Reader Under The Spotlight - Lauren

Today I would like to introduce you to Lauren. 

Hello my name is Lauren and am a paralegal by day and lifestyle, beauty, fashion blogger by night. I live in California with my husband and our little dog Toby (pictured with me). I absolutely love all things paper, stationary, organizers, and pens. I remember always being the most organized person in school. It's something I have obviously not grown out of.

1. When did you buy your first organiser and what was it?

I bought my first organizer while I was in middle school. I don't quite remember the brand but it started my love affair with organizers.

2. What other brands have you used or considered using?

I have tried and used Erin Condren, Day Timer, Day at a Glance and Franklin Covey.

3. Out of the organisers you own which is your current favourite (Style and Size)?

My favorite style would have to be the Malden in the personal size.

4. How many Filofax or other brands of organisers do you own?

I currently own three. Two filofaxs in personal and an Erin Condren life planner.

5. What is the oldest organiser in your collection? 

My oldest organizer in my collection would have to be my Filofax Finsbury in black. I sadly don't have the one I was gifted many years ago.

6. What do you use your organisers for? 

I mostly use my organizers to balance work and home life, bill tracker, and reminders. I also use my organizer to help plan and schedule posts for my blog.

7. What was the feature about Filofax you like most? 

I love how you can truly create a system that works best for you and you can decorate however you wish. It's not a cookie cutter system that is supposed to work for everyone.

8. If you could design your own Filofax what would it feature? 

It would feature pink leather and gold rings. A girl can dream right?!

9. How do you carry your Filofax? 

I carry my Filofax in both my work and personal bags. Basically it goes everywhere.

10. Which Filofax in the current range do you like the most? Are you going to buy it? 

I am in love with the Malden and was lucky enough to purchase it from a fellow reader here on Philofaxy.

11. What is the most you have ever spent on a Filofax or other brand of organiser? Which model?

Honestly about $110 and for the Malden personal in purple. However I am sure that will change once I finally locate an Aqua malden in the personal size. Ugh that one is hard to find!

12. What's your favourite Filofax tip or hack?

I would say the inserts you can purchase on etsy. I absolutely love those and actually recently did a review on them on my blog!

13. Turning to Philofaxy, what do you like the most?

I love to see that other people have an obsession with being organized. I feel right at home here. Plus I love seeing tips and tricks of other readers.

14. And what do you not like about Philofaxy?

I haven't found one dislike!

15. What was the last music track you downloaded or bought?

Mirrors by Justin Timberlake. I can't get that song out of my head.

16. Have you ever attended a Philofaxy meet-up? if not do you intend to one day? 

No but I would love to one day!

17. What was the last movie you watched?

It was a documentary called serving life. Amazing!

18. What was the last book you read?

Landline by Rainbow Rowell

19. George Clooney or Brad Pitt? 

George Clooney

Be sure to check out Lauren's blog 'Life According to L.D.' 

Thank you Lauren for going under our 'Spotlight'. If any of you would like to appear in this feature on Philofaxy, then please contact philofaxy at gmail dot com

Web Finds - 30 August 2014

I hope you had a good week? Time to enjoy a great collection of blog posts and videos from around the internet.

So here are the latest Filofax blog posts from around the Internet:

1. Filofax spotted in the wild - This Bug's Life
2. The Fitness section of my Filofax. - Joanny White
3. Finding Planner Peace: Oh, Van der Spek, How Do I Love Thee? - Yay, for Fridays
4. Jumping on the Kikki.k bandwagon - Onigiri Sama and her 21 Kittens
5. Flex by Filofax & Gillio Pocket Agenda Classic (Achtung: viele Fotos!!!) - Seelen Zucker
6. A couple of new ones - GillB
7. Filofax Mini Template Tutorial for Mini pages - Billie's Craft Room
8. DIY: Upgrading Planner Tabs - Giftie Etcetera
9. Filofax for dummies 2: planning on a budget - Designs from the Black Forest
10. Finances & Filofaxes - OATTblog
11. August plans - Rosie Raindrops
12. The Fun of Creating a Personalized Filofax - The Paradox of An Organized Scientist
13. Future Planning - Giftie Etcetera
14. New Day On Two Pages Daily Schedule Free Printable for Filofaxes - Ms Wenduhh
15. Filofax Compact Calipso - The Forest Fox
16. My GTD System (2014) - David R Parker
17. Personalizing a Filofax - Meet Opera Filofax - The Paradox of An Organized Scientist
18. To-Do Hearts Check Off Flags Stickers - Free Printable - MsWenduhh
19. Autumn is coming - time to start updating the Filofax! - Mrs Brimbles
20. Silly’s Tips 8#: AGENDA_ perchè avere un'agenda cartacea e come organizzarla - Lucy Wonderland
21. Filofax Personal Tempate: Cutting & Punching Tutorial - Billie's Craft Room
22. "I'm In" - Roses in December
23. Flyleaf Focus Sheet {Filofax Friday} - Renew Your Space
24. Kikki K Lilac and Gold inspired template un-datate Do1P - My Last Eureka
25. DIY Washi Stand - Organised Lifestyle
26. Van der Spek (Senior Size) Quick Set Up - Innocent + Twisted
27. Kate Spade Planner Set Up - Itsaplannerthing
28. How I Use: Sticky Tags or Page Flags - The Filofax Lifestyle
29. 9 Random Tips for Getting More Out of Your Planner - Homemakers Daily
30. Cute Paper Clips for Filofax/Planner/Organizer - Clever Soiree
31. Tracking My Time – Episode 2 - Carie Harling
32. A5 Day Per Page Filofax Insert Printable - MsWenduhh 

