My last Friday slot for this year.. wow what a year it has been too.
So I'm finishing on a reader question. I don't know the correct answer, but hear me out on this one.
'How many pages should I put in my organiser? How can I tell if there are too many pages?'
Well obviously if you can't close the clasp... then that's way too many! But my answer would be as follows...
Put all the pages on one side of the rings. So open the organiser and leave all the pages across on the right. Can you see where the rings join together?
If you can then that is ok. If you can't then you have too many pages. I realise in most cases you will be under filling it by quite a good margin, but it's a simple and neat check.
What do you think?
But of course as it is Friday you are very welcome to discuss anything Filofax or other ring bound brand related issues or topics....
Didn't they use to call FF paper...'leaves' and say something like this holds or has xx amount of leaves...meaning paper in the FF or when you got a stack of paper...it was the amount of leaves of paper....or am I dreaming this from back in the 80's ?? I attribute this as to how many pages the binder would hold and/or I'd use this as a gauge as to how many pages my FF would hold ? Does anyone else remember this ?
ReplyDeleteSomething akin to the episode of Seinfeld where George has that overstuffed wallet that won't close lol!
Franklin Covey used to have a chart that showed how many pages would fit in each ring size, too. I haven't seen in it a while, though, but I thought it was really helpful.
DeleteThis may be stating the bleedin' obvious, but is part of the ring size obsession to do with the fact that we don't want to use FF brand inserts which are printed on fairly lightweight paper?
ReplyDeleteWe moan (constantly) about the quality of the paper when in fact the QUALITY is absolutely fine. It's a lightweight paper to enable us to keep more pages in our Filofaxes.
As soon as we start printing our own, we want luscious, plump, heavy paper we can use our gel pens and fountain pens on and then we are not happy because suddenly the rings are too small.
The rings aren't too small, the paper is too fat!
This is a bit like eating home made chocolate cake because it's tastier than that insubstantial store-bought stuff, but failing to recognise that the whipped cream, butter and chocolate chips are the reason our jeans won't zip up!
How many pages should we keep in our organisers?
As few as possible.
Good point about paper quality Natalie....I've just gone back to plain white from cotton cream in preparation for 2014, and the paper on my rings now takes up about 2/3 of its previous volume.
DeleteAs few as possible? Presumably you mean as few as possible in order to keep ourselves organised (but see my comments on yesterday's excellent post by Steve)
Definitely! I bought FF inserts because they were thin and would take up less space! And with my pens I haven't found them to bleed much so win-win!
DeleteWhilst I use different paper during the day, my "reference" filofaxes use Filofax branded paper, because I can store more leaves in each binder.
DeleteBut I also find that the Filofax paper is easier to "thumb through", just like a diary or a dictionary. I think it's partly due to the "flexibility of each sheet, and partly due the fact that the holes always match up precisely, regardless of the year of manufacture, whereas paper in my ARC notebook sometimes varies from batch to batch, for instance.
Don't get me wrong; there's nothing like the tactile pleasure for laying fountain pen ink onto fountain pen friendly paper, but for sheer "referenceability", Filofax paper is perfect for me.
Another new 'Neil' word ;-)
DeleteDid you like that, Steve? I think it is an excellent term for Filofax users.
DeleteI agree. I use FC and the pages are thicker. When I purchased a Filofax I was surprised at how thin the paper was but noticed right away the planner would hold more pages. And then if you start adding washi tape, oh boy! That really adds weight. For a brief period I was adding washi tape to my FC pages and noticed right away how much thickness it added.
DeleteI find the Filofax paper variable - the notepaper WILL stand up to fountain pen (despite being thin) but the diary paper seems to be made of something else entirely and fails miserably to cope with FP. I don't think it can be the same paper (which makes me then think... why??)
DeleteKeep forgetting to tick the box...
ReplyDeleteIn fact I don't find this question as stupid as it might first appear! We all wonder what we should do with our Filofaxes and that is why we find this blog so fantastic. We bounce ideas off each other, we see lovely things which other people do, and we freely share our ideas, and at the end of all this we organise our binders in the way that suits us having picked up ideas along the way. If your binder is a bit full, maybe you need a bigger one or vice versa. Just do what feels comfortable, and the beauty of Filofax is that you can change it all tomorrow! Merry Christmas everybody!
