24 April 2010

My new A5 Domino Filofax with Dodo Pad diary insert!



Here is my new A5 Domino Filofax that I bought at the Filofax store in London! It is great!! I felt like I was meant to get one because I saw so many A5 Dominos while I was at the London Book Fair, and after Jess's comment on my post about it I knew it was just what I've been looking for. And it is!!

I have two other A5 Filofaxes, both Finsbury, one purple and one green. In the past when I've tried to use one as my planner, I quickly abandoned it because the binder is too big and heavy to carry everywhere. I love them, they are beautiful and now they serve me well at home. But I don't like to carry them around.

The Domino solves the portability issues of the A5 binders. The cover weighs almost nothing, unlike a leather binder which significantly adds to the weight of the book. Also, the Domino cover is narrower side to side than other A5 Filofaxes: by 1 to 1.5 cm, depending on the model. And having an elastic band instead of the snap closure contributes to the slimness of the book too.

The rings are huge, which is great for those of us (guilty) who like to cram as many pages and accessories into the book as possible. Again, because the cover itself is so lightweight, I can put in as many pages as I want and the overall weight of the book is still bearable.

The inside cover has a full-length pocket and several smaller pockets. There is no zip pocket in the Domino, so I added a zip pouch accessory onto the rings to hold those little things that might get lost.

There is a note pad inside the back cover. The bottom of the notepad pocket is slotted too, so you can slide the notepad into the bottom of it--that way if you are a lefty you can use the binder upside down and have the note pad inside the left cover for easy writing, and the pockets on the right. Those folks at Filofax know what they're doing!

Another thing I love about the Domino (that I also love about my personal size Domino which I use as my Scotland guidebook) is that the cover can handle my messy life. I am not a tidy person, and I have problems if my planner is too precious. It needs to be able to handle abuse, rain, sticky table surfaces and my not-always-very-clean hands. I'm not afraid to take my Domino into the kitchen with me for fear of setting it down into a blob of jelly.

Another thing about the A5 Domino: it lays flat, immediately. No flapping, no fighting. It's flat.

The first time I ever saw a Domino I thought I wouldn't like the elastic band. But I do, for lots of reasons. As I noted above, it helps make the book more streamlined. Also, it's very handy for tucking papers on the outside of my book for easy access and reference while I'm out and about.

I'm using my Dodo Pad A5 Filofax-compatible diary insert in my Domino, and I love it! I had recently hit a wall with my planner usage--I had gone too far into overly-structured planners that seemed too impersonal and business-like. I'd gotten to the point where I didn't even want to use my planners anymore (*gasp!*) because they seemed so strict, like they were wagging their finger at me about all the things I should be doing. I wanted some color and something fun. So this was perfect timing for me for the Dodo-Domino combination.

Here you can see the inside cover of my Domino, and the front of the Dodo Pad diary insert. You can also see my Dodo Reminder Stickers tucked into the pocket inside the front cover. I really like the light-colored faux suede interior of the Domino, it looks and feels really nice.

Here is my Dodo Pad diary insert in action! You can click on the photos for a larger view.
I love that the page opposite the weekly schedule has plenty of room for all my lists and notes. In general, I use the daily boxes as: first box, important thing to highlight that day. Next 2 boxes, morning activities. Last 2 boxes, afternoon/ evening. I'm not strict about it though. I write across the boxes, in the margins, at the top and bottoms of the page, on the other page, wherever. There's plenty of room for all my little notes to myself.

Here's a closer look at the weekly page. This particular week has a couple of sticker-worthy events, so you can see how I use my stickers.
Also you can see how I've set up my tabs. I forced myself to use only 6 tabs, because I tend to get too tab-crazy. Directories has emergency info, contact numbers, whatever else I need to quick-reference.

Here is a look behind my Financial tab, with the Filofax calculator I splurged on. I have a calculator that I use in my Personal size Filofaxes but it doesn't fit on the A5 rings. I figured, I use it all the time in my Personal size, I better have one in my A5! I'm glad I got it.

The Dodo Pad diary insert has Annual Planning calendars for this year:

And next year, which is really nice:

I didn't take a picture, but right before my Addresses section I have my maps. Behind the addresses I have two top-opening pouches, the zip pouch I mentioned above, and a business card holder. With all of these I can collect whatever bits I need throughout the day, then when I get home I can put them wherever they belong.

I'm sure my tabs usage will evolve over time, which is why I use the colored tape flags from the Filofax Sticky Notes accessory to label my tabs. That way I can move them around whenever I need to.

When I was at the Filofax store the only color choices for the A5 Domino were black, brown or red. I wanted a cheery color so I went for the red, which I don't normally use. Now on the website they have the A5 Dominos in faux snakeskin, and they look really cool! While I was at the store I saw Domino folios in pink and purple, and personal size binders in a cobalt blue that I like too, so I'm hoping they'll come out with these colors in the A5. If they come out with a purple one you can bet I'll get it!!