• We monitor over 500 blogs and sites, your Filofax/Organiser blog posts could appear in this list, just contact philofaxy at gmail dot com to be added to our monitoring list. 
• We can not guarantee people will read your posts, but we know there is a higher chance of people reading your posts and returning to read other posts if you make them interesting with pictures and good hints and tips. Do not forget to give your posts a title... 
• For some general tips on Filofax Blogging, please see this post

And here are a selection of the latest Filofax videos for your enjoyment.

1. A Look at My Husband's Planner Set Up - Patty Gardner
2. Filofax Unboxing Saffiano - SamLuvely
3. Chronodex/Spiraldex Update! - MissVickybee
4. A sneak peek at my tweaked September pages and what I named my Battle Binder - MaryAnneMoll

• For tips on how to improve your videos, please see this post.  Also this video too Webfinds 
• Your Filofax/Organiser Videos could appear in this list, just contact philofaxy at gmail dot com to be added to our monitoring list. 

Enjoy

Free For All Friday No. 302

This week I was pushed in to action with regards to ring fencing some dates in 2015. I thought it is about time I got my inserts printed for next year. I have the paper, Filofax Cotton Cream for my personal size inserts and some Clairefontaine 80gsm A5 paper for my main A5 desk planner.

This year though I will be looking to update my other A5 inserts, and reprint my address book section too, it is looking a bit untidy with numerous changes in it.

So have you decided what formats you are using yet in 2015?

But as it is Friday, please feel free to discuss anything Filofax or ring bound organiser related. Have a great weekend.

Keeping Lists by Nan

[This post was inspired by a conversation in our Philofaxy Roundtable chat in August, 2014, as those who were there may remember!]

December 25, 2013...My husband and I leaving for vacation at 4:00 the following morning. I'm all packed, and more importantly, my 2014 diary is all set up in my Personal-size Filofax, ready to bring on my trip. But my head is spinning with things to do...ask for a credit from the company that failed to ship a gift we ordered, work tasks that I need to remember when I get back to the office on January 2nd, friends I want to contact, things I want to do on vacation, plans for our town's New Year's Eve event on which I'm working when we get back on the 30th.

So I grabbed a bunch of Pocket-size To-Do pages. They're punched so as to fit across the middle 4 rings of a Personal Filofax as well as a Pocket. I put them in the middle of my week-on-2-pages spread so I'd have ready access to all these reminders alongside my schedule.

This was a perfect solution...for a while. Nothing slipped through the cracks. I had a place to list anything I needed to remember where it would never get lost and where I could easily see it. When I filled up the first little Pocket page, I added a new one. And another... and another...

Fast forward to summer, 2014. I now have 5 pocket pages that I need to move forward (by opening the rings) every time my 2DPP spread changes. Quick phone calls are mixed in with bucket list items and random ideas, creating a mish-mosh that I barely want to look at at all. 

Some days I get the urge to reboot it all, copying each item onto a more appropriate location, like the Ideas section in my Projects book. But those lists really aren't working for me either. Hidden in the middle of a book, they're in a place where they don't inspire me to act upon them. In fact, I'm feeling the urge to recopy all my lists, which is something I do every 2-3 years. Each time I rewrite a listed item, I'm forced to reconsider it. It's like a mini life review. 

Meanwhile, I keep reminding myself that it's not necessary to rewrite anything. My lists may not be perfect, but they're adequate. No information is getting lost. No need to panic. As always, the problem is not inside my Filofax; it's inside me. The time is better spent doing something on my list than redoing the list. 

I'm getting better about looking at my lists more often, even though they're not making me happy right now. And I will do a list purge, but later this year, not now. For now, I need to practice a new way of list cleansing: getting items off my list...by doing them!  

Guest Post - FiloWiki - Robert

A wiki, yes it should be a wiki for Filofax-models. It was in November 2013 that I started a thread in the German Filomaniac-Forum asking for a webpage which could help a newbie like me in researching information about Filofax-models.

