17 December 2013

Free For All Tuesday - No. 150

Tuesdays are your chance to ask any Filofax related questions you might have.

So fire away and we will collectively try to answer your questions or offer opinions.

22 comments:

  1. The minis have been off the filofaxusa site this past weekend. The refills are there but none of the organizers. I have not been able to get through on the phone to ask the company. Anyone know what's going on? Updating the website? Minis are not being discontinued, are they?

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    1. I heard, sadly, yes they are. I'm bummed too. Set those ebay alerts and check Adspot.

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    2. That's really a shame. I've been using a Mini Cross as my wallet for several months now, and it's worked out very well for me. I don't necessarily know that I want to upgrade to Pocket size, so I may have to get another Mini somewhere before they're all gone. Does anyone have experience with using a Pocket as wallet--is it not to big to fit in a trouser pocket?

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    3. That's too bad. I finally made the mini work for me this past year as a wallet and planner -- after finding my ideal layout and also using my own paper (1/4 inch longer and 1/4 inch wider than the FF mini paper size; made a big difference in usability).

      I used a Pocket as a wallet. It was too big to fit in a trouser pocket and barely fit in my cargo pant pocket.

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    4. Ah ha. I suspected as much--every time I saw a Pocket in a shop, I'd look at it, compare it to a Mini and think "Will that fit in my pocket, would it make a wallet?" I couldn't actually test it because the shop employees would think I', shoplifting, but I always had a sneaking suspicion the Pocket would be just a bit too big to work as a wallet. My old, pre-Filofax wallet was smaller than a Mini, so even that took some adjustment.

      Never mind, then: I'll just have to hunt for another Mini while they're still around and stash it away as an extra.

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  2. I currently am an online college student. On Monday's I have a paper due, on Wednesdays I have a discussion board due and on Sunday's I have my response to other classmates on the discussion board from Wednesday due. Then I have classes two days an hour each. But they change every five and a half weeks. Then on top of that I have to keep track of when library books are due back, my daughter's various things she has going on. I also have to keep track of where I've applied for jobs. I currently use a two page per day layout and I would LOVE to start using a two page per week format. What I am afraid of is ... how do I make sure I have enough space to write everything I want to write down without it looking incredibly sloppy. I seem to take up both pages every day. Any ideas of how I can get all this organized and it not look like someone came through with a tornado on my week? Thanks.

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    1. Good Morning Tonya

      I have a busy life too and need to keep all sorts of tasks, deadlines and appointments under control. I used a Finsbury Mini in the past. It worked well.

      Three thoughts:
      - You just have to write smaller (use a 0.5mm Frixion pen or a 0.5mm pencil).
      - Use a colour scheme, for example red for work, blue for family and green for education.
      - Don't write too much. Instead of writing "08:00 Teammeeting in Room 504" it's probably enough to just write "08:00 Team".

      Kind regards,
      HP

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    2. Thanks. I am not sure I can stick to the week on two pages so I printed out a months worth to see how it works before I make up my mind. That way if it doesn't work then I can just go ahead and keep using the two page per day. I don't always use it but as I look over it ... most of the time I do. Just depends on what is going on. I literally can't remember anything unless it's written down and using the calendar on my phone wasn't working at all. I would either not look at the calendar or I would hit the wrong button and it would be gone from my calendar or get rid of the reminder. Knowing I can see it right there in front of me just works better.

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  3. If you use your 2 pages to the full, is it possible you'd be better to accept that and stick to it? I'm the last one to stick to a set-up, but why fix what isn't broken? That's a pretty big change to make! Otherwise, a very fine-nibbed pen, colour-coding, and perhaps a weekly schedule bookmark for things that routinely stay the same from week to week?

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  4. Dear Filofax Corporate: With the popularity of the Winchester, Balmoral, Chameleon, and Adelphi, why did you cease production of these amazing planners? Instead of introducing new planners, I think it would be monetarily beneficial to bring these amazing planners back to your product line.

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    1. Oh, YES PLEASE! I would simply LOVE a Winchester and Balmoral!

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    2. I'm not so sure. A 'Winchester' made in China with dodgy rings? Might tarnish the memory of a product which was made when production standards were different, and before built-in obsolescence, aka deliberately making things to fall apart after a couple of years (or less). I think it's the quality of these products and their 'echo' of better times which makes them so sought-after. All the same, a return to better standards of production using better quality materials, not just by Filofax but generally, would probably be very welcome!

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  5. Dear Filofax Corporate: Used Personal Filofax binders such as the Cavendish, regularly sell on eBay for close to £100 and even more. PLEASE can you give us more ring-size choice?

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  7. Mr. Quinton, Mr. Marshall - thanks for making these suggestions to the manufacturer again. Maybe they will listen this time.

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  8. Does anyone know what the ring size is on an A5 Portobello?

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  9. Dear filofax, further to appeals above, 35mm - 40mm rings please. Could I also suggest you bring back the original trifold Balmoral, in A5, Amazona leather, with a full width back pocket and include the full page sized, double sided, leather coin/card holder that clips onto the rings that you discontinued. I would happily pay Gillio prices for this dream filo - certainly if you offered it in colours in addition to black/brown/red - hot pink or tiffany blue for example?

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  10. Ok. I was just on the Filofaxusa website looking at personal binders and there's NEXT TO NOTHING. Where are all the binders?????

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    1. Homemakersdaily.com,
      I don't know. I hope they are coming out with new binders. I wish they would inform consumers when they are going to discontinue a type and color of something. I think I read somewhere they will not offer the mini anymore. Maybe it just won't be sold in the U.S.

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    2. I know! And I get the impression from reading blogs that the big release of next "season's" wares doesn't happen until Marchish. I'm hoping they're just low because of the holidays.

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    4. Bree - I would normally say that's probably the case but they actually haven't had much on there for a LONG time - like a year! I never have seen the teal malden on there. Plus all the new ones they came out with sold out immediately and they didn't replace them. It's very confusing. Don't they make money by selling binders? How can they make money if they don't offer any for us to buy?

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