Hi, I'm Patty. I'm from the Midwest United States and I love planners! I'm a full-time homemaker - sort of. I babysit my 3- and 2-year-old grandkids every chance I get; I do the books for my husband's construction business; and I run a blog Homemakers Daily
I've been married 31 years to my husband, David, and we have two grown married children. My son and his wife have the grandkids and they live across the street - yeah for me!
David and I like to buy old, disgusting houses and turn them into something beautiful. No house is to awful for us. One of the houses we bought was filled with mice - we caught 24 in the first two weeks. Our current home had snakes! We had 3 in the family room and 7 in the laundry room in the basement. I wasn't thrilled about that - it almost made me want to hang up my remodeler hat!
1. When did you buy your first Filofax and what was it?
I bought my first Filofax in August of this year. It was a Personal Vintage Pink Malden.
2. What other brands have you used or considered using?
I've used Franklin Covey since 1993. I've dabbled with Day Timer and Planner Pad but I've always ended up back with Franklin Covey. After all those years with Franklin Covey, I'm ready for a change so I'm trying Filofax.
3. Out of the organisers you own which is your current favourite (Style and Size)?
I really like the Personal Malden. The leather is so soft and beautiful.
4. How many Filofax organisers do you own?
I just got a Personal Holborn in brown.
5. What do you use your Filofax for?
I use it for my daily planning, journaling (on the daily page) and keeping track of information. I also use it for my blog although I'm tentatively planning to have all my blog information in the Holborn and the rest of my life in the Malden. I've never used two planners before so I'll have to see how it goes. I'm really a one planner kind of girl.
6. What was the feature about Filofax you like most?
Most. Well, I'm not sure I can narrow it down to "most". I like the binder selection. There are SO many that I like. With Franklin Covey, it always took a lot of waiting to find one that suited me but there are a bunch of Filofaxes that I like. I like the plain planning pages. I'm easily distracted so less is better. I always bought the plainest of the Franklin Covey pages. I also like that on the 2ppd there are 10 boxes for to-do's. Sometimes I get overwhelmed making a to do list so I limit my list to just 10 items. It helps me prioritize better and think about what really needs done. When I saw that the 2ppd had 10 boxes, it seemed meant to be.
7. If you could design your own Filofax what would it feature?
It would have 2 pen loops and they would be big enough to hold any pen (that's my only complaint about the Malden - my pen won't fit in the loop). It would also have slightly bigger rings.
8. How do you carry your Filofax?
It sits on my desk or kitchen countertop at home. When I'm out, it's in my purse.
9. Which Filofax in the current range do you like the most? Are you going to buy it?
I'd kind of like to have a Metropol. I'm a bit of a binder snob in that I really only love leather. But I like the fact that the Metropol has two pen loops and some of the colors are gorgeous! It just looks fun. I'm trying not to buy it but I may succumb.
10. What is the most you have ever spent on a Filofax? Which model?
The Personal Malden was $70. Ouch!
11. Turning to Philofaxy, what do you like the most?
I love being around like-minded people. Most of my friends and family don't really care about planners. I was really excited when I discovered that there were a whole bunch of people out there who loved planners, too.
12. And what do you not like about Philofaxy?
Nothing.
13. What was the last music album CD you bought or downloaded?
You know, I don't listen to music much. I have ADHD and music is a distraction. So I don't listen. I like silence! However, I am going to get some children's music for my grandkids. They love music and I don't have any for them to listen to. I'll probably get some Veggie Tales as soon as I figure out how to do it.
Thank you Patty. And if anyone else would like to feature as a 'Reader Under the Spotlight' please contact us at philofaxy at gmail dot com
Nice to "meet" you, Patty! I too have ADD and find a lot of music to be distracting, but I discovered a local station that airs classical music 24/7 and I just leave that on all day long. It was sort of "white noise" at first, but after a few years I'm starting to really know the composers and their music and it's opened up a whole new world to me. Of course, that's the "gift" of ADD, we get off on these distractions and learn a whole new world... Unfortunately, sometimes forgetting something else in the process.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely true, Josh!
DeleteNice to meet you Patty! Your first one was already a "top noch" Filofax! So yummy, hehe.
ReplyDeleteI did not know music is a distraction for people with ADD. Makes sense why I LOVE silence and feel much more comfortable in it despite having a music degree :D
Yeah - especially music with words. I find myself listening to the words instead of concentrating on what I'm doing. I don't think that's true of everyone with ADHD, though. But definitely me. I need silence!
DeleteHi Patty, except for the snakes and the mice we seem to have a few things in common. Been married 31 years as well. Live in the midwest (Michigan). Have used Franklin Covey since the early 90's as well (lost track as to how many FC binders I once owned) and then earlier this year switched to Filofax. I had some very nice FC binders but lately the selection was poor, even if quality was fairly good and consistent. The thing that bugged me about FC in the last few years is that even though I liked the Classic size, I typically used the compact size. But the width of the compact just annoys me; I like the trimmer footprint of the Filofax binders. Of course, my favorite FC inserts (Day on 2 Pages) does not fit well in a Filofax binder and I really miss those inserts. I also prefer less clutter on my inserts. In the beginning, I would use the Seasons style and whatever new and pretty inserts FC offered. But over the years I found those designs just too cluttered for my taste. I prefer to use the Day on 2 pages but have not tried the Filofax ones yet; wasn't sure I would like that layout. It seems the FC ones have much more diary space. I also use a Personal Malden. I have messed around with Day Timer, Day Runner and every other planner made available but always went back to FC. But I plan to stay with Filofax; I'm simply smitten (even though I don't always love it when there are quality issues with the binders or paper quality issues). One thing I don't like about Filofax inserts is that I like tabbed monthly dividers with my daily or monthly pages in between like the Day Runner and FC style.
