I'm British, So Filofax

Adventures in Trying to Organize My Life


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Office Space: Where I Plan

I have been on an organizing kick lately and so it only seems fitting to post a blog showing my creation space… my office. I made a commitment to myself when I moved back from Florida to keep a tidy office and leave my laptop out of my bedroom and so far I am doing pretty well! In order to keep my space clean though, I feel like it has to be visually appealing. Just like with planners… I am more likely to look at my schedule and to do’s if it is in a pretty planner and fun to look at. So, without further ado, my office! I racked my brain and scoured the internet before posting this blog looking at others blogs and video tours of their planning supply organization and craft areas. I came to two conclusions; 1) I’m not everybody else so I can have my own style 2) I am not good at making videos. At least not yet. So I took some photos instead. Hope you enjoy and are inspired to organize your own areas!

Where the magic happens 🙂 Notice the Target Dollar Spot Haul supplies as decoration!

So here is my desk… God bless Ikea for letting us create our own spaces. It’s as if that place was made for planners. You will see the name Ikea more than a couple times throughout my blog. I love that place. I got two drawer units and a table top from Ikea and made my own desk. I feel like it’s a large enough space to utilize without being overbearing. Of course in a dream world I would have an L shaped desk that took up half the room but this is reality and I am working with the space I have. O:)

My laptop doesn’t leave my desk. It’ s a HP Envy, the first non-Vaio I’ve had, and while I am not a huge fan of the new Windows I like the size of my laptop and it definitely holds it’s own with the amount of damage I do downloading and saving files. Pinterest, WordPress, Facebook, Instagram, and Google+ are all neatly settled in my favorites bar ready for me to surf the internet for hours on end!

I won’t show you all the drawers because they aren’t all planner related. This drawer dutifully holds my electronics; my camera, camcorder, Pringo photo printer, and label maker. It’s also home to my 6 hole punch which is a Japanese import you can easily purchase on Amazon and adjusts to punch holes for all three sizes of Filofax! It can be found here. I also have a recently purchased flag punch, binder clips, pen loops, paper clips (who knew I would one day pine over paper clips), and an assortment of charms as I recently started making my own planner charms.

This is where I display my planners… the highlight of the room! The shelving unit is also from Ikea and is meant for the back of a desk but was repurposed with the help of a good friend to fit on my old dresser so I could show my entire collection! ❤

In this mix we have several Filofax (Domino, Saffiano, Finsbury) in different sizes and colors, a Heidi Swapp planner used as a memory planner, a Heidi Swapp planner used as a blog planner, the Happiness Planner, a Get to Workbook, a gold Lovedoki, two fauxdoris, Websters Pages Color Crush planners, two journaling prompt books, and my Listers Gotta List notebook. And can’t forget some of the most useful money I ever spent… my laminator! Extremely inexpensive considering the use it gets!

   

In my dresser, I have one drawer full of paper (A4, letter, photo paper. Pringo paper, cardstock, etc) and extra print cartridges [not pictured]. Then I have a one drawer dedicated to my personal size inserts and one for my A5 inserts. Personal size inserts are stored in a mix of Target Dollar Spot accordion folders, a color crush planner box (great for storage!), and an Avery mini binder filled with folders and mini sheet protectors. The A5 inserts are also stored in mini binders with file inserts made from scrapbook paper as shown in a previous blog to accommodate the size of the inserts. I have my Passion Planner stored in here also as I have unbound certain sections and periodically used them in my A5 Filofax. I just used binder rings to bind my collection of dividers and dashboards neatly together. I also store another mini binder in this drawer with sheet protectors containing acrylic stick on stamps sorted by type and a small dollar haul accordion file containing some journal cards that I printed out from Pinterest.

Now this beauty is a new family member… it was actually a gift from a friend and also another Ikea find. It’s called the Sprutt and it was found in the closet and shoe storage section of Ikea. It is a 6 drawer unit that is made of metal like a high school locker. I just found a pretty font and printed out labels glued to blue scrapbook paper for the front label section. The unit goes back approximately 12 inches and the drawers are nice and deep!

The six drawers contain 1) notebooks 2) stickers 3) post its/sticky notes 4) page flags 5) stamps 6) ink.

