Plum Paper Review (And Coupon Code)

Hey friends!  I've got another Plum Paper post for you-- many of you probably remember last year's review and I'm sure that some of you are due for ordering another planner just like I was, so you will enjoy the coupon code at the end of this post.  The last month I have in my current planner is August, so my new one is beginning in September-- one of the perks of the Plum Paper Designs planners/company is that you can pick the start month of your planner.  I did order a bit early since I have a few months left, but I was trying to avoid the back to school planner rush to get a quicker processing time and also, well, I'm having a baby and I live in a pregnancy fog that can't be explained so checking it off of my list seemed like the right thing to do.

I haven't changed a lot from last year's planner, but they do offer some new "add-ons" that weren't available when I originally ordered, and I picked a new cover and custom names for the calendar.  So without further ado, here's a peek....

This year's front cover choice-- the above picture is with the frosted cover over it, and below is with the frosted cover flipped back.  I chose a woodgrain arrow design, it has our monogram in the center  and "The Kroh's Nest" at the bottom.   There would typically be a year printed at the top right, but I asked for that to be left off.  The card stock cover is more glossy this year and feels a tad thicker to me.

Below is the back with the continuation of the woodgrain arrow pattern on card stock with the frosted cover.

When you open it up, you've got the typical "this belongs to...." page.

And after that, you've got a glance at the year-- I have 4 pages total to encompass 2015 and 2016 since my year will cover both.  I find these calendar squares to be perfect for keeping track and marking "monthly cycles" with a red star sticker.  (Of course that's when I'm not pregnant...)  

Then once you flip past the yearly glance pages, you will find yourself at your first divider.  Again, I chose for my calendar to start in September 2015, so that is my first month.  You can pick any month of the year for your calendar to start. 

Each month has a card stock divider and is coordinated with various color schemes throughout the month, so for September, the color is purple and the entire month will have purple accents.  Once you flip the divider, you get to your first "notes" page.  I plan to use this page for Doterra business goals, classes, contacts and to-do's.  

Once you flip past the "notes" page, you have your month at a glance that includes pre-printed US holidays. 

Birthdays, events and notes along the left side of the month.

Once you flip past the monthly calendar, you get to the weekly layout which is where all of the magic happens. :)  The layout that I chose both last year and this year has the dates laid out up top going left to right so that each column represents a day.  And there are 7 customized sections for each day that you can choose what headings you want.  I did re-arrange my headings and change a few things this year....

The 7 headings we have this year going from top to bottom are...  "Events", "Daniel", "Dana", "Kids", "Kids,", "Homeschool",  and "Dinner."  Yes, I meant to do 2 headings for kids.  Last year I put the boys names and had them each have their own section, very soon however, we will have 3 kiddos and I didn't want to take up 3 sections for kids.  They don't have a ton of appointments or events (just yearly doctor, and twice to the dentist), and while I kept track of Leeland's soccer practices and games in his section this year, the other two will not be involved yet in sports this year.  Anyways, on the off chance that more than one kiddo has something going on at once, I have 2 sections of "kids"  to write it all in.  I also switched my "Events" section to the top this year so that it's at better eye level and doesn't get looked over, kept the dinner section for meal planning, and added in our homeschool section this year to help with Kindergarten planning for Leeland.  (Ahh!! Kindergarten!!)

So then once you flip through each week of the month (they all look the same), you get to another "Notes" page and my first new "add-on" which is the "Bill Tracker."

I'm super excited about the "Bill Tracker."  Last year I converted my "Notes" pages into bill trackers and spaces to check off our Dave Ramsey "baby steps" and budget, so to have a ready made page to do those things is super helpful.  Across the top it has "Bills," "Due Date," "Amount," and "Notes."

... Also, the bill tracker is double sided, and while we do not have 2 pages worth of bills,  I can use the flip side for things like my running bank balance or like I said, taking notes on our monthly progress with our Dave Ramsey baby steps.  

Then, as you can see above, once you flip to the other side of the "Bill Tracker", you find yourself at your next month! 

So then let's flip all the way to the back to show you what you will find.... I chose a 12 month planner,  and pending you don't put too many extra add-ons which would make too many pages for the coil, you can have up to an 18 month planner. 

But anyway, once you get past all of the months, my calendar begins in September 2015, and then the last month is August 2016... you will find a couple of blank and unlined pages that you can use for notes and what not.  Then you will get to your "Special Dates" cheat sheet which is FANTASTIC for keeping track of birthdays and anniversaries and what not.  Because let's be real, once you get married and everyone in your family is having babies and getting married, it's a lot of dates to remember. 

Flip past the "Special Dates" page and you will find a "Contacts" page and a page with a list of US Holidays for 2015-2017.

Once past those two pages, you find another small overview of the year, and then my next "add-on", which is color coordinating stickers.  They fit perfectly on two lines within a column in the weekly layout, AND you can write on them.  Great for important days, events, meetings.  I'm thinking I'll try to be super duper extra organized and assign certain colors to certain events.  

Once past the stickers, you get to a handy card stock pocket.  I found it to be pretty perfect for storing stickers last year.  It's double sided so it can surprisingly hold a lot.  

And after that.... well, that's it!  As far as accessories, as I mentioned in last year's review, I'm not huge on the decorative aspect of the family planner. Some people make their planners like a beautiful scrapbook.... I am just WAY too practical for that!  I do have some washi tape that I use to mark out Daniel's rotating schedule which is incredibly helpful for my eyes and much neater than drawing lines all over the calendar.  I have some thinner strips of washi that I use to place vertically in each week to define the end of the week and beginning of the weekend, and I kind of LOVE fun sticky notes, so I use fun and themed sticky notes for reminders, lists, or to place in the Notes section of each week with my weekly Bible memory verse.  

My all time favorite planner accessory though..... THIS....

I think that it's technically a picture holder, or maybe a decorative plate holder?  I found it at Hobby Lobby.  They had a few to choose from.  This one is iron and it's painted blue and was fairly inexpensive.  Anyway, since our planner truly is a "Family Planner" and BOTH Daniel and I need to have access to it in order to coordinate our schedules, add in events and dates for work, I keep it out on our counter open to the current week for us both to see.  So this picture holder, holds it perfectly! 

Without further ado, what you're all looking for is the coupon code to go order yourself one, so here it is...  Head on over to Plum Paper Designs, pick out your planner, load up your cart with fun add-ons and use the code "KROHS10" so that you can get 10% off of your purchase!  Hope that you all enjoy! This is my 2nd plum paper planner and it has been such a blessing for our communication and coordination.  I foresee many many more in the future, and many years of evolving sections and headings as our family grows and changes.