Readers Favourite Organiser - Bonnie

Today we start a new series on Philofaxy about readers favourite organisers. Thank you to Bonnie for sharing the details of her favourite organiser. 

1. What is your favourite organiser (Make/model/size)?

My favorite organizer is a Franklin Covey.  It is quite old as I got it on Ebay some time ago and so I do not know the model.  Maybe someone else does and I have seen these on Ebay fairly frequently.  It is in the Compact size although I do know it also comes in the Classic size as well.

2. How long have you owned it?

I have probably owned the binder for a year or so.  I actually have two of them, both bought on Ebay.  I have the binder in a brown zip and in the black with a snap closure.  I like the color of the brown but tend to gravitate toward the snap closures for some reason.  They seem to be a bit more forgiving if you have to stuff some papers of odd szes into them on occasion.

3. What is it that you like about it so much?

I have found that I tend to love unstructured binders.  I like the leather to be floppy and soft.  I also like the entire binder to be soft and forgiving so that you can easily get into the pockets.  I have another Franklin Covey binder that I like as well but my main complaint about it is how difficult it is to get into each of the pockets.

This binder has a multitude of pockets.  There are several regular full sized pockets and a zip pocket inside and one outside.  I don't always have "stuff" in each and every pocket but I have the option if I want to use them.  There are a couple of small pockets in back I use for 3 x 5 cards for my lists and 3 small pockets in the front.  One is actually the perfect size for one of those credit card sized calculators.

4. Do you use it all the time?

Yes, I do use this binder all the time.  It feels like I have my entire life in it.  I have a "Notes" section where I keep miscellaneous information.  I have a list of my meds as it seems every time you go to a doctor, they want a list of everything you take.  I also keep a list of my husband's meds.  I have information as to the purchase dates, brand names and model numbers of major purchases and just about anything that I want to keep track of like "wish lists of things I would like to purchase", recipes I want to try etc.

I have a "Projects" section.  I am a knitter and also crochet and scrapbook and do many other crafts that I keep track of in that section.  I have a "Money" section where I keep track of my spending and budget.  I have a "Holiday" section.  I shop for certain to be needed gifts all 12 months of the year and keep track in there.

I also seem to be the one who makes the holiday meals and they tend to be pretty traditional and so I keep my menu listed along with a shopping list of what I need for the meal rather than having to rewrite that every year.  I keep a list of Christmas gifts  by person so that I know where I am and when I am finished.  I also keep track of gifts given for other occasions and keep track of gifts received. I have my calendar which is a DIY Fish one.

Right now, I have the last two months of 2015 and all of 2016 in my binder.  Last by not least, I have my A-Z tabs with my contacts.  I also have my passwords in that section.  I am probably the only person in North America who does not have a cell phone.

I have used planners and binders on and off for many many years.  When I first started seeing all of the interest in them on line and see the various groups forming, I did try decorating mine with stickers and washi tape but that somehow did not end up working for me.

Even with being a scrapbooker and having a ton of this type of decorating material, it just seemed to not work for me in my organizer although I love seeing what other people do.  I have a some family photos and a couple of message type things on my page lifters but decorations are actually pretty much at a minimum.

5. Do you think the design could be improved in any way? How?

When I purchased this binder from Ebay, the "ring assembly" was actually removable.  It was attached to a card type thing which slipped into one of the pockets and it also had a piece of leather that I assume was to protect the binder from impressions made by the rings.  The rings that came with the binder were 1.25 inches.  I did not like this removable assembly.

What I did was to remove the leather piece, cut the base part that held the screws and then made a slit in the leather in the center of the binder.  I inserted the strip with the screw things right into the binder and closed the slit with black tape.  When the actual ring assembly is in place, you cannot see this tape at all.  I also changed from the 1.25 rings to 1.50 rings.

Regarding all organizer type binders out there, I think that ring size should be optional according to the needs of whoever is using it.  I know some people like small rings and others like large rings and, when life changes for us, we can even go back and forth ourselves.  I think what I like about Franklin Covey is the ability we have to unscrew the rings and replace them with either a different size or different color depending on our needs.

And here are pictures of my Franklin Covey

Thank you Bonnie. 

If you would like to share with us the details of your favourite organiser, please contact steve @ philofaxy dot com