24 comments:

  1. Hi Laurie,

    I was looking forward to your entry about your Domino A5 Filofax because I had just bought one recently myself and I wanted to know what someone as informed as you would make of it and I'm so thrilled by all the things you wrote. The main advantage for me is that it lays flat straight away unlike some other Filofaxes. Something else that you brought my attention to were those Dodo Pads. I looked at your Plannerisms blog and I read some entries you wrote about it and I think you might have just converted me! Since I'm a stay at home mum, I don't need to have very serious looking planners and that one just looks perfect and fun. Thank you for confirming how great the Domino A5 filofax is and for converting me to the Dodo Pad!

    Eva

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  2. Great Eva! I think you'll really like the Dodo Pad. In fact, right now you can get the A5 Dodo Pad diary inserts for a very low price on ebay:

    http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=140333306763

    The Buy It Now price is great, or you can make an offer. It's a great chance to try the product at a very low price!

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  3. I couldn't resist the Dodo ebay offer - I made an offer of £4 and snapped one up!

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  4. I like the touch of having the notepad slot top and bottom so you can use the organiser as a left-handed person.

    Neat touch, I wonder if they did that on purpose or not. I'm right handed myself, but I can see the appeal of catering for both.

    Steve

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  5. Laurie,
    What color is your new one? It looks mango or peach colored but can't tell from the photo. Is it red?

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  6. Hi Erin, the binder cover is red. When I went to the shop the only color choices were black, brown or red. I'm not normally a red person, but I didn't want anything dark so red it was!

    Jess, great price on the Dodo Pad insert! I'd love to hear what you think about it when it arrives!

    Steve, the Filofax folios that hold a note pad have the same feature, which is great.

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  7. Laurie, Eva stole my word! I was reading your post and all I could think of is I think you have a "convert"!! The Dodo pad looks really fun to use! I too met Brigitte in the London store - last Summer before I discovered Philofaxy! I didn't buy a new Philo but I got everything else! I cannot wait to go to London again and visit the store!!!

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  8. The family pack domino is a purple A5 or personal.

    And if one were lefthanded and used it bottom up like you suggested the card slips would open towards the bottom. I wouldn't feel safe that way...

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  9. Hi Estelle,

    The family pack Domino in the personal size is purple but in the A5 size the Domino cover is Chocolate (in the UK. In the US you can choose between red, black or chocolate for your family pack binder). Which is unfortunate because I would have been willing to pay extra for the family pack just to get a purple cover in A5!

    Family Pack Domino in UK:

    http://www.filofax.co.uk/store/organiserdetails.asp?display=&sizeId=5&rangeId=142&dsizeId=5

    Family Pack Domino in US:

    http://www.filofaxusa.com/store/organiserdetails.asp?display=&sizeId=5&rangeId=145&dsizeId=5

    Good point about the card slots being upside down if you use the binder with the notepad on the left. I don't usually use those card slots so I didn't think of that. I put cards into a Business Card Holder that fits on the rings.

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  10. Hi, first of all, I would like to thank you for great blog. I've found it when I was looking for some information about Domino A4,as I was thinking of buying it for my job. I bought it and I'm glad I did. It's perfect.
    Second I would like to ask you maybe stupid question, but what exactly does FSO stand for? I can't google it anywhere. Thanks.

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  11. Hi katka,

    Definitely not a stupid question, I don't know what FSO stands for either. Can you tell me where you saw it or what was the context? Maybe that will help me think of it.

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  12. Hi, I found it e.g. at http://philofaxy.blogspot.com/2008/02/how-do-you-filo.html (it`s mentioned in one of the comment), but usually I saw it together with A5 Filofax

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  13. There I see it: "A5 Windsor FSO." I have no idea what that means. Does anybody know?

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  14. FSO = Filofax System Organiser

    I think!!

    Steve

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  15. Thanks. I thought about that. But it's strange it's used only with A5. Well, anyway, thanks a lot for help. And once more...great blog...I'm glad I've found it :o)

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  16. I'm considering buying an A5 domino, but was curious if it eventually becomes too cumbersome to carry everywhere.

    I'd like to know how you enjoyed yours after a few months of having it and the newness wore off.

    Will you be using it again next year?

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  17. Actually I only used the A5 for about a month then abandoned it because it was just too big to carry with me everywhere. That was the third time in two years I'd tried to use an A5 Filofax and each time I changed to something else after about a month due to the size and weight.

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  18. I think this may be my favourite philofaxy post on the whole blog!! So cute and fun and has such positive things written about a filo I already own and a planner I'm about to try! thanks Laurie!!

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  19. Thanks TPS! I'm glad you like it. :)

    Good luck with your new planner system!

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  20. I feel like I found my Filofax-soulmate here ;-) I just got the exxact same Filofax (in purple, though) and I bought the AcadPad refill. I was also so happy about the big rings because I like to collect stuff for my Filofax and design pages myself (I just finished my own to-do-list and an expenses list -- I know you can buy them but it just wasn't worth it for me and I made a colorful version of them). Love your blog..

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  21. I know this is an old entry but i just wanted to stop by and say how much i love my A5 Domino! Your right in saying the back pocket was a great touch. Now i just need to get some A5 card stock!!

    www.psych-walsh.uk

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  22. Any tips to change the elastic on filofax domino, please?

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    Replies
    1. If you have a crochet hook you should be able to fish the end of the elastic out from under the ring mech. Use the same tool to insert the new elastic and tie a knot in the end of the loop.

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