Models listed on eBay with sometimes really bad pictures, no names and no further information at all where hard to identify and I was hoping for pages assisting me in the research on those models. It did not take long to realize that there are no webpages like that and this sparked an idea. Since the community has so many Filofax-models, could we start a page like that? Could we get them all together? I thought we could at least start to collect as much as we know ... so I set up a wiki.

After tossing around many ideas and working out the details I published the first pages in February 2014 listing mostly my own Filofaxes and 14 weeks later on the 9th of June I added the 100th model. 

A collection of photos and information about every Filofax-model ever made, that is the mission of the filowiki.

Gathering data about each model to the best of my knowledge, I also got requests on listing rather subjective information. Getting away from a pure data reference to include things that really matter, like how is this binder in real life? How will the material age? What is so special about this model?

This is the reason I started adding sections like 'experience' to every article to include how people might use a certain binder and how they think about it's features. Like the Sandhurst which has proven itself to be quite hard-wearing in daily use.

Another section I'd like to expand on is 'ageing' to show how the material on models might age. Where it might be easily damaged or if it will develop a patina. Like the following example, the Hamilton. A binder made of oiled leather, quite rugged and ageing with dignity.

To include more information like this I do need more photos of well-aged models, so if you have such photos I'd be happy to add them!

I also like to highlight the most striking features of some binders like the Cavendish in the next picture is most searched for because of it's bigger than normal rings. 

Fortunately I also received some shots showing whole families of a Filofax-model in all their colours or sizes. This way I can show how the different colours or sizes of a model compare like the Finchley-family in the following example-pictures which I am very happy to show you.

Writing about so many different Filofax-models gets you thinking. There are the stars everyone knows and likes to have but there are also the lesser-known Filofax organisers and the downright rare models. So I thought about a showcase for the silent stars of the scene and started a series on "lesser-known" Filofax organisers with the Stratford

I will add to this series in the months coming especially interesting or just rare models maybe not known to everybody.

The wiki would not be where it is now without the community and the many submitted photographs and information for all those articles so I'd like to take this opportunity to thank again all the submitters and I hope there will be many more.

If you find any errors or have photos of models or colour-versions not already in the wiki do not hesitate to contact me via filowiki@robert-mayr.com

Web Finds 26 August 2014

I hope you had a good weekend? Time to enjoy a great collection of blog posts and videos from around the internet.

So here are the latest Filofax blog posts from around the Internet:

1. Charity auction for Chimwemwe - Paper Pens Ink
2. To Pocket or not to Pocket? - Letters in November
3. Celebrating Dr Who :) A walk through my TARDIS Filofax - The Paradox of An Organised Scientist
4. Filofax Calipso Organiser Review - Everyday Concepts
5. One Second, Two Seconds, Three Seconds - Giftie Etcetera
6. Filofax Review: Temperley Ikat - Cats Corner
7. Travel Filo & Organization - Well Planned Life
8. Cute Printable Kokeshi Doll To-Do List Refills & Owl Character Week On Two Pages!! - Filofax Love
9. Filofax Tips #2: Planner Update! - My Last Eureka
10. Things You Aren't Writing Down, But Should - Giftie Etcetera
11. Turning My Erin Condren to a Discbound System! - Make'N All
12. My inspiration Filofax - Brandon's Blog
13. Late release for 2015 Plannerisms planners - Plannerisms
14. My Travel Filofax - MacPsych
15. On its way to me – Gigliodoro Brown Divino A5 with gold hardware - This Bug's Life
16. My Kate Spade Planner Story - Organized Hobbit
17. My very own kikki.K Lilac Personal Planner - Paper Cutterz
18. A week has gone by update: Filofax, Journals and me - Mrs Brimbles
19. My inspiration filofax with new video! - Brandon's Blog
20. The Daily Page Deets - Giftie Etcetera

• We monitor over 400 blogs and sites, your Filofax/Organiser blog posts could appear in this list, just contact philofaxy at gmail dot com to be added to our monitoring list. 
• We can not guarantee people will read your posts, but we know there is a higher chance of people reading your posts and returning to read other posts if you make them interesting with pictures and good hints and tips. Do not forget to give your posts a title... 
• For some general tips on Filofax Blogging, please see this post

And here are a selection of the latest Filofax videos for your enjoyment.

1. Filofax Tips Part 8 - Well Thats Nat
2. Slim Down Your Filofax - LadyKat528
3. The Minimalist Planner Trailer - LadyKat528
4. Kikki K Lilac & Gold: Unboxing and Review - OATTblog
5. Filofax Finsbury Unboxing - Samluvly
6. DIY Fish Inserts with More Uses for Monthly Charts - Patty Gardner
7. Decorating My Filofax - Back To School Theme Ver.4 - My Purpley Life
8. Fold out photo pocket for your Filofax - Made With Love Crafter
9. Filofax Week 32 Decoration Tutorial - Sugarpandax3
10. Plan It Sunday - Episode 15 - ScrappinMariposa
11. Planner Update: Vera Bradley Agenda, Midori Traveller's Notebook, Filofax, and a random notebook - Cape May

• For tips on how to improve your videos, please see this post.  Also this video too Webfinds 
• Your Filofax/Organiser Videos could appear in this list, just contact philofaxy at gmail dot com to be added to our monitoring list. 

