My Life Journal Filofax

Hello again everyone, following on from yesterday's blog, I mentioned I was using my A5 Malden Filofax for something else, so this is what I am using it for.... My Life Journal.
Pic taken with flash on                                                                     Pic taken with flash off                                                                   

My life journal is full of memories of my life, my childhood, my school years, my work life, marriage, my children, my family and what ever else I can remember.

Inside the front, I keep a few bits, that might come in useful, I also have pictures that are dear to me.

The two photos on the left were given to me just this year.  I was a bridesmaid for my cousin 33 years ago and I only got to see a photo of myself this year.  I love these pics.... I'm the one in the middle on the top picture.  On the right are my Bon Jovi tickets, I went to see them for the first time in August 2000.  I have being a huge fan for 27 years, so was ecstatic when I got to see them.  I promised myself I would see them again if they ever came back to the North of England.......last month I read they were coming back in June 2013....I was almost  first in line for those tickets, this time I am taking my boys with me.

101 Reasons To Write A Journal  This is a really good read.

Some journaling prompts.

I work in this journal a couple of times a month, I'm not strict with it, but when I suddenly recall something from years ago, I will jot it down then write it up when I get a chance.  For example, this morning, I recalled a job I had when I left school, it got me thinking about the others jobs I had then, so I've made a note of it and will write about it in more detail at a later date. 

I think this will be a wonderful journal to read in the future.  I can remember a fair bit from 20-30 years ago, but I guess in 20-30 years time, my memory will not be so good,  this is going to make for an interesting read.

Thanks for reading, please feel free to comment, I love comments. x

Bold type are clickable links.

My Household Filofax

Hello everyone, I'm back!  Nearly 2 months since I last blogged, but  I've being busy with my other hobby...Crochet!  Anyhow, here we go......

My household Filofax!  Some of you may recognise a lot of the contents from this blog I did back in September, but I've switched organisers, I am using my A5 Malden for something else (blog to follow soon).  I am now using my A5 Zipped Wine Holborn.  It's a lovely Filofax, I only wish it came with bigger rings like the Malden, this one only as 25mm rings, but saying that, it does hold a fair bit.

So this is the inside. Lots going on as you can see.  The bottom pocket is ideal to hold a calculator and as I use this Filofax to manage our finances, it's ideal to have a calculator in there without having to use valuable ring space with Filofax's own calculator.

On the right is a  Martha Stewart Dry Erase Label, I have an erasable pen so I can write quick notes on this, then wipe them off.  It's stuck on a clear plastic flyleaf and is removable too.

I use 2 lots of A-Z tabs and covered them with stickers so each tab as it's own letter.

This is my Christmas section, I have used another Avery Pocket Tab to hold Christmas present Receipts.

I love the free Diary inserts from Philofaxy. 

I also had a monthly fold out calendar to help with my planning.  You can find my 2013 version here.

There is a lot more in this Filofax, but I've reviewed it on my Malden Review, so you can see more on the video should you wish to.

My A5 Zipped Holborn in wine, beautiful isn't it.

Thanks everyone for reading, more blog posts coming up soon, still have lots to write about!

Holborn Multi Pen

I have been after a new pen to go in my Personal Black Holborn Filofax for some time.  I have been using a silver Filofax pen, but it only writes in black, so the pages looks a bit boring, nothing stands out.  

Today I was shopping in Boyes, their stationary section is really worth a look, yeah there is some cheap and nasty stationary, but if you look closer, you come across some nice little gems, especially moleskin type books.  Today I came across this little beauty.  It's a Zebra airfit 2+S.

It has a black ink, a red ink and a pencil, it also has an eraser at the top and a finger grip to hold while writing.

A quick pen test to show you how it writes, it's quite a fine writer.

Unfortunately it won't fit in the Holborn's pen loop because of the rubber pen grip, but it does have a Pen clip that lifts so can be clipped onto anything.

Fits on the fastener just nice.

It also sits inside the rings of the Holborn quite snugly too.

The pen barrel comes in three colours, navy, silver and the light blue like mine.

And best of all, it only cost £2.99!

Filofax List

List to date:  Seems to be about Filofax this week!  (Read Day14 lol)

Day 7: I don't snack at midnight now, but while pregnant with my boys I often had Custard Creams or Lemon curd butties.