            

I’m a lucky girl! I just got this over the weekend and he even built it too! 😛

Then in the corner of my room I have a drawer unit from Hobby Lobby that was in my bedroom in Florida that I have repurposed as a printer stand since I now use my dresser as a display for my planners. And the room would not be complete without my Ikea Raskog. For less than $45, this cart comes in so handy as you can stock it with current supplies and move it around not only your office but your house and it tucks away neatly in a closet when I am cleaning up. I use the top section for pens, scissors, hole punches, glue, etc. The second shelf contains some more stickers and washi tape (all my pink themed stickers and washi as I am going through a phase where I feel it is necessary to have my decorations match the patent cover of my Filofax…. it’s really hard….). Then the third shelf contains small containers (also from Ikea) with all my remaining washi tape. The green container is actually full of black, gold, and tan washi tape sectioned out for when my Nude Original arrives… I am telling you… this color coordination thing has a grip on me right now!

  

Well I hope that you enjoyed my photo tour. I am proud to say that no matter how messy I make this room while planning and decorating, I always make sure to leave it tidy before I close the door. This is a big deal for me considering my innate ability to be a clutter bug. 🙂 I take pride in this room though and since it is where I spent a large percentage of my time outside of work and sleep, I feel it deserves to be well taken care of. 😀

Sweet dreams folks!

XOXO

Sarah


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Pink. Pink. Can’t get enough Pink!

I have been neglecting my blog and searching endlessly for inspiration to do something different with my Filo. I love all my Filofaxes. I also get complacent… so changing between different versions keeps me interested and reminds me to look at it often. I feel like I’ve found the end of Pinterest though… possibly the end of the internet. It has been a while since I saw something and had an AH-HA THAT’S AN AMAZING IDEA moment and ran home to recreate it myself. Maybe I am just going through an adjustment period but I definitely miss the idealism I had back in December when everything was new and exciting and I didn’t have enough time in the day to work on the amazing ideas I had for my Filo.

It really hit home today when I stopped by Sam Flax in Atlanta to see if they had any 2015 vertical week on 2 pages for my A5 and the employee who helped me just happened to be the one I spoke with when I drove about an hour to a place outside Orlando just to pick up a new Filofax back in Decemeber. He remembered me as being the Filofax lady. Haha. Turns out his family owns Sam Flax and he relocated up to Atlanta. What a small small world…

So while I wait for inspiration to hit me like a ton of bricks I figured I would share my current set up. I am using my pink patent Filofax Domino A5. I venture away to others… Saffiano…. Finsbury… but I always come back to the Domino, my first love, it seems… so without further ado…

Here she is, in all her glory! I love the bright pink. So much so I use one for my work Filo also. The color is just so bright and cheerful!!! The only problem I have noticed is I want everything to be matchy matchy so I’ve become obsessed with making everything pink themed on the inside. Somewhat overkill but I am enjoying so far…

The dividers were made from a scrapbook collection by Authentique which I purchased at Hobby Lobby. Of course, I had to throw some Alice and Wonderland in there. 🙂

Here is my homemade dashboard with some pictures of family and friends… and a reminder to keep my muchness. Thank you Mad Hatter!

I have a homemade planner charm made from an Alice and Wonderland charm I acquired at Disney World when I went this past spring break and a ‘Drink Me’ charm I found in the jewelry making section at Hobby Lobby in a fairy tale collection of charms that were so cute it was hard not to purchase them all!

In an attempt to make up for the lack of pocket space on the inside cover, I have put my post its in a zip folder I had sitting around and keep that tucked in the big pocket. Problem solved!

I am using Month of two page inserts I had from my old Domino A5 and a Project Life card to mark the current month.

Desperate I pretty exhaustive search, I have been unable to find the week on 2 pages that are vertical so I am working with the vertical layout currently. This is the part where I struggle with having a pink planner and realize why I went with Black as my first planner… I want everything to match (cough*OCD*cough) and its hard to decorate the pages with just pink. Don’t get me wrong, I have separated all my pink and pink related washi tapes in to a separate container and pulled out any pink stickers, post its, and note pages I have and put them aside… but I am not sure I have the endurance to go all the way and decorate the entire thing with pink only accessories. Especially knowing I have a Filofax Original in Nude coming home with my Mum from England…

On the plus side, the pink paper finally made sense… 🙂
 

I have a goal tracker in place to monitor sleep (I have terrible sleep patterns), journaling, blogging, etc.

