So fire away and we will collectively try to answer your questions or offer opinions.
I'm also pleased to announce today that our dear friends over at 'Write At Home' are offering Worldwide Shipping Free until the end of June.
11 June 2013
Free For All Tuesday No. 123
So fire away and we will collectively try to answer your questions or offer opinions.
I'm also pleased to announce today that our dear friends over at 'Write At Home' are offering Worldwide Shipping Free until the end of June.
Hi there
ReplyDeleteI'm new to FF and FFAT for that matter - I have thoroughly enjoyed your site.
I'm waiting on a classic A5 to come in the mail - any day now. I will use it to record my personal life (appointments, goals, personal projects etc)- I have a work calendar (electronic) for what goes on during working hours.
What I'm interested to know is how to use it to track and plan for a family. I have three kids and I just wondered if anyone had any useful tips on how to set up the FF to meet this need.
Thanks
Kirsti
Hi Kristi
DeleteGreat choice in picking the classic A5!
as for keeping family things organised you may want to check out these two blogs
http://homemakersdaily.com/
http://www.crazysuburbanmom.com/
Also keep an eye out for the web finds that are posted each week. They are great, as it gives you a break down of some filofax blogs that are talking about topics that may intrest you. :)
Dodo Pad Diary is great for tracking multiple folks' diaries.
DeleteI think FiloFax published a family pack, if I am not mistaken.
DeleteI have the family pack and it is wonderful for household management. The dodo pad is also very nice.
DeleteDefinitely go with the Family inserts. Great for multi-kid households!
DeleteHi!! I dont use mine to track my family yet, but I know that there are some peeople in the Philofaxy group who do. If you dont get many answers here, feel free to join the Philofaxy group on facebook. :)
ReplyDeleteHi RL&P and Rebecca - thanks for your responses. I'll go and have a read! The slight limitation is that I live in Australia so FF supplies are limited....
ReplyDeleteKristi, I am in Australia too. Never fear officeworks will become your best friend. They stock a limited range of filofax items, however Collins have pages that fit personal and A5 filofaxes.
DeleteA great thing about an a5 planner is you can create your own pages. Investing in a hole punch that fits the a5 binders is the best thing ever!
I live in Australia too. I recently discovered that Target has been selling personal size (non-FF) planners. I picked up two late last month that had been marked down to $10 each (from $25). The binders were cute and I can use the innards for spare parts. Keep an eye out because you never know where something useful will pop up!
Deleteyou might consider a dodopad calendar or the family pack, essentially something that will allow you to have a column for each family member. Then if the whole family is doing something it gets written across all the squares (or a line drawn or whathave you) and if it is only one child's it goes in their column but you can see everyone's commitments at once. Also suer useful is a tab for each child for medical stuff, school info, names numbers and addresses of their friends, activities information etc. Makes it easier to figure out who "Susie" is than if she's just filed in your general contacts. If you have to fill out the same forms year after year for various things (baseball, scholarships to singing class etc) a copy of those can go in the binder as well saving you time and hassle later.
ReplyDeleteI realized I'm assuming this is a stay at home sort of organize your life binder, if not then this is way more info than you want in it and will break your poor back :-)
Ahhh - haven't seen the family pack at Officeworks (already have been lurking there....) Have you ever seen one in Australia RL&P?Swatibee - like the idea of the tab for each kid - might be something that I keep at home.....
ReplyDeleteThanks for your help
Hi Kristi, I know that my local officeworks doesn't stock it, nor have I seen it on their online.
DeleteHowever, some dymocks stores, myer, david jones (i think) stock filofax it really depends on where you are in Aust. I live about an hour out of sydney so my officeworks doesn't stock many things that the inner city stores do.
You could also try Peters of Kensingtion, they offer a range of filofax things that may work for you.
To be honest some of the best things and the cheapest can be found on ebay. (just be wary that you buy the correct size for your planner as some sellers label the sizing incorrectly)
Hope that helps. :)
Hi everyone! I am now the proud owner of an Original A5 in fuchsia pink patent leather! Interestingly the colour is nothing like the closeup of the button above, it is a very bright and vibrant mix of hot pink and red - I'd call it raspberry if they hadn't already used that name for a different shade. It is big, bold, beautiful and bendy, and the 25 mm rings are just right - not too big, not too small. I know most people downsize to pocket size in the summer, to make their organisers more portable and because less happens, but I have now upsized for the season. All my bags are big anyway, and with a slim-ish A5 weight isn't that much of an issue. I just love the bigger paper size and being able to write on both sides of the paper! Anyone else changing sizes for summer?