Day 8:  Filofaxes I crave -  Ostrich, Vintage Pink Malden and the Regency.

Day 9: I m at my best.....When FILOFAX shopping!

Day 10: I have met NO Filofaxers.  Was hoping to bump into someone while in Newcastle's Pen Shop yesterday but alas no.

Day 11:  I'd love to live facing the ocean or in the Country and would love to spend winter in Greenland so I could watch the Northern Lights every night!

Day 12:  I am proud of my hubby, he caught a women as she was about to commit suicide and jump off a bridge.

Day 13: It was day in the house so comfy clothes it was!

Day 14:  If I win the lotto, I would treat all the people who subscribe to my blog, to a Filofax of their choice!  Now if that isn't a reason to subscribe then what is...but truthfully, I really would do that!

Day 15:  I have never left the UK...not getting me on a plane unless I win the lotto and can be tranquilised like Mr T.  Alnwick Castle (home to Harry Potter movies) Newcastle, my favourite UK City, York Minster, Durham (my home city) Whitby (my favourite place in the world).

Day 16:  Should be an interesting Dinner.... Legolas and Gandalf, Sam & Dean Winchester, Abe Lincoln and Jodi Picoult.

Day 17:  Fav Names.... had to be the men in my life.

Day 18:  Fav scents, Daffodil, Lavender, Fressia, Jasmine, Honeysuckle, Ylang Ylang, Poison, Kenzo and Chanel.

Finding The Right Journal

Today I want to show you my new Journal.... well I should say Journals because I have spent the last few weeks trying to find the right one and anyone who has kept a journal will know, one of the most important things is finding the right one.  After all, you are going to be using it for a while and you need to get comfortable with it.  Only wish I had read Ray Blake's Blog post first, before trying to search for one.

I wanted a journal that was smaller than A4 but maybe larger than A5 and it needed to have a lot of pages, 250 plus would be perfect.  I didn't want spiral bound but would settle with it if I had to.  I searched high and low and here is what I came up with!  Can you guess which one I have ended up using?

First notebook I tried was the A5 Notebook by Filofax. at £10 it doesn't come cheap, plus you need a cover for it, but I already had a Flex cover so it wasn't too bad.   A bit of Washi tape on the front to bling it up, these covers are so plain, surely Filofax could come up with something a little nicer!

I started to fill it in, but after a couple of days though, I knew it wasn't right.  I was out shopping and I came across this.  It's very similar to a Moleskin type of notebook, it's got a little pocket at the back, but was far cheaper than  Moleskin, just can't recall what the name of it is now.  But anyhow, it was way to thin, am sure I would have had it filled up in no time.

So then I was in another shop and found this one.  Its a  Cross A5 Purple Gingham Journal.  It comes with a Cross pen and it is beautiful.  The paper is of great quality and it has a little envelope at the back, it also has a pen tab built into the cover.

Unfortunately as soon as I opened it, I knew this wasn't going to be the one either.... so if anyone would like to buy or swap this, then let me know!  I will consider any reasonable offer!  I've never used it, it's still in all it's original plastics.  It has 248 perforated pages and is 100 gsm acid free paper and a silver Cross pen.

I begin thinking that maybe I needed something bigger, so while looking in WHSmiths, I came across one of their own brand Pukka type project books.  With 200 sheets (400 pages) I thought, YES this is going to be a hit. I got home, made a cover for it and started writing in it.  After 2 days I gave up! It was too big!  (Bearing in mind, every journal I started, I was copying my previous entries into the new one!)

By now I was going mad, I thought about going back to the Flex notebook, but I still wasn't happy with it.  I was wracking my brains trying to come up with something.  I was looking through a pile of notebooks I already own when I came across this.  Its a journal from a company called Tallon.  (My mum got me these from some place like Boyes or B&M or some discount store).  They have about 120 sheets in them and are a little larger than A5, I had two of them (different covers) so I pulled the rings out of them both and put all the sheets together, I had the perfect chunky notebook with lovely paper...but then the problems started.

I had no idea how to bind the paper and cover back together. I went to Staples to see if they could bind it, they could only do 100 sheets, I had 240.  I asked them to use a wire binder, but again, because holes were already in the paper they couldn't do it.... unless I went home, cut the hole area off, then go back to have it wire bound.....at a 60 mile round trip (which I already just done) and at the loss of losing more paper, I declined!  Hubby and I walked around staples looking for something that would hold this journal together....hubby was desperate for me to find something, he was fed up of taking me journal hunting!  So this is what we came up with.

