About a week or so ago, I placed an order with Erincondren.com for a "Life Organizer". To be honest, I had never heard of 'em before, but a gal on the support board that I own posted about 'em. Soooo I looked 'em up on youtube to see how they looked, aside from going to the actual Erin Condren website. As pretty as they looked on the site, I wanted to hear REAL testimonials and reviews from busy mommies / wives that needed to organize their hectic days. Well, after watching several reviews..I took the plunge.. ended up ordering my planner and hoped for the best.
Today...when I was on my way back to my Dads house from Santa Maria (I call to check in so he gets an ETA), and he tells me "Oh, a package arrived for you over the weekend". Honest to God, I had completely forgot about it, lol. He read off the name of the sender and it still didn't ring any bells till he said the name CLEARLY (he kinda mumbled the first time) and I said "OH MY GOD!! YAYNESS!"...I'll admit..it made me speed just a lil bit faster to get home.
How cool is this shipping box?? Totally unique!
When I opened it up, I was surprised how nicely everything was wrapped up! It made me feel like "Wow, they really put time and effort into taking care of my order!".
I noticed there was this pretty green envelope that had my full name on it, so when I peeked into it, there were additional stickers (the same that was on the envelope) that were tossed in with my order! How cool?? LOVE 'em!
So, here's how my Life Organizer looks! You actually have the option of customizing the color (if you happen to pick the pattern I picked) so I went with a hot pink background with the spunky damask style. When you go to her site, you can pick from several types of layouts..or you can even have it super customized with family pictures of your choice. I went with the cover I picked because I had a ridiculously hard time narrowing down six pictures that I'd want on it all year long...hopefully that doesn't come off bad, LOL.
You can even personalize it with your name and, if you're wanting to add a lil flair, a favorite quote. Thanks to my Dad, I grew up loving aviation..so it's not really surprising that I have a quote from Amelia Earhart on my planner since she always had to prove people wrong.
The front cover as well as the back cover are made EXTREMELY well because they are heavily laminated! When you open the front up, you can write your contact information on the inside cover (I'm assuming you'd have to do it with permanent marker so it'd show up) and the binding on the spine is VERY heavy duty. It'll definitely take the daily abuse any busy mommy / wife can dish out, that's for sure.
Another fabulous thing that sold me on this was the tabs for the months. It makes you so you can easily flip to whatever month you're looking for rather than rustling and flipping through pages that stick together which cause you to get frustrated. My planner has the rest of 2011 in it and continues onto 2012 as well as the early part of January 2013.
When you flip to whichever month it is you're wanting, the page that's attached to the tab will have a full overview of the month so you can jot down a quick note for an agenda you have to scribble down. When you flip the next page, then you have ACTUAL ROOM to write stuff in (and in DETAIL!). That alone made me happy since I normally have to write super super tiny to get info in my planner..but this gives me room to spare.
Know what else works in the large date spaces..ya know, aside from notes? Stickers. Stickers you can use specifically to dictate if it's a party, anniversary, doctors appointment, girls night, vacation or even massages. Ahhhh massages. If it's none of the above, they even included a few sheets of BLANK stickers in which you can write down your own special meaning for whatever you need organized.
As you flip towards the back of the organizer, there's a good sized "pencil pouch" so you can put...well..pens and pencils in there as well as any other little things you wanna hold onto (like business cards, etc).
They actually tossed in some additional sticker samples (which I'm inlove with!) to give you ideas for gift labels, addressing things, etc. They're so colorful and happy! Cuteness!!
Of course, there's a handful of pages available that are dedicated for notes. You know how it is..you never have a piece of paper you can write on..welllll this organizer totally has that covered for you.
The very end has two mini calendars so you can check out 2013 as well as 2014..
And....they tossed in some 10% off cards. Sneaky sneaky...they know they got me as a repeat customer! Hook, line and sinker!
All in all, I'm VERY pleased with this purchase! As I was looking over it and checking out the various things, my Dad was looking over my shoulder and complimented how it looked, the quality of the planner, the bright colors and how it seems very user friendly. That's MASSIVE coming from him since he's a major stickler for quality..I wonder if they make a manly version of a life planner? He could definitely benefit from one!
I should also add in that they make other things (obviously) aside from life planners...they also do stationery, invitations, note pads, address labels, announcements, growth charts, canvas keepsakes, gift cards, calanders, wedding planners, etc etc etc...basically, if you want it personalized, they can do it. My planner normally runs $50, but I managed to find a discount code online (SEEYOUSOON25) which took off $25. Add in sales tax with a dash of shipping / handling and it came out to $38. I have NO complaints about the cost because I've bought other planners in my life that cost a lot more and weren't nearly as organized ..not to mention, insanely cute. SO, if you're on the hunt for a fabulous organizer, this is definitely one you should check out!