ReplyDeleteAgreed, Cheryl. We do have a lot in common.
DeleteI'm using the Filofax 2 pages per day and I'm getting used to it. However, I also ordered some Day Runner 2ppd that I'm going to look at. They're a similar style to the FC 2ppd. I should get them on Tuesday and I'm anxious to see if they'll be the perfect solution - FC type inserts with a FF binder.
I was wondering if the Day Runner 2ppd comes with a monthly calender (on the tabbed pages like the FC) and if so, is it month on a 2 page spread (preferably!) or month on 1 page (kind of useless!). I checked out the format of the Day Timer 2ppd and it comes with a monthly calendar on the tabs and the daily pages are interleaved. But the monthly calendar is on 1 page and the boxes are very small. I also think I like the format of the Day Runner 2ppd better than the Day Timer because the Day Runner is more like the FC style. Anyway, thanks for pointing this insert out because I thought Day Runner only made these in the larger 'classic' size so I went back to the website and read 'the fine print'...haha.
DeleteI got the Day Runner 2ppd today in the mail. I LOVE the monthly calendar. It's set up pretty close to the FC Compact - two pages with space to write notes or monthly index on the front and back.
DeleteThe daily pages are set up like FC 2 pages per day but they end at 5:00 with one little time slot for the whole evening. That's not going to work for me. I have a lot going on in the evening's, too. I didn't notice that when I ordered them.
So I'll use the monthly calendar but pass on the daily pages. I'll try to figure out something else to use those for.
Did you notice on the Day Timer site that there's only one option for portable (same as FF personal) 2 ppd? Coastlines. I don't like that one. They used to have four or five more options. Wonder what's up.
Lovely to 'meet' you, Patty!
ReplyDeleteA woman after my own heart as Malden & Holborn are my favourites, & I prefer plainer inserts as otherwise I just find them too busy for my eyes.
Plainer inserts are the way to go for me, too.
DeleteHowever, I'm back to one binder - the Malden. My daughter needed to make a change from a very heavy Classic FC that she wasn't really using so I let her have my Holborn. I hadn't set it up yet. She was pretty excited to give it a try and couldn't believe how much lighter it was. Now 'm trying to decide which FF I want to get to replace it. I liked the Holborn but I didn't like the brown.
Nice to meet you Patty! I am a leather snob too but I love Metropol. They feel like leather and are extremely hardwearing. Don't look or feel cheap and nasty at all!
ReplyDeleteI'm a leather snob, too - that's why I haven't taken the plunge. Leather just looks and feels so wonderful! What about a Finchley?
DeleteI think I meant Finsbury.
DeleteHi Patty, nice to meet you. I would just like to say that I love your blog - it is great :o)
ReplyDeleteThanks, LJ.
ReplyDeleteHi Patty! I too am a long-time Franklin Planner user (and grew up in the Midwest), but my love of Filofaxes began on a business trip to London in 1998. My dream would be the plan FC day on two pages, monthly pages with tabs that would fit a personal Filofax (sigh). Same problem with the quality of the FC binders, too - and they are just so bulky and brick-like. I just ordered a personal Malden in purple and am eagerly awaiting its arrival!!
ReplyDeleteI read another post by you where you talked about using the Monthly Index - that's another good FC feature. How will you recreate that in your Filofax?
Hi, Claudia. Good question about the Monthly Index. I purchased Day Timer tabbed monthly pages that have a spot I can use for the monthly index. I haven't decided if I'm going to use them or try to just use FF inserts. If I use FF inserts, I'll probably make a separate page for the Monthly Index. It's not as slick as having it on the front of the monthly page but it'll work. I've gotta have that monthly index or my system won't work as well. I keep track of a lot of information that I need to be able to retrieve easily.
ReplyDeleteHi Patty. I wonder if you could share your setup with us. How do you have your tabs arranged? Do you use your personal Malden for goal setting? I've seen some of your setup on your blog, but I would love to know how you have your tabs arranged! Do you also use a weekly view in addition to your 2ppd inserts?
ReplyDeleteKelly, there was a quite extensive guestpost from Patty on plannerisms.com. You'll find lots of pictures of her green FC Compact there aswell!
DeleteHi Kelly, here is the specific post where Patty shows her setup: http://www.plannerisms.com/2012/09/guest-post-from-patty-at-homemakers.html
DeleteKelly:
ReplyDeleteI'm just getting my Malden set up. I really don't have a lot in there yet. I'm using the 2ppd with a tabbed monthly calendar from Day Timer. I have A-Z tabs in the front for filing various topics and A-Z tabs in the back for addresses. I do not use weekly. Sometimes I do a weekly plan sheet (a form is on my blog) to plan the week but I don't usually refer to it again. It's more for giving me the big picture of the week. It helps me see what's going on so I know when I can get various things done.
I'm tentatively planning to do an article on my blog on Thursday showing my plans for 2013. That would probably answer your question.
And like Jotje said, there's an article on Plannerisms about my former Franklin Covey set-up. I'm transferring some of those techniques over to the new set up.
But check my blog on Thursday.
Thanks Patty! Love your blog.
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