Did you miss me?

'cause i missed you!!

I haven't written in a long time (or what feels like a lot time) and there's lots i didn't tell you!

First of all, I am now all moved in my first Personal Filofax!! I bought it on Philofaxy AdSpot from SewSaffy at the end of 2012. Let me tell you guys, if you see something she sells that you might like, don't hesitate to buy from her. She was super nice about everything, quick to answer, sent me a bunch of very accurate pictures, sent the binder very quickly (with extra goodies!!!!), but was also just nice and took the time to explain me a lot about sewing and to recommend some books i might like, and to chat with me. So when her binder got here, i really wanted to like it, only because she had been so nice!
By the way, it's a Personal Finsbury, in GREEN! me so happy :)
You might remember how reserved i was about using a personal. I was afraid the "weird" page size would feel all wrong to me. Well, far from it! I got used to this new size very quickly, i love the fact that my bags are MUCH lighter now, and i just got into the habit of taking the page out of the binder when i need to write a lot. I love love love it, and feel perfectly comfortable in that size!
I just moved in with the same set-up i had in my A5, and starting from there, I'm still adapting and changing things. I can't say if the following set-up is gonna be my set-up for 2013, because I think the fun in a Filofax is that you can change it up whenever you need, right? But so far, here's what i have:

• first up, my wallet section : cards in the card slots, IDs in the bigger pocket, and, on the ring, a zip pocket for my money and behind it, more card slots
• first section is the diary: i started with cheap inserts from Hema (you can sort of see them here), and when i got used to the format, i designed my pages. I'll show them in a later post!
• next i have a Notes section : list of meal ideas, menu plans, a list of things i want to buy but want to think about before, list of things to knit, and so on...
• then i have my Projects : i took the current projects from the A5 and copied the interesting pages to Personal paper, right now it's mainly house stuff, summer vacation plans, and job searching (again, i know....)
• finally, my Information: log ins, health info, some important addresses and phone numbers, log ins for work and so on.

The binder is not too full, which is great, but i still feel there's info in there that i don't really need, so it's still a work in progress!
So now you know what i'm using this year :)

Motivation / Inspiration

i like to write an inspirational, or sometimes funny, quote on top of each of my WO2P pages. i keep a running list of these in Evernote, and add to it whenever i read or hear a good one. then, when i start a new diary, i select 52 quotes and write them in my diary. i like to look at them at the beginning of each week, they feel like fortune cookies :)

In which we discuss Planner Fail and Downsizing

only a month ago i was telling you how much i loved my current set-up... and then what Laurie was talking about happened: it's Planner Fail Season.
i really really love my A5 Aqua Chameleon. it's perfect in so many ways: it's pretty, it looks durable [hope it is!], it smells good, it holds my whole life, it's easy to write in, it has a bunch of pockets [but never enough for me...], it's just awesome. and i'm truly a one life one binder kinda girl at heart, so having a very big binder makes sense, right? and it does fit in a lot of my handbags, which is great. well sure, it does break my back. but who cares?? except i saw my doc last week, and he was horrified by the state of my back and joints and, wait for it... i actually 'displaced' [no idea what the word might be in English] some ribs and bones from my back! so, how crazy is that?
now, i'm sure you see, it's really not a planner fail on my part... more on my back's part. but i do have some smaller handbags i would love to use...
so of course now i find myself considering a personal. i explained here why i thought i wouldn't like the personal size: i really like staying with the ISO proportions of A5, A6... and personal looks plain weird. But i've now been using a filofax consistently for a year, and i really don't see myself changing that and going back to using only google cal or a small notebook type of planner. i would miss the flexibility, ease of use, and pockets of the filofaxes too much. so here i am, looking at personal binders. and finding them prettier and prettier, more and more attractive every time i lift my handbag. i may or may not have a personal binder coming my way as you read this... watch this space.
i'm trying to wrap my mind around the idea of downsizing. i have not regretted my pocket once since switching to my A5 [except... why yes when my back hurts!]. as you may remember from my last set-up post, i have a lot of 'reference' info stored at the back of my binder, using the A-Z tabs. i love having all of that with me, it's so useful... but not necessarily used every day. so i guess this part will stay in my A5 at home. i will also only copy my most important contacts to my personal. i'll keep all my projects in the A5 and only copy their 'planning' part to my personal. in the personal i'll use note paper to write down any ideas about projects and such and transfer those to the A5 in the evening. i played around today with Steve and Ray's inserts to create my own week on one page + notes [using the dot paper ^^] and printed it out in personal size. i then proceeded to copy over last week's content from the A5 to the personal paper and it worked out pretty well! of course i think i'll need to take the pages out of the binder to write on them, but oh well i can live with that :)
i would also like to use the personal binder as a wallet, further reducing my handbag's weight... and i think it will work out, i may add a small purse on the side for coins, that's all...
i'll stop my ramblings here, not sure anyone stuck with me until the end of this post :) it's very nice to have a blog where i can just lay down my thoughts on this very important topic, without annoying my boyfriend, and maybe even interesting some readers ?
i'll let you know how this downsizing works out for me!

Filo Sighting #1

Hey there,

The other day I went to the doctor's office to book an appointment. This doc a pretty young energetic woman. When she went to check the date, I was very surprised: she put down her iPad, didn't turn to her computer, but instead turn to her other side and reached down. And then... she pulled an organizer out of her handbag! Imagine my surprise! I'm pretty sure it was a Filo, personal size. I thought I recognized the Classic, but the pink was much more like the Domino's hot pink than the Classic, well... classic pink. I ruined it all by yelling 'Oh my! A Filofax!!' real loud. She looked me weird and went immediately back to scheduling the appointment...