We are on the look out for more people to take part in Reader Under the Spotlight. If you would like to appear in this feature then please contact Steve : philofaxy at gmail dot com  Thank you.

This Week Posts

1. Filofax Pretties: Week 34 Decoration - So Joey Creates
2. Week planner 71# - Lucy Wonderland
3. Week 34 in my A5 Malden - Paper Cutterz
4. My week 86 - Sabina
5. My week #123 - Paper Lovestory
6. My Week #34 - Joanny White
7. My Week #34 - Life of Kitty
8. Week 34 Before & After Shots Comparison - Carie Harling
9. My week #34 - She's Electic
10. What the Week 34?! Daily Accountability - OATTblog

Enjoy

Free For All Tuesday No. 186

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

Even if it is not Tuesday, you can still post your questions here, just pick the most recent FFAT or FFAF.

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

Filofax Catalogue - 2002

This week we have just a simple leaflet that gives us the details of the new organisers for the line up in 2002. However, there is still useful information from this double sided page.

And you can find larger versions of these scans on Flickr here.

Reader Under The Spotlight - Robert

Today I would like to introduce you to Robert. 

Hi, my name is Robert and I have been a software developer since 1998. I work part time and study Computer Sciences right now. As far back as I can remember, I have been a paper person. Even my mother told me a few weeks ago that she only had to go to the paper sections in the super market to find me when I was a child.

I use many many electronic gadgets and since I have a quite good understanding of how they work I know and respect their limits. Thats why I use paper for my planning needs.

In February 2014 I started a wiki for Filofax-models feeling the need for a reference myself: 

It is working and growing quite well and 14 weeks later (June 2014) I had the pleasure of adding the 100th model.

1. When did you buy your first organiser and what was it?

I have always been toying around with the kind of bound organisers you get at school but never had enough to write in them. In 2007 I bought a ring bound organiser (not Filofax) but failed in using it. Since 2012 I have been using a Filofax, the first was an A5 Domino in red which I still have but do not use anymore (A5 is just not my size).

2. What other brands have you used or considered using?

I have been using loads of Moleskines but always suffered from the limitations of a bound organiser. And I didn't even realize the reason. I used every hack for Moleskine I could find and even attached different sections to the notebooks just because I could not use them for everything.

What I did not realize was that the solution was so near. A Filofax.

3. Out of the organisers you own which is your current favourite (Style and Size)?

I do really like the vintage models and as I have a few of them it is not easy to answer this question. I think it's the crocodile print Winchester or the Dundee. Both in Personal size.

4. How many Filofax or other brands of organisers do you own?

A quick count gets me to 25. 2-3 of other brands. Most of them are Personal size, there are a few Pockets and Minis. I especially like my Winchesters, the Dundee, the Balmoral, the Sandhurst, the Henley, ....

I try to keep an online-overview of my collection up to date: 

5. What is the oldest organiser in your collection?

That have to by my three Winchesters. Two with crocodile print, one made of pigskin.

6. What do you use your organisers for?

I use my Pocket on the go having a M2P (this and the next year) for an overview of appointment possibilities and a few sections for frequently needed lists and jotting down ideas.

I use a few Personals for daily needs. Like:

• meal planning (WPP)
• goal logging & financial logging (W2P)
• ToDo's (private and university) (W2P)
• Waiting for (delegated tasks)
• daily tasks and appointments (DPP)
• a few lined pages for brainstorming
• lined pages for every year until 2040 (right now) as reminders for things far ahead
• goal oversight & definitions
• a diary on lined pages

Hmmmm, I think thats it. Btw, the Personals stay at home.

7. What was the feature about Filofax you like most?

Definitely the flexibility. With a Filofax you can define/find your own system!

8. If you could design your own Filofax what would it feature?

I'd like them to be designed like the Winchesters. I don't put any cards in my Filofaxes but I sometimes need the pockets.

9. How do you carry your Filofax?

I only carry my Pocket Filofax which resides in the front pocket of my Lloyd leather-shoulderbag.

10. Which Filofax in the current range do you like the most? Are you going to buy it?

I am very curious about the Lockwood and I always had a soft spot for the Holborn in Personal. Especially in that whine red.

11. What is the most you have ever spent on a Filofax or other brand of organiser? Which model?

56 EUR. For the dark green crocodile print Winchester. But it was worth every cent! Even if I had to wait a long time to get it.

12. What's your favourite Filofax tip or hack?

A tip: Never be afraid of trying something out. Step out of the obvious path.