ReplyDeleteOhh lucky you, LM. I was so tempted by the Fushia but I got the brown instead because I was worried I wouldn't like the patent leather. What's the leather like? Is it sticky feeling or plasticky in any way? How does it hold up against smudges and fingerprints?
DeleteAs for changing sizes, I've recently moved all my personal stuff into a personal sized FF and I'm keeping my A5 solely for teaching.
Hi, Lady T! Yes I am happy I got it ... for my birthday, supposedly :D
DeleteThe patent leather does get a bit smudged with fingerprints, I have to admit, but I don't mind. The colour is so vivid it takes the attention away from any marks. The leather is gorgeous and thick, and I don't think it feels plasticky, just smooth and glossy. The strange thing is I went from a Domino to the Original and am used to the hard back of the Domino which is perfect for writing on my knee or on the go, but the Original is so floppy! I have done the hack which was on Philofaxy the other day to keep the notepad in the back, that makes it a bit sturdier.
Not sizes, but I switched to a blue Finsbury to enjoy the cooler colour. Azul won't lay flat without a book to help him along, but otherwise, things are just fine.
DeleteHas anyone successfully downsized from A5 to Personal for work?
ReplyDeleteI'm really liking the Personal for not-work and it's got me thinking.
Pitfalls?
Workarounds?
I think David P did this if I remember correctly. Paging....
How full are your diary pages each day/week at the moment, that I think is the major issue and whilst you can go from Week View to Page View to get more page space back again . Or may be 2 days per page. The issue then tends to be not being able to see the full week at a glance if you do that.
DeleteYep, I'm the one.....downsized two years ago, adopted a completely hardcore GTD system and am still at it. One or two abortive forays back into A5 since, each lasting less than 48 hours, Personal works just fine for me. One organiser, one system for work and personal together. If you'd like to discuss, drop me an email davidpopely (at) googlemail (dot) com :) Always happy to boor on about personal organisation.......!
DeleteI've currently downsized back to personal for work - it just depends on how much I have going on - I'll probably stay in personal for the rest of the year, with the possibility of upsizing again in the new year :-)
DeleteI bought a BNIB Filofax recently from a UK seller that shipped directly to me. When I received it, two of the rings were bad: Gappy and misaligned. I contacted the seller.
ReplyDelete"I personally inspect every one before it goes out!"
"Well, this one has bad rings. You should argue with Royal Mail or Filofax, but I'm not accepting a bad Filofax."
"Send it back."
"Will you cover the cost of my return postage?"
In the meantime, I went to the Post Office. The postage to me from the UK was GBP9.90. Cost to send it back, Air Small Packet Untracked: $35.69, GBP22.40! Sending it Small Packet Surface (4-6 weeks delivery): $16.80 (GBP10.55)
I explained the shipping options to the seller.
"Send it the cheapest way."
So I will wait 4-6 weeks for my refund!
I am sorry u have to wait so long on your refund. :/ So far ive not been cursed w/ faulty rings yet.
DeleteI just added this so I could subscribe to followups. Please don't followup on FB.
DeleteMy point exactly Alan, people that have never tried commenting on here don't realise the facilities that are built in to the blog these days!
DeleteThat is horrifically annoying. Even worse, if you have to wait for a refund before purchasing something else. I know many people can't afford to just have their money all over the place while they go about finding a perfect binder! Myself included. Ugh! Was an eBay type of thing, or an authorized retailer? I had one replaced by Filofax USA that was purchased through another retailer and they covered the shipping. If it was an eBay situation, there are other options. A private seller? I'd be worried about getting anything. :(
DeleteeBay. I know I have protection.
Delete..and Lori, I don't need to buy another. I have dozens.
DeleteSteve: I just proved you can use html tags!
DeleteWhat colours would you like to see in a Malden? For me I would like to see the unzipped Personals and A5 in Navy Blue and Deep Forest Green.
ReplyDeleteA 'British Racing Green' would be amazing, as would a burnt orange and a magenta pink!! :D :D
DeleteI have a BR Green non-Filo (Collins) with 25mm rings in a personal size. I think I posted a picture or two of it in the FB group a while back.
DeleteI posted a picture in the FB Group just now.
DeleteFilofax USA finally announced the Calypso is in stock (June 12)! Yay!!
ReplyDelete