Filofax Pretties: Planner Essentials

Today I'll be sharing with you some of my planner essentials. I don't know about you, but if I don't make time to decorate my planner then I don't really take time to look at it either. If I make an effort with my planner I'm much more likely to not forget that I have to go to the doctor or something else that is very important to my life (like shopping!). 

So let me run through some of my planner essentials with you! 

1. Probably the most important thing is a pen! You can never have too many pens, whoever told you that is probably your husband who doesn't understand what we go through and the fact that we really do need this many pens and this many planners and this many rolls of washi tape. Thankfully I don't have one of those husband types yet so let the spending and useful pen buying continue!

• I think it best if you have a pencil to quickly scribble things in that might need confirming at a later date. For example, you have a biiiig group of friends because you're very popular (Go You!) and you plan to have a girls night maybe some time next week and some people have confirmed they can do a date and some people still need to check that they can make it. You grab your pencil and quickly write it in because that date might change but now at least you won't make plans and then be double booked! Clever! 
• Another handy pen to have are these fancy new erasable pens which write like real pens do but you can erase them like you would erase a pencil! Even cleverer! You can find them almost anywhere with big brands like Signo and Pilot making them. I prefer these ones from Muji because I like their price and they come in a whole range of colours and have refills available in all the colours. 
• Lastly, you need a pen that you can write on washi with so I present the Stabilo Write-4-All Fine. A snazzy pen for all your washi tape writing needs. Like the name suggests, it writes on most surfaces which is especially handy as washi tapes can come in all sorts of textures. A definite firm favourite with me. This brings me to my next essential, washi tape! 

2. Washi, glorious washi! If ever there was a planner supply I loved, this is it. It makes everything so much easier. As mentioned in my previous post, you can write things on there and you don't have to commit like when you write things straight onto the paper! In pen!! Sacrilege! You can find washi for really good prices and they come in so many different designs. They can be found at fancy retailers like eBay, Paperchase, Hema and so on.

3. This is a real handy nugget of information that has saved me so many times. After you get some washi, it is handy to roll off some bits onto a rectangular bit of plastic or card. That way you can store it in your planner for then you're out and about. Then if you need a bit, it's right there and it takes up hardly any room! Once I was at the post office and I'd forgotten to tape up a package but there was no need for panic because I just whipped out my portable washi and the day was saved, even though my sister was laughing at me because she thought I was ridiculous. Jokes on her.

4. Paper clips! I probably don't use paper clips as much as some people, but I'm so glad I have them for when I do need them. They're so useful for clipping things into your planner like vouchers to use on a specific day, receipts, inspirational quotes etc. You can also use them just to pretty up pages and with the huge range of paper clips there is no shortage of pretty, trust me! Recently I have become addicted to magnetic bookmarks because they are so pretty and don't take up as much space as normal paper clips so your planner doesn't become that bulky. Hooray for paper clips!

5. And finally, sticky notes. Again, you need to trust me when I say you can never have too many of these. Once you start buying them, you won't be able to stop because you'll suddenly see them everywhere in cute little designs, drawing you in with their cuteness! It's all good though, they are excellent for lists, for placing on dashboards, and for writing things down that you might not necessarily want to keep in your planner forever. They are also excellent for making pages look pretty and also hiding things you don't want nosy people to see.

Well that's all I think you need. I hope you found this helpful! If you know of any other things that you think are essential in your planners, please leave a comment below!