A hack: I love using the clear tabbed flyleaf from Filofax and I was lucky that my local paper shop had them. I used many rulers, for many sections making the Filo a little bit lopsided and hard to write in. But since I switched to the flyleafs the Filo is way more usable.

 

13. Turning to Philofaxy, what do you like the most?

The community and the printables. An easy way to try different calendars but I have to admit that I am lucky to have a very reliable duplex-printer.

14. And what do you not like about Philofaxy?

That I have to login to comment on articles.

15. What was the last music track you downloaded or bought?

David Bowie - Starman (from the album Ziggy Stardust)

16. Have you ever attended a Philofaxy meet-up? if not do you intend to one day? 

No. But I would if there is one reachable for me. =)

17. What was the last movie you watched?

The Book of Eli

18. What was the last book you read?

I always read about 5-6 books simultaneously. That takes a long time for each of them but I simply cannot read only one book. So maybe a few examples: The diary of Samuel Pepys, Edward Abbey´s Desert Solitaire, George R.R. Martin´s Series A Song of Ice and Fire, Walter Kempowski´s Echolot Project, ...

Thank you Robert and keep up the good work on Filo-Wiki. 

If you would like to appear in this feature on Philofaxy please contact philofaxy at gmail dot com

Web Finds - 23 August 2014

I hope you had a good week? Time to enjoy a great collection of blog posts and videos from around the internet.

So here are the latest Filofax blog posts from around the Internet:

1. Filofax for dummies - Designs from the Black Forest
2. There’s More To a To-Do List Than To-Do’s - Homemakers Daily
3. Planner Corner Introduction - Organise your Life & Mind
4. A Little Filofax Update! - Letters in November
5. Malden vs. Calipso: who wins? - The Pink Mug
6. Home Made Planner Part 4 - GillB
7. Tri-Fold 6-Ring Binders - This Silly Bee & Revery
8. Q1 What do you track in your Filofax/Planner?  - Organise your Life & Mind
9. Filofax Pocket Ochre Malden | My new baby! - Lissa's Loves
10. The Humble Metropol - GrakkyF
11. Appointments Printable - Ms Wenduhh
12. Insert/Refill Options For Your Planner {Filofax Friday} - Lissa's loves
13. Kate Spade Wellesley vs Filofax Holborn: The clash of the zipped planners - OATTblog
14. Filofax Pretties: Planner Essentials - So Joey Creates
15. The Care And Upkeep Of The Insides Of A Planner - Giftie Etcetera
16. Oh Come On, Give Me A Break! The Malden Saga Part 3 - Kent from Oz's Filofaxuations
17. Sloth on the Road - Planning Light - The Sewing Sloth
18. University: 20 Things to do before I graduate. - Life of Kitty
19. First Impressions: Kikki K Lilac & Gold - OATTblog
20. Update & New Directions - Limetree Fruits
21. Cover Story - The Filofax Blog
22. First Look: The Electric-Blue-But-Looks-Sorta-Purple Finsbury - Yay for Fridays
23. Unplanned Ouchie: Beginnings of a Project Page - Giftie Etcetera
24. On The Death of the Blog - The Fledgling Blogger
25. Buying Experience: My Personal Ochre Malden - The Filofax Lifestyle
26. Filofax Pocket NEW Week on two pages - My Last Eureka

• We monitor over 500 blogs and sites, your Filofax/Organiser blog posts could appear in this list, just contact philofaxy at gmail dot com to be added to our monitoring list. 
• We can not guarantee people will read your posts, but we know there is a higher chance of people reading your posts and returning to read other posts if you make them interesting with pictures and good hints and tips. Do not forget to give your posts a title... 
• For some general tips on Filofax Blogging, please see this post

And here are a selection of the latest Filofax videos for your enjoyment.

1. Filofax Personal Lockwood - first impressions! - One Fantastic Find
2. Filofax Organization- August 2014 - Rachel Dunaway
3. Personal Filofax Malden Setup Aug. 2014 - Made with Love Crafter
4. Filofax A5 'The Original Retro Navy' - Unboxing & First Impressions - adamsfilo
5. Why I Hate My Pocket Malden Filofax Wallet - Filo Amy
6. Gillio Mia Cara medium unboxing - Organised Life Style
7. Kate Spade Wellesley vs Filofax Holborn - OATTblog
8. Filofax Study Routine - Rachel Dunaway
9. Malden Filofax Leather Comparsion  - Filo Amy

• For tips on how to improve your videos, please see this post.  Also this video too Webfinds 
• Your Filofax/Organiser Videos could appear in this list, just contact philofaxy at gmail dot com to be added to our monitoring list. 

We are still looking for more volunteers for our Reader Under the Spotlight, so please get in touch.

