Planner Essentials to Organize Your Year

Christmas is over which clearly means it’s time to worry about the New Year, amirite? Seriously, December 26th rolls around and I’m like – ookay, let’s tear this house apart, throw it all out, organize all the things. For the next month you’ll find me organizing, writing things down, and trying to plan my little heart out in an effort to get a handle on the craziness that can be life. Hopefully, it sticks, but this year I have my secret weapon – my PLANNER!

 

This time last year one of my goals for 2016 was to find my planning method that works. I wrote a post recently all about how I use my paper planner to organize my life as a mom and blogger. Since I know I’m not the only one with plans to rock 2017 with a totally organized planner and life, I thought it would be a great time to share all of my favorite planning essentials!

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A planner, obviously.

I mean. A planner is obviously a necessity for planning. There are a lot of options for planners these days, from basic ones at an office supply store or Target to pricey, personalized ones at Erin Condren. Personally, I go middle of the road with The Happy Planner. If you’re not in a rush to start planning ASAP, I’d suggest waiting a couple of weeks into the new year and picking one up at a steep discount.

Pens you love.

Look, you can obviously use any old pen – planning isn’t supposed to be stressful and you shouldn’t put it off just because you don’t have the ‘right’ stuff. That being said, if you have pens you absolutely adore, it just makes the process even more enjoyable. Find a pen you love be it something you found specially or just a random pen from your bank, and use it! Here are some of my favorites:

Papermate felt tip markers
BIC Crystal ball point pens.
Micron Ink Pen

 

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Stickers.

To be totally honest, using stickers was a bit of a game changer for me. It took something that I ‘liked’ – planners, making lists, crossing things off, organizing my brain – and made it something I enjoyed. I’m a typical girl and making things ‘pretty’ makes me want to do it. Fun stickers are that for me – they are a fun creative outlet that encourages me to sit down and plan my week. my favorite stickers are functional, but I also love fun stickers from the dollar spot at Target (especially around the holidays.) Here are some of my favorite places to grab stickers.

Etsy.

Etsy has amazing planner stickers and hundreds of sellers making cute stickers for every situation. Find a few different sellers (Instagram is a great place to start!) and order a few things from each. You’re supporting a small business so you can feel good about probably spending a bit too much. One of my faves is Monica over at Peanut Butter Taco – she has such fun and unique stickers!

Happy Planner –

I guess this is more of a brand but whatever. MAMBI/Happy Planner has great quality stickers and awesome books of stickers. I love the Seasonal collection and I’ve been eyeing the everyday one as well. BUT don’t but them full price, you guys! Go to Michael’s and use a 40% off coupon. You’re welcome.

Erin Condren –

While I’ve never bought Erin Condren stickers myself, many people have mentioned the quality and design is great. I have a habit of perusing their site and I’m itching to grab these.

Free printables –

Planning doesn’t have to be a burden on your wallet- free printables are awesome! Try looking around Pinterest a bit, because there are so many great ones. Print them onto sticker paper and cut them yourself (if you have a fancy pants Cricut or Silhouette then I’m very jealous! I know a lot of them have the cut guide as well. ) and you’ll save yourself a pretty penny. Here are some of my favorites to get you started.

Life with Mayra

Fit Life Creative

LuckiCharms

BEAyouTIFUL Planning

My Planner Envy

Planner Addiction

DIY Candy

Miss Kellz Planning

Chic Life Design

Laughing and Losing it

Love Paper Crafts

Minted Strawberry

Life+Paper

Victoria Thatcher

Post its

I mentioned this in my last Planner post, but I love using Post-its in planning. The flags are great for mapping out blog content or jotting down dates that aren’t set in stone, and the squares are obviously perfect for putting reminders on later weeks/months.

Washi tape

Use washi tape to create headers, separate rows, create extra columns, or just add color. It’s also perfect for taping in reminders since it won’t rip the paper when you take it off. I buy mine at Michael’s (40% off, people!) and the Dollar Spot also often has good ones. If you can’t get to either of those, there’s also Amazon!

Other Accessories

Hole punch