Just threaded them through some of the holes, then put some duct tape down the spine then covered it all in washi tape to keep it all neat looking.  I came out with a pretty decent sized DIY Journal and I was really happy with it..... until.....

I was in Paperchase earlier this week and came across this little beauty:

It's hard to see from the pic, but it's an A5 size notebook with graph paper and 300 pages.  It's quite floppy so I needed a cover for it and guess what fitted it perfect .....

..... my Magenta Filofax Flex Cover.  

I love this and know this is the one.  I managed to fill in my previous journal entries, I only write when I feel like it and not everyday, so I guess this one is will be with me for some time to come.

Lots of room for small writing and the paper isn't too bad, if you look towards the middle of the page below, I actually used a rollerball pen here, not a lot of bleed through so I'm really pleased with it.

See how thick this one is.....

And it all fits snugly inside the Flex cover.

So did you guess the right one?  It took some finding but I eventually got there and it was worth it.....to be honest, I am secretly pleased to be back with the Filofax range!

From Filofax to Franklin Covey & Back Again

Just a heads up, I have edited this post towards the bottom of the page.

As a Filofax user, I guess it was only inevitable that one day I would want to try something else.  After browsing online I came across the Franklin Covey Day Planners, oh my, are they beautiful!  Filofax really needs to take a leaf out of FC's book and get some less boring diaries going on. So anyhow, I had a look on e-bay to see what kind of prices they sold for and this what I found!

And better still, it cost me £4.99.  What a bargain eh!  A5ring binder, a Paper punch and the A5 Organiser all with inserts, dividers and 2 years worth of Diaries and calendars.

Why so cheap you may ask.....you'll see!

First is the Binder, this is A5 size.  Notice it is Franklin Quest and not Franklin Covey, I believe this is before Mr. Covey bought into the Organisation.

And lordy be, it can hold some paper.

And still has plenty of room for more:

But it keeps everything neat and tidy.

Next is the A5 Organiser, I don't think this is actual leather but it feels really nice.

Unlike Filofax's standard 30mm rings, these Organisers can be ordered in various sizes.  The rings on this one measures 40mm and it holds lots.

Inside the front cover, no credit card slots, just the one big slot.  But bright and cheery divider tabs.

First page:

Side View of the tabs included, there are also monthly tabs behind these ones.

Some of the inserts:

More inserts:

Month to a page Diary:

Month to view Diary:

Two Page per view layout:

More notes and index pages and a page marker with cellophane still on it:

Plastic pockets - Credit card holder and zipped pocket:

An odd little book which can be used to carry in your pocket then transfer notes to your main organiser.  It has graph and lined paper inside.

This is the booklet from the front cover, explaining how to use and get the best from your organiser.  When this was brought new, it came with some cassette tapes giving more information, but there was none with the one I bought.....which is well, because I don't own a cassette player!!!

So did you guess why it was only £4.99?   Go back and look at the Diary dates....it's from 1997 - 2000, there's  full 1998 and 1999  diaries included.  But lots of the other inserts are very useful so it was still a good little bargain.  Especially as this Organiser and Binder have never been used!

The only problem I am having is getting some up to date Diaries for it.  I spent a long time ordering from FC online and on the telephone, eventually got my order sorted (or so I thought) and waited for it to arrive.  When it didn't, I called them, only to be told it hadn't been put through and they couldn't tell me a delivery date.  So I gave up! I've made a complaint to the company (3 actually) but they can't be bothered to answer that either!  Shame really as I really need some updated stuff for this little guy.  HELP!

Edited: 20th September 2012

Just want to add, I did find another contact address to make the complaint and I was told that that FC is now with a Scottish agent and FC can't do anything, only the agent can and sorry they couldn't be more helpful.

The title of this post is "From Filofax to Franklin Covey....well I just want to say, it should say " From Franklin Covey back to Filofax"

I have had to deal with Filofax Customer services in the past, I found them polite and friendly and only too willing to help in whatever way they can, nothing was too much trouble.  Packages were received within a couple of working days and freepost every time.   Thank you Filofax for making me as a customer, feeling wanted!

Just remember everyone, it's not always better going for the prettier inserts, sometimes the service your receive is just as important!