Enjoy

Free for All Friday No. 301 by Nan

In many places, the new school year begins in September or perhaps August. For teachers, students, and others whose life revolves around the academic year, most manufacturers, including Filofax, offer calendars starting in July instead of January.

Even though I'm not in the academy, I look at the beginning of September as a New Year of sorts. It's my second chance to change things that aren't working, especially in my organizer system.

Are you planning to do anything differently come September?

APATT* Nan's Goals and Projects Book

*All Personal All the Time

In addition to the Filofax I carry every day, which for 2014 is a Personal size with 2DPP diary and Slimline A-Z tabs, I need a separate book for projects, ideas, lists, and budget tracking.

As mentioned in my earlier post about the Filofax I use for work, I've been using solely Personal size so for this year, just to see whether I can do it. Here are the six Personal Filofaxes currently in my life:

The Goals and Projects book is a red Finsbury that I bought in 2006. It was my everyday calendar Filo before an ink-blue Cuban took over that role, and I love red, so it holds a warm place in my heart. It has seven tabs: Goals, Projects, Ideas, Budget, and tabs for three local organizations I'm involved with. These activities started out as projects, but expanded enough to require their own notes section. 

My goals setup is inspired by the goals pages in Laurie's Plannerisms planner. In keeping with APATT, I just used some blue Personal paper and a pen to create pages for yearly goals, quarterly goals, monthly goals, and weekly goals. 

The weekly pages have checkboxes for each day of the week. 

In the Projects section, each project starts on a yellow page. Filofax used to make Project pages, but they're hard to come by. Besides, by using a ruled page, I'm not limited by the structure of a project form. On subsequent pages, I take notes on white ruled paper. 

The Ideas section mostly contains lists of books I want to read, stores and websites I want to visit, places I want to go, and so on. 

In the Budget section, I use Filofax's forms to track personal spending—I allow myself a certain amount each month for haircuts, makeup, meals out, and other fun—and tax-deductible donations as I make them. 

The last three sections hold my meeting and work notes for each organization. As you can see, I don't have trouble writing on Personal size paper. In fact, I think it helps me take better notes because I have to be economical with words. 

Gold Personal Original seeks serious long term relationship

A Gold Personal Original didn't want to be 'left on the shelf' when all her fellow good looking play-mates went off to the ball in search of Prince Charming...

So Philofaxy came to her rescue and a nice lady at Filofax very kindly said 'Go to France and seek a handsome Prince there' so is that me? !!! May be not!

So today a keen young man got out of his camion blanc and thrust a box in to my hand and demanded a signature on his digital adoption papers machine and then wished me bonne journee.

Little did he know what delights this small box was going to create....

Of course this could be a fairy tale.... but with time against me and people banging on the door demanding to know when will they see the beautiful princess... I suppose I better get to the starting point of how you can become the new partner of this Gold Personal Size Original.

So here goes.... this is open to anyone in the world... as long as you have some sort of postal system... so I think that just about includes everyone.

Secondly this organiser is being auctioned here on Philofaxy and no where else.

All the proceeds of the auction will be going to Chimwemwe our preferred children's charity in Malawi. Our association with Chimwemwe goes back over 4 years now, and people from our community have donated many hundreds of pounds/dollars/euros etc to a very good cause. One of our Philofaxy readers is one of their supporters and has been out to Malawi many times. She has written about the work of Chimwemwe for Philofaxy and you can read those posts here.

So to bid for this Filofax Personal Size Gold Original you have to send an email to: philofaxy at gmail dot com with the subject of Gold Original Bid and within the email please put the amount you wish to bid in UK pounds £  use online conversions for what ever the UK pound is in your local currency.  Each bid will be acknowledged by email within a few hours.

The current highest bid value will appear on a 'Charity page'

The auction will close on Wednesday 27th August. And once your winning bid value has been confirmed as being received by the people at Chimwemwe, I will despatch it from France to where ever you are. A small additional donation to the charity to cover the postage cost would be appreciated by me.

Bidding will start at £45.

Thank you all for taking part and thank you to Filofax UK for their kind donation, I hope her stay will be short at Chez Morton, and that she will go to a good home next week.

Filofax Kensington review - By Anita

I'm not quite sure how it happened, but I'm being unfaithful to my crimson Malden with another binder. I never expected to be so smitten with a simple black Filofax like the Kensington as I previously would've considered it a bit on the boring side. I think the pictures of the model here and Janet's post singing its praises were partly to blame, and to my surprise I managed to pick one up for a great price on eBay.

After it arrived, I gave it a good clean with a damp cloth and then used some black shoe polish to give it a nice shine. Whilst giving it a bit of TLC, I realised just how wonderful the leather is and I think this is the main reason that I love it. It's very soft, smooth and supple and in my opinion its leather feels better quality than that on my Malden.