      

And I am also doing a no spend challenge for July! It is wishful thinking but I have to start somewhere!

Finally, this is July’s instagram challenge which I am hoping will be more motivation to be creative. This one if from @Paperheartofgold and so far, ahem day 2, I have posted each challenge!!! I celebrate small wins. 😛

So all in all, I am thoroughly enjoying my pink A5!

I have already started a pinterest board for gold/cream, black, and white themes and purchased gold pens for the Nude Original though so, as is always the case, I am sure change will be coming soon!

XOXO

Sarah


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Inspire Me

I have been neglecting you. I have been neglecting my planners.
I have, in turn, been neglecting myself.

I have signed up for some new adventures in hope of getting a rejuvenating boost of motivation. I just sent in a bio piece to Steve at Philofaxy and submitted an application to be part of Mrs Brimbles Creative Planner and Journal Design Team! Wish me luck! I could only dream!!!

I also signed up for a class through Rukristin called “Find Your Voice” which is a 6 week course to scrapbook your story.

Hopefully these things will help! I miss being creative. I have to make time or I’ll lose it! 🙂

Stay tuned!
xoxo
Sarah66181eae502c67b0be954e3341d7b813


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A New Family Member!

So when it comes to planners I am far from the worst but I definitely have an established problem.

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I am tried and true Filofax lover which has been established. I bought the Kikki K… received it on a Friday… then sold it before the weekend was out. I thought for sure it would Filofax only from then on. I had been eyeing the color crush though. Webster, being more scrapbook than business, pulled me in with pretty colors and shiny things. But they were always sold out so it was never a problem… until I discovered scrapbook.com. And, of course, they had the white planner with gold interior available…. my college football team colors… how could I resist!?!? So there is a new member of the family… let me introduce to you Goldie… my Webster Planner Color Crush Planner…

color crush 1        color crush 2

Then comes the process of deciding what parts to keep and moving in….

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Turns out Webster does dividers and calendar pages pretty well so I keep them…. and had too much fun decorating pages for the twentieth time this year… 🙂

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The month pages are embossed with the month in gold and then just plain so I used a polaroid stamp and gold ink and printed off some meaningful pictures to personalize the months.

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At the end of every month, there is a “this and that” section with the dates just listed.  I used January for “big things” because it seemed like there was a lot of special moments that month and then February for a gratitude journal because I was bursting with gratitude moving to GA. I am using this to keep track of instagram challenges for this month.

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This planner was definitely made by a scrapbooking company which is a positive because the pages are divine. But the tabs just weren’t practical for what I use my planner for so I covered them with gold washi and made my usual tabs. I am trying to use pretty paper for all my notes and keep it decorative and scrapbook-y…

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So all around I do like this planner. For the price, it is a great starter planner. The rings are far from Filofax quality and need some encouragement to stay closed at the very top as I have found with all non-filo’s. But it’s so pretty it’s actually forgivable. It has the inside pockets just like my beloved Domino but with the exception of the credit card like slots they definitely don’t budge as much so it seems they are much more for decoration.

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There is a little notepad in the back that it very convenient. And it definitely holds a lot. The rings are just slightly larger than the personal domino. I will be using it for the time being. I know I know I will end up back in a Filo but I will be taking the vibe of the color crush with me for sure!

Now if only Filofax did a white planner with gold accents…. And don’t get me started on the gold Filo that Facebook keeps reminding me I love because I looked at it one two many times on ebay but can’t justify spending over $150…. maybe one day. 😛   So overall I am having a fun “vacation” from my Filo but I know I will always find my way home.

Next to get a cute craftmate folio so my new planner doesn’t get lonely!
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xoxo

Sarah


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Emma’s Filo Update!

I had some followers ask about my cousins Filo and how its coming along… since she doesn’t have  a blog of her own I thought I would share her work. I am super impressed and continue to realize how strongly we are related each time she shares! 🙂

There is nothing like a neat filo….

Emmas Filo

The inside is beaming with personality!

Emma Filo 2

She has gotten addicted to Project Life as well (that one wasn’t me) but she is so like me and it absolutely makes sense.