ReplyDeleteMy (normally) lovely wife remarked yesterday that my chestnut Cuban Personal 'looked plastic'.
ReplyDeleteBack in the Hampstead today......that's *never* going to be mistaken for anything but oiled leather!
Merry Christmas/Yule/generic non-denominational holiday, everyone.....thanks for your help, comments and friendship this past year. I have so enjoyed exchanging ideas and opinions with you all.......
While clearly the capacity is a function of the paper thickness, as others have pointed out, Franklin Covey has a useful guide: http://service.fcorgp.com/binder_ring_sizes
ReplyDeleteYes, that's what I was talking about earlier. I hadn't been able to find it.
DeleteI don't like my planner to be so full that I can't turn the pages easily or open the rings and add or subtract paper without everything falling out or having to squish it in in order to close it. I do regularly purge extra and unneeded papers out of my binder to avoid that. Our planners aren't supposed to hold everything forever. They're only supposed to have what we actually need right now.
ReplyDeleteIt was me who asked this question of Steve and thanks so much for your answer and to everyone for all of your comments. I ask this because I don't want to damage my rings which I think can happen when I have too many pages in. BUT,,,,,,my absolute FAVORITE Filofaxes are the ones that are STUFFED to the gills. Am I alone in that? Yes, of course we want to keep as little as possible in them, but I think most of it is stuff that, once we remove, we'll miss when it's gone! Just curious how many of us stuff them (me included) and others who are very good about culling the extraneous. And, I agree with David Popely,,,,,I too have enjoyed the friendship and the exchange of ideas all year long. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
ReplyDeleteAnyone using a pocket size FF binder might want to take a look at the “Raymay Davinci Refill Pages - Pocket Size - Plain - 100 Sheets” carried by Jetpens. They are slightly larger different in size to FF pocket, larger by ~1/8” top & bottom and smaller by ~1/8” in width. Holes are on same centres as FF pocket. The paper is cream coloured and made by by Tomoe River (per Jetpens description) which is, again per Jetpens, “known for its smooth and velvety texture”.
ReplyDeleteThis paper has two strengths for FF use: 1) thin so your binder will accommodate more pages and 2) the paper works very well with fountain pens, no bleed or feathering & writes very smoothly. Some show through because the paper is so thin but you should be able to use both sides. It really is a very fine paper. It would be great if it was sold in a personal size (or at least very close to like the pocket).
Seasons Greetings, Dave.
Can anyone help? I was in a Charity Shop, and found an organiser that has the same ring set up as a personal size Filofax. I bought it (cost £3.50). The only indication of a brand name is Victory and that is stamped on the popper(snap) on the female piece. The cover is a leather look plastic, black with a red raised strip running vertically downwards. When the snap is closed the strip touches the black part of the closer.
ReplyDeleteOK, just looked at Jetpens site again and the paper I was raving about IS available in FF personal size (or very close to it). They describe is thus: "Raymay Davinci Refill Pages - Bible Size - Plain - 100 Sheets", 4.70USD/pack. Comes in ruled and a few other options. May be tricky to put through a laser printer though if that is a requirement for DIY inserts, it is thin and IME it won't make it through the paper path (at least with my Brother laser). I haven't measured the thickness but I'd guess it is ~ 1/2 FF white so it will make a real difference to your binder if you are nearly full.
ReplyDeleteI've been eyeing this brand for a while now because they have some cool accessories. Here are links to the Japanese site.
Deletehttp://www.refill-style.com/davinci/pocket/refill.html
http://www.refill-style.com/contents/shopping/products/paper/bible/menu.html
A very Happy and Joyous Christmas to you all and of course your loved ones, and many blessings for 2014. Like David, I love Philofaxy all year round, and have made many wonderful friends here. Such a wonderful hobby.xx
ReplyDeleteSo many good points made! While Clairefontaine paper is my favorite for journaling, etc., I'm satisfied with FF paper for "plannering.'
ReplyDelete