Another launch day (!!) has come and gone, and now comes the waiting for deliveries and, for some who are still considering purchases, mulling over final decisions about which planner to choose. Though I already posted a video overview here, I’ve now had the planner for a few days and wanted to put together a more comprehensive post with pictures to share all the details with you!
We were coming back from my kids’ swim lesson on Saturday morning and as we pulled around the corner, I saw THAT BOX. You know. The colorful, fun EC-patterned shipping box that everyone waits (not so) patiently for. I yelled STOPPPPP at my husband and literally jumped out of the car and came running to the front steps.
Normal? If you’re an EC fan, of course it is.
In my package:
Erin Condren 2015-2016 Ready-to-Ship (RTS) 18-month Life Planner in the NEW horizontal layout
Assorted gift labels
2 sets of Keep it Together bands
Coil Clips
Keep it Together pen holder
Snap-In To-Do List
Designer Sticker Book
COVER
Let’s jump right in, shall we? The cover on the Ready-To-Ship (RTS) is deep purple with the quote “and so the adventure begins.” Indeed! If you choose a RTS, you’ll get a code to order a free cover which will snap onto the coil. All covers are interchangeable.
VELLUM OVERLAY
When you open the cover, you see the nice, thick, vellum overlay which has a design pre-printed. Under the vellum layer is a page to mark down your contact information in case your planner is lost. I love that they moved that block onto the pages since the covers are interchangeable now, to keep you from having to write it over and over. Great and thoughtful update.
MINI MONTHLY CALENDAR
The next big turn is to the mini-monthly calendar/year-at-a-glance. You’ll find July 2015-December 2016 in this spread, and of course you could use it just as reference, but plenty of people use this space actively to keep track of monthly goals or challenges, their menstrual cycle (especially for those who don’t want it on their weekly spread but like to track for health reasons), keeping track of vacation and sick days all at once…you really have a lot of flexibility in how you use this space and I always encourage people to use every inch of these great features.
GOAL PAGES
Next you’ll find a NEW section, a spread with 12 flagged boxes. You can use them for important dates, goals, lists, or keeping track of your measurements/weight (which is what I’ll be doing!).
NOTES PAGE BEFORE EACH MONTH
MY FAVORITE PART IS NEXT. No secret that my favorite addition to this year’s version is the notes page before each and every month. This used to be a feature of Erin Condren Life Planners but they were removed the last few years. I will use these to keep track of monthly projects, gift lists, things I need to buy or make and sooo many other things I don’t need on my weekly layout and that are too big for the Goals section on the monthly layout.
MONTHLY LAYOUT
Speaking of the monthly layout, past EC users will feel right at home using this month-on-two-page layout. The Goals section is the same also, and a great place to put goals, bills, workout challenges or a favorite quote.
HORIZONTAL WEEKLY LAYOUT
The horizontal weekly layout is next and it’s SO BEAUTIFUL. The colors are vibrant and soothing and I really love the jewel tones used in this option. It’s clean and crisp and gives you the choice of keeping it clean or taking a LOT of freedom with decorating for those who like to use stickers and washi tape (me!). You’ll notice that Monday-Thursday is on the left page, while Friday-Sunday is on the right, along with an equal-sized notes section. Thank you, Erin Condren, for making Saturday and Sunday full days in your planners. It is a huge plus to this planner. The day boxes are mostly lined with the exception of a box off to the right on each day.
TABS
The tabs are laminated and coordinate with the main color of each month.
NOTES PAGES
Next up are notes pages in the back! You have six pages (two full front and back and one front and one back – so three spreads) of lined notes pages. Perfect to keep a list of favorite meals on-hand for easy meal planning, books you want to read, gifts you want to give or anything else you list out that you don’t need to be specific to a particular month. You have four graph pages (one full, one front and one back, so two spreads), perfect for room layouts or charting weight, finance goals or annual tasks. After the graph pages, you have 5 blank notes pages for doodling or taping in your own lists or pictures (two full, one half, so two and a half spreads).
2017 CALENDAR
After the last notes page is a one-page 2017 calendar. You can use a sticky note or write off to the side any important 2017 dates (weddings, graduations, etc).
BOUND-IN STICKERS
Next up are the stickers! Every planner comes with four bound-in sheets of stickers, two pages have text (birthdays, vacation…see picture for all text) and two blank pages (I’ve already used two to test a new idea!).