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Emma Filo 6Emma Filo 4

Emma Filo 5

 She is planning a trip to NY later in the year so she had to find room for this!

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And she’s decorating like a pro!

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She reads the blog so if you guys have any suggestions, comments, compliments, I’m sure she’d love to read them!!!

Sarah

xoxo

P.s. Ordered my first Fauxdori this past weekend… can’t wait for its arrival to share!

 


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Etsy Store – PlannerAddiction

This year has been about goals and we all know how I love my Filofaxin’…. so I am opening up an Etsy store! I love the Filo community and want to share my creativity with you guys. It will also help my promote this site and get some more pennies to do more contests and RAKS because we all know we love free planner stuff!!!!!!

The Store name is appropriately called PlannerAddiction. Find my shop here.

I hope to see you guys visit as I build the shop. I am always open to suggestions and consider you all my muses! I would like to especially thank Charlie who is not only an awesome person but one of my Filo muses! Check out her blog http://heycharlieblog.com and her etsy store at here.

Thank you for all the support this year!

xoxo

– Sarah

So I am opening up an Etsy store! I love the Filo community and want to share my creativity with you guys. It will also help my promote this site and get some more pennies to do more contests and RAKS because we all know we love free planner stuff!!!!!!

The Store name is appropriately called PlannerAddiction. Find my shop here.

I hope to see you guys visit as I build the shop. I am always open to suggestions and consider you all my muses!

Thank you for all the support this year!

xoxo

– Sarah


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Question for All my Lovelies!

The topic of buying beautiful post its that don’t post very well came up and I showed you my creation in a previous post. It got me thinking and my creative juices flowing and I have made a couple things since then. Mostly decorative paperclips and post its put together and laminated so they can not only be used but reused with a washable board marker. Here are some of the things I’ve come up with……

blackcombo      blackpaperclips     dreamcatchernotepad dreamwishnotepad  fabulouscombo   pinkandgreennotepad pinkflowersnotepad       unionjackcrown       unionjackbirds

I also found some Disney postcards and came up with some mock dividers (Winnie the Pooh – A5 and Alice In Wonderland – personal)…

winniethepoohdivider alicedivider

My question is would any of you be interested in purchasing things like this or should I just keep it a hobby? Clearly I would need a better camera. 🙂 Opinions welcome!!!

– Sarah

xoxo


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Filofax Tour Video… as Promised!

So I did my first Filofax Tour video. It took me forever to upload with this slow internet I have on the “first floor” (aka basement) of my condo building so I didn’t get a chance to edit. I have work stuff I have to work on top of this tonight so… please be kind. 🙂

I can’t wait to show you some new setups and stuff I’ve gotten. More to come!!

And don’t forget about the free surprise giveaway to my readers on the previous post!

Without further ado….

Shout outs to TheDelightfulDeer and BellaCreationz on Etsy!!! Just search their names. Tons of cool stuff!

 

 


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Proud Cousin!!!

So as I mentioned my cousin joined the filo lover club…. I promise there was zero pressure from me! She lives in England and got a Pink A5 Domino from WH Smith and was anxiously waiting for what seemed like *forever* for it to come in. She has been a great supporter of my blog and my filo love so I feel it is only right to show you how awesome she has decorated so far! She has gotten tons of ideas from pinterest, etsy, and links you guys have suggested. I’d say she’s a natural!

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She went with the pink theme and her dividers are waiting to be laminated (and a hole punch to arrive in the mail) but here are the pictures…

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She’s waiting on new weekly inserts but has started on her monthly ones…

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And she even sent me this picture…

emmamatch  She is 1. definitely related to me and 2. initiated!

Since she is in England and has WH Smith she got me the pocket Union Jack Filo too!!! I can’t wait to get it! She spoils me and she’s my baby cousin! 🙂

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I hope she loves her filo care package I’ve already put in the post and thank you to everyone for the suggestions! She reads the blog so keep ’em coming!!!!

Sarah


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Awesome Haul!

I scored some cool stuff today at Michael’s and Office Depot…

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The washi tape was all $1 or under. No joke. Is there someone who holds the record for most washi tape in the world? If not, we as a community should find that person and contact Guinness. The struggle is real!

I am also really excited about these Alice in wonderland stickers I found on etsy. Thinking up planner pages around them as we speak….

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Any ideas Welcomed!!!