Paperchase Wild Blossom Floral A5 Organiser

Today I'm going to be sharing with you my new planner from Paperchase. These are the original inserts it came with and not the ones I will be using as I will be still using my old A5 set-up from my last A5 which I did a blog post on not too long ago.

This the planner and I love the print so much and because I love the print so much I even bought the backpack with the matching print for my school bag. When I bought this planner it did have 30% off so it was originally £22 but I got it for £15.25. This planner includes an undated diary, meal planner, shopping lists, budget planners, notes and an to-do list pad.

This is what you see when you open the planner. There's no dashboard but I already have one so it doesn't matter. On the left you get 4 card slots which I fit in stickers and it comes with a today to-do list pad and I have a lot of these now but I don't actually use these. On the right is the first divider which is the diary divider.

These are the un-dated diary pages. I'm personally not a fan of undated diaries from Paperchase because they have super small boxes (and I have big handwriting so I can't write much in the box) and they're week on 1 page and I prefer week on 2 pages. 

The next divider is meal planner and this is probably the one that I would use because I need to start tracking my meals again.

These are the meal planner pages. On the side you get every day of the week and at the top there's 4 columns- breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks. The boxes are quite small so it's not good if you have big handwriting. I'll probably keep these pages in the planner as I do want to track what I eat but I'll fill them out after I've ate.

Next up is the shopping list divider which I probably won't use as I don't really write shopping lists or take my planner out so there's no point writing them down.

These are the shopping lists and I'll probably end up using these as to-do list pages and at the top I'm going to put some washi tape and write to-do over. These are good for to-do's as they have tick boxes and lines (wow Louise!)

Then we come to the Budget Planner divider which I won't be using as I'm not an adult and luckily I don't have to worry about money yet.

These are the budget planner pages and down the side you have 5 sections- Balance, Outlay, Income, Comments and Date and in the middle there's a line separating the sections so you get 2 boxes for each section.

The last section is notes and the section which every planner needs.

I was happy when I saw there was a notes section but was saddened by the notes pages as the pages are squared not lined. I'll probably will end up using these as I don't want to waste paper but squared paper reminds me of school and I don't want to be reminded of school when I'm not there.

That's my new planner. I've already moved into it and I love it. The only problem is the popper is a bit tight and seems like it might come off so I go really gentle because I don't want to break it.

My A5 Planner Set Up

Finally I'm going to be sharing with you whats inside my A5 planner as I mention it a lot but I don't ever really share what's inside so I thought I would should you how I plan and how organise and set up my planner as I'm really happy with it at the moment. Just a warning this is a photo heavy post but I'll try to keep words down to a minimum but I will tell you where things are from; this A5 planner is from Paperchase.  

This is what you see when you first open the planner and in the front pockets I have these Wilko coloured dots stickers, which each colour means a different things like red is important dates. Then I have behind that which you can't see and they're colourful foil stars and in another front pocket I have the Today to-do list pad which comes with the planner but I haven't used it yet but I've kept it in there in case I want to use.

I also have my dashboard thing I made and I stuck some paper on the first card page it comes with then I stuck washi tape round the edge and stuck a neon star in the middle and with alphabet stickers I spelt out my name and I also used some stickers just for extra decoration. 

Paper- Homesense

Washi Tape & Stickers- Paperchase

Neon Star & Alphabet Stickers- Wilko

This planner came with some stickers and I just keep them here in case I want to use them. 

 

My first section is diary and this is the section that I come to the most. I made this divider the same as the first one and the same as all the other ones in this section.

You then get a yearly overview for 2016 and 2017 and at the top of the page I just used some washi tape from Paperchase.

Then you have an important dates section and it goes from July 2016- June 2017 and again I used some tape and this glitter tape is from Wilko.

You then get a year planner and you get a little section to write an important date on each day. I have so far just put stuff like birthdays and Halloween and dates like that.  

I first have some Paperchase inserts which the planner came with but at first I didn't like them so I bought Filofax ones (below) but after using them for like 2 weeks I did like them but I chucked the others away- woops.

These are the Filofax inserts and I got these as they had a notes section which the Paperchase ones didn't have and the spaces for each day is equal as on the Paperchase ones didn't have much room on Saturday and Sunday.

My next section is To-Do and I have my blog to-do list 

On the back of the divider I have a post-it with blog posts I want to do and then on the to-do list I have the order of blog posts and what ones I need to write. 

Next up is school and this was originally meetings but I don't go to meetings so I changed it to what would suit me better.

This originally was meeting notes pages but I stuck some washi tape over the top and just pretend it's notes paper as why would I want to waste paper. 

Next up I have my blog section and even though it says work I don't have a job as I'm in education but I put that because the divider tabs says work so I just put it so it was consistent. 

Inside I just have blog notes and I do decorate these pages because I like having everything in my planner decorated. 

Next we have a notes section.

I did cover up the post-it on the side so you can't read some blog post plans but I have random notes like a list of fun national days (even though I think they're American)

Next up is the buy section

This is just the section where I have shopping lists and I don't take this planner out but if I write it down I'm more likely to remember and then when I come home I see what I bought and tick it off. 

The last section is favourites and this is the divider I don't like as much because I had to use a big neon star as it was the only one left and I think the washi tape is too big but it's fine and I don't see it much. 

In this sections I just have favourites and this is where I plan my monthly favourites or anything favourites related like this notes is my favourites blog posts.

There is a large back pocket but I don't have anything in it but if I do use it I'll use it for loose papers.

This is the back of the planners and there is some marks but they're not that noticeable and I never turn over my planner just to see the planner so it's fine.

That's how I set up my planner and after taking all the pictures for this post I have kinda changed the set up a bit but only by adding in a sticky flag book in the front pocket and having a zip pocket at the back with stickers in.

A5 vs. Personal- Which Is Better?

In the planning community there seems to be a big debate over what planner size is better- personal or A5. I have had both so I thought I would compare pros and cons on both planner sizes so you can decide what planner size to get- I personally prefer A5 but Personal are good and may fit your needs. 

A5 Pros and Cons

Pros-

-Loads of room for notes and there's loads of room to explain plans in detail so you don't forget anything

-Loads of pockets to keep organised for papers and you only need to fold A4 papers in half as I hate folding paper as afterwards it looks messy.

-You can organise everything in your life so you need less planners as everything fits in one.

Cons-

-Really big to carry round and have in your bag and can become heavy

-More expensive for the planner and refills

-Not enough varieties or inserts as brands don't do as many and hard to find

Personal Pros and Cons

Pros

-Cheaper for the planner and refills

-Easy to carry in your bag as it weighs less and takes up less room and will fit in more bag sizes.

-Better and cuter designs (in my opinion but I do prefer the design on my A5 than my Personal but I see more cuter personal filofaxes)

Cons

-Can't fit in as many pages as you might want to and you have to fold pages more so they fit in the pockets

-Need multiple planners for different things you want to keep track of- more expensive in the long run

-You need to make smaller, more condense notes and some days you might not have enough space if it's a busy day

That was my comparison between A5 and Personal and if you're struggling to choose go for a personal planner first and if you like it keep it or upgrade to an A5. I would also recommend getting a Paperchase planner and then upgrade to Filofax (I probably won't myself though) just to be sure you like ringed planners.