On the left hand side, there is eight credit cards slots, with a full length pocket behind. And on the right, there is a gusseted pocket (with a flap to cover the zip) and another full length pocket behind with a leather pen loop. I think it's a shame that more modern binders don't have pockets like this as they're so much easier to get into.

I normally prefer a notepad pocket, but the interior layout is perfect for using the Filofax as a wallet. I always take my personal one with me when I go away and I think that the Kensington will be perfect for this. I have found that the all leather pen loop is surprisingly roomy and my Lamy Safari fountain pen just fits.

It's quite slim when full and feels like it easily holds quite a lot of paper.

I am going to do another post about my current set up, but I thought I'd share a couple more shots of the inside. I am a big Godzilla fan and was delighted to find some cheap postcards to add a bit of interest at the front.

It scores very highly on the flatability scale.

At the moment, my poor abandoned Malden is in a drawer and I think I may set a deadline to consider selling it as I'm really not one for keeping filos that aren't in use. I love its crimson colour, but the Kensington has definitely won me over with its supple leather, generous pen loop and well thought out interior layout.

Web Finds - 19 August 2014

I hope you had a good weekend? Time to enjoy a great collection of blog posts and videos from around the internet.

So here are the latest Filofax blog posts from around the Internet:

1. Back to Filofax I go… - Kel & Filofax
2. Kokeshi To-Do List Sheets & Page Markers - Filofax Love
3. Look into Life Mapping Mobile Inserts - DiYfish
4. Purple/Pink Moth Cordwain Higgler Binder - This Bug's Life
5. How to Choose a Planner (or switch planners) - Homemakers Daily
6. My DIY Planner Charm! - Designs from the Black Forest
7. How to Use Envelopes in Your Filofax - Ms Wenduhh
8. Planning Lazy: The List Of Little Tips That My Plannerds Requested - Giftie Etcetera
9. Filofax Pretties: How Useful is a Monthly Planner? - So Joey Creates
10. Rare Vintage Mulberry Planner Size Refills - This Bug's Life
11. Cute Owl Printable DIY Notepaper Refills! - Filofax Love
12. Mr Philofaxy saved the day! - She's Eclectic
13. Sometimes Daily Planner - Giftie Etcetera
14. Editable Daily Routines on Notepad Printable to Insert into Your Planner - Ms Wenduhh
15. Month Freebie Time - Organise your Life & Mind

• We monitor over 400 blogs and sites, your Filofax/Organiser blog posts could appear in this list, just contact philofaxy at gmail dot com to be added to our monitoring list. 
• We can not guarantee people will read your posts, but we know there is a higher chance of people reading your posts and returning to read other posts if you make them interesting with pictures and good hints and tips. Do not forget to give your posts a title... 
• For some general tips on Filofax Blogging, please see this post

And here are a selection of the latest Filofax videos for your enjoyment.

1. Filofax Aston Summer Set Up - LadyKat528
2. What my Filofax Maldens look like after one year. - Liz S
3. August planner update - Van der Spek 335 Manager - Joshua LaPorte
4. Fluro Pink Original Filofax - Lola Karwowski
5. Experimenting Different Planners/Agendas - Love4creativity
6. DIY Fish Inserts This Week - Patty Gardner
7. Filofax Chameleon Summer Set Up - LadyKat528
8. Decorating My Filofax - Back To School Theme Ver.3 - My Purpley Life
9. Filofax vs. Erin Condren - Pretty Shiny Sparkly

• For tips on how to improve your videos, please see this post.  Also this video too Webfinds 
• Your Filofax/Organiser Videos could appear in this list, just contact philofaxy at gmail dot com to be added to our monitoring list. 

We are on the look out for more people to take part in Reader Under the Spotlight. If you would like to appear in this feature then please contact Steve : philofaxy at gmail dot com  Thank you.

This Week Posts

1. My week #122 - Paper Lovestory
2. Week 32 Before & After Shots Comparison - Carie Harling
3. My week 84 - Sabina
4. My Week #33 - Joanny White
5. Filofax Pretties: Week 32 and 33 - So Joey Creates
6. WEEK IN REVIEW: 08.11.14 - 08.17.14 - Innocent + Twisted
7. My Week #33 - Life of Kitty
8. Month in Review - June & July 2014 - My Purpley Life
9. My Week: 11-17 August 2014 & Life Update  - Little Miss Anna
10. My week #33 - She's Eclectic
11. my week 85 - Sabina
12. Week 33 Before & After Shots Comparison  - Carie Harling
13. What the Week?! Let’s catch up! - OATTblog

Enjoy

Free For All Tuesday No. 185

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

Even if it is not Tuesday, you can still post your questions here, just pick the most recent FFAT or FFAF.

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

Filofax Catalogue - 2000

This week we look at the 'New organisers for Spring/Summer 2000'

And there are higher resolution versions of all the pages here.

As always the pictorial content of this post is the intellectual property of Filofax Group Ltd. The scans are reproduced here with the full permission of Filofax Group Ltd. for educational and non-commercial usage.