FOLDER
After the stickers is the updated two pocket folder. You can also use packing tape to secure the bottom of the folder and slip even more things into the middle section! Thanks to @crafty_renee for that tip! This folder has really evolved over the years into a very strong, shiny finish folder. The back of the folder contains the perpetual calendar (coming next!).
PERPETUAL CALENDAR
Each planner contains a perpetual calendar which you can use from year to year to keep track or birthdays, anniversaries or other special dates. I’ve seen these repurposed into daily gratitude journals, baby milestone logs and more! The people in the planner community are so creative. This year’s version also includes a contacts section, password log and list of annual holidays.
ZIPPER POUCH
Next is the bound-in zipper pouch which has the party pops design this year! This pouch is great for keeping things secure (stamps, concert tickets, pictures or anything else valuable). Another HUGE upgrade this year is the contents of each zipper pouch! You’ll get one coil clip to try, a sampler sheet of the do-it-all-dots stickers, compliment cards and referral cards.
And that’s it for the planner itself!
EXTRA ACCESSORIES
I also got an awesome stash of extra accessories you can find in the accessories section of the Erin Condren site! There are elastic bands to keep your planner closed in two color options (three bands each), a pack of 12 coil clips to keep any extras in your planner or notebook (invitations, shopping lists, etc), a pen holder to attach to your planner, the new party pops markers (red, pink, orange, blue, green and charcoal, which do NOT bleed on your pages – see pictures below!) a snap-in laminated to-do list, and the BEAUTIFUL Designer Sticker Book! With 10 sheets of stickers and priced at $15, this is a GREAT value especially considering these stickers are adorable and many of them are foil-pressed!
(On the left, check out the EC markers; on the right, you can see the back of the same sheet).
I’m so excited to jump right into my planner! This is by far the most upgrades I’ve seen in a single year in the time I’ve been an Erin Condren customer and I’m thrilled that I had the opportunity to review it! If you’re a new customer, be sure to use this link to create your account and you’ll get a $10 code e-mailed to you to use on your first order!
Thank you to the Erin Condren team for sending me these wonderful products to review and share. If you have any questions, please leave them in the comments!
Thank you for such a great in depth review….Do you know if they only come as a 2015 – 2016 calendar or if you can get just a 2016 calendar January 1st – December.
I believe you can get the 12 month option which will go from January-December of 2016. 🙂
Thank you for such a detailed and informative post! I can’t wait to get mine. I ordered both vertical and horizontal for my shop and while I love the vertical layout, the colors and designs in the horizontal are gorgeous. I’m also really glad about the monthly notes page 🙂 Excited about your blog and seeing your Whole30 journey!
This is a great review, and has pretty much solidified my need for a new horizontal layout LP.
I bought an LP last year, but the vertical layout didn’t work well for me and I only used it for a couple of months before giving up on it. I still feel guilty about it because they are certainly not cheap, but I’m sure my mother would gladly take it over for me.
I think the vertical layout is exactly what was lacking from the old planner, and I look forward to giving it a shot. My first order of business once receiving it, though, will be to uncoil and ARC it.
I love that they added monthly note pages and more note pages in the back with different types of paper, but 5 and 6 pages is definitely not going to cut it. I’ll need to add more and probably add/remove/rearrange things a bit to my liking.
Now I just need to find functional stickers to go along with the different layout. I can’t wait to get a better printer for myself (and a sillhouette machine) to start making – and eventually selling – my own planner stickers and accessories.
Sorry, I’m pretty sure this is the longest comment in the history of the internet. I could keep going, but I think I’ll stop here.
Thanks again for such an awesome review, and for reading this whole thing. I hope it all made sense. I’m basically falling asleep sitting up trying to type it.
Loved your comment! Ha! I have heard of so many people who are happy they ARC’d their planner. Also, download the silhouette software if you haven’t already! It’s free and it’ll be good practice!
The I’d my best friends speech wedding planner
Hey, great post!
I’m really tempted by one of these, they look great 🙂
I just wondered how easy it is to remove a month of the planner? I’m thinking of getting an 18 month one but by the time I get it it’ll be August (I’m gonna get one while on holiday from the UK) and July will already have happened…..
Thanks
Super easy! Just rip the pages right out!
What is an ARC?
Gorgeous planners–but so huge/heavy!!! I wish for an A5 size!!!
An ARC system has rings that you can clip open or closed! Check it out here. – Thanks! Jen