My Customized Planner

Way back in college, I used the Uncalendar. It is a darling little calendar with great list making pages, a simple layout and best of all fillable, non-conforming dates/months/years. But...loving beautiful design, as I do, I couldn't stand the boring, ugly look of the Uncalendar. So I made my own...

Here we have the back and cover pages. Just a cute little design with a little more color than the Uncalendar. I printed these on a heavier cardstock paper and laminated them.

Then I created the divider pages. Ideal I would have gone back and affixed tabs to the edge of each, but I don't think I ever got around to doing it. Anyway - these were also printed on the cardstock paper, but not laminated.

Now, for the real fun. This is what you need for every week of your life. A whole page dedicated to any list you might encounter (in college I had a to do list for every class, plus a few extra-curricular lists and shopping lists, etc). Then a schedule with those non-confirming dates I was talking about. See how you are able to write in the days/month/year on each page. You might not really think about needing that - but it was perfect for me! Winter break: not in town, no firm plans, days spent on the ski slopes...so I just skipped a week. In summer, when my schedules slowed drastically, I just used the monthly pages and skipped the weekly use.

The monthly layout is also very basic. A general space for the monthly to do items (pay rent, change tires, etc) and those same non-conforming spaces for the days. 

Now for the fun stuff. I created a few shopping pages. The thing about groceries, is that you probably have a pretty firm list of items you always keep in stock - occasionally you do a fun recipe and need to buy evaporated milk, but that what the "Other" column is for. I created a checkmark on each side of the item, so I would check the items I needed before I went shopping and then check the item once I had procured them. Another great idea was the birthday page. Just a simple place to keep track of all the birthday for the year. With the non-conforming dates, this is kind of necessity, since you don't want to be filling out weeks too far in advance.

Finally, my last two fun pages were a place to write down all those songs/books/movies you hear a friend recommend and then immediately forget about and a personal information page. I know, I know, I know - it's probably not the best idea to keep personal information written down on a page in a book you might lose, but that's my prerogative. If you don't like it, don't use it!

I printed and coil-bound my planner at the Mizzou print shop (you could also use a FedEx or Staples), but my mom and other users have just printed the pages as needed and 3-hole punched them for a standard binder. Perfect and flexible.

I should have posted this sooner (the world needs to know!) but my mom has had the design on her blog, resulting in a few inquiries over the years. My standard rate is $20 for the PDF of the weekly and monthly pages, as they are. If customized colors, layouts, pages, designs, etc. are needed, I charge and initial $10, plus $15/hour of revisions. I would love to work with you to create a personalized planner - or just share the design with you. For more information, or to order a planner, please comment with your email address or email me personally at kaitlinroweton@gmail.com.

Thanks to those of you who have expressed and interest over the years!