The Original - Monochrome

Did you miss out on buying the Original Monochrome? Philofaxy has been able to locate some in Holland waiting for you to order them!

The Monochrome Original is available in both Personal Size and A5 size.

Thank you to Joost Appelboom.

Reader Under the Spotlight - Nikki

Hi, my name is Nikki. I’m a freelance writer with a special needs daughter, a super disorganised husband and a slightly unhealthy penchant for all things stationery.

1. When did you buy your first organiser and what was it? 

My first “grown up” organiser was a beautiful personal sized teal Baroque Filofax. Prior to that, I had always used disposable yearly planner books - all completely boring and uninspiring. It wasn’t until I was planning my wedding that I found myself needing a more flexible (and fun!) system. 

2. What other brands have you used or considered using?

Since coming to the dark side, I’ve always been a Filofax girl, but I have had some problems with the rings in the last year or two which has soured me a bit on the brand. 

I’ve just recently ordered a beautiful Van Der Spek custom, which is in the mail as I type this - ahhhhh, the agony!!!!

3. Out of the organisers you own which is your current favourite (Style and Size)? 

I’ve been using a beautiful A5 Brown Holborn Zip (Filofax) for a little over a year now and I love it. She is perfect except for her weak rings. 

4. How many Filofax or other brands of organisers do you own? 

I currently have my personal baroque (the original - I can’t bear to part with her!), a pocket brown Holborn, my A5 Holborn which sits on my desk, and my VDS in transit. 

I have had others in the past which I have sold on, and I just gifted an A5 black sketch onto my (amazingly disorganised) mother, who at 54 years of age has just started a university degree. 

5. What is the oldest organiser in your collection? 

My personal teal baroque - she’s a beauty.

6. What do you use your organisers for? 

Everything! 

I have a lot of freelance projects on the go at any one time so all my deadlines and to-dos are in the planner. I also track my daughter’s food intake, behaviours and specialist appointments. My husband works on an ever-changing weekly roster so I try to keep track of him in there as well. 

I follow the Flylady for home organisation, and I track all my cleaning duties in the filofax. I do meal-planning and blog schedules and track business finances, and I also record all my big life moments there. Little ones too - like which book I’m currently reading and which TED talk I watch each day.. my planner is THE HUB. 

7. What was the feature about Filofax you like most? 

The flexibility of the binder system. My interests and priorities change frequently, so I loved the idea of just switching out the content whenever I needed to change focus.  

8. If you could design your own Filofax what would it feature?

Bigger rings - and better quality too, that has been the big downfall for me. Otherwise my Holborn zip is just about the ideal planner. (Perhaps only until the VDS arrives?!?) 

9. How do you carry your Filofax?

My planner stays at home. I work there so I don’t need to take it with me and it stays open on my desk most of the time. I do have a pocket holborn that I sometimes take out with me if I think I’ll need the notepaper or access to my contacts etc. If I do take it, it just gets thrown into my bag. 

10. Which Filofax in the current range do you like the most? Are you going to buy it? 

I’m completely obsessed with Van Der Spek right now so I don’t even know what the current Filofax range looks like. 

11. What is the most you have ever spent on a Filofax or other brand of organiser? Which model?

My custom VDS is the most by far. I think it worked out to be about $350AUD including all the extras and international postage. 

12. What's your favourite Filofax tip or hack? 

For recurring to-dos and routines (like housekeeping duties) I place a clear flyleaf over the top of the page and use a whiteboard marker to mark off what I’ve done. At the end of the week, the flyleaf wipes clean and I can re-use the list without having to write it out again. 

13. Turning to Philofaxy, what do you like the most? 

Reviews mainly. Whenever I’ve considered a new planner, Philofaxy is always my first stop. Most recently I LOVED the VDS construction post. Fantastic idea and very informative. 

14. And what do you not like about Philofaxy? 

I had to stop visiting for a while there because every time I did I had the uncontrollable urge to buy a new Filofax!

15. What was the last music track you downloaded or bought?

The Frozen soundtrack - partly for my daughter, but mostly for my very burly, bearded husband who knows all the songs by heart!

16. Have you ever attended a Philofaxy meet-up? if not do you intend to one day? 

No I haven’t. I love talking about my planner but I’m pretty shy so I probably wouldn’t be brave enough. Also, I’m not sure there would be one in my area. 

17. What was the last movie you watched?

I honestly cannot remember!

18. What was the last book you read? 

I’m currently reading World War Z

19. George Clooney or Brad Pitt?

Brad Pitt! I had a notebook filled with Brad Pitt pictures when I was about 16 (how embarrassing is that to admit?)

Thank you Nikki, and be sure to check out Nikki's blog. And if you would like to be featured on Reader Under the Spotlight please contact us at philofaxy at gmail dot com