoku games, ruled paper, blank paper, grid paper, music paper (like with the staff lines- how cool!), maps (in colour), address list, and coolest of all if you're a teacher: a 40-page teacher planner section!  (They have different options for preschool and different grades and these include a bunch of different charts and things to keep track of what your students are up to and how they're doing).

Next up is the "Owner Info" page where you can leave a note with some contact info in case someone finds your planner without you.  I also put a quote that I like on this page.

Back when you were choosing your inlay design, there was an option to choose whether you wanted to include personal dates or not.  You can enter names of people and dates of their birthdays or anniversaries or any other special dates you want to remember.  Then the planner automatically puts those dates into your planner on the day in your main planner and in your year-in-review!  I love that!

The personal planner website also has accessories available such as extra rulers, plastic sleeves (Oh, I forgot to take a picture of that!  You get one included), elastic closures, and pens.  (You get one of each of those things included with your planner- except for the pens)  I checked out a few of their pens & I really like them a lot!  I love that they come in fun colours, too!  Oh, and one other accessory you can get is a nice leather cover for your planner.  They also sell personalized wall planners and notebooks.

*phew*!  So that was a rather detailed review, I hope it helps you out if you're looking to buy one!  And because the people at personal-planner.com are sweet hearts, they not only gave me a planner to review, but they want to give one of you a planner as well!  Just fill out the form below to enter for your chance to win!

This giveaway is open Worldwide! :)  (Open until June 23rd at midnight)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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