Readers Favourite Organiser: Laurie

Thank you to Laurie for sharing with us her favourite organiser.

What is your favourite organiser (make/model/size)?

I have owned lots of Filofax and other-brand organizers, but my favorite is the Filofax Boston A5 in Ultraviolet. This binder has pretty much changed my life and my planner-ing completely.

How long have you owned it?

I bought it from the lovely Bree in August 2015. Interestingly, I've had a black A5 Boston for several years (that I received as a sample to review here on Philofaxy) but didn't use it as my everyday planner because I don't like black. (It is now my on-deck binder where I keep weekly and monthly pages before I use them in my everyday binder). I wanted a purple one but at the time it was out of my price range. To be honest I think they were overpriced when they were new. I forget their original price but I remember thinking at that price point they should be full leather throughout instead of fabric inside. Anyway I'm thrilled to have mine now. In fact I recently bought another A5 Boston in Ultraviolet. They have been discontinued for awhile so when I found a new one available online I grabbed it to hold onto for when my current one dies from overuse!

What is it that you like about it so much?

The 20 mm rings have been life-changing for me. For more than a decade I struggled between Personal size (pages too small) and A5 (binder too big and heavy). Most A5 binders have 25 or 30 mm rings, causing the book to be bulkier and heavier. The smaller rings of the A5 Boston allow me to use the A5 size pages I need in a slimmer and lighter book.

Being able to use an A5 binder has given me enormous freedom in which planner pages I use. I can create and print my own planner pages directly to A5 paper, punch and pop them straight into my binder. So anytime I need a different format or want to try something new, I just print out a few weeks' worth and try them out. I can switch pages as often as I want and still use the same book. No more using a dozen different planners every year! Anyone who knows me knows I've spent years and years switching around planners looking for what works. Now I can use the same book all the time and archive my entire year's pages together. It sounds silly but being able to use this binder has really changed my planner life.

Also I love that it's purple (my favorite color) and has super-soft nappa leather. I'm very tactile and I love to handle the soft leather. The combination of the big page size, slim and portable book, and soft purple leather makes this a huge winner for me.

Do you use it all the time?

ALL the time. I work from home so I keep work and personal things in my Filofax, so I only have one book to reach for throughout the day. I also keep track of my busy family: my kids' activities and who is picking them up on which days; my husband's travel schedule, etc. You can see more details of my planning system including my life-changing blue monthly pages here. That post was from when I used personal size pages, the system is mainly the same now just upgraded to A5 and I use my own printed weekly pages.

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

I wish there were a zip pocket inside somewhere so I could put in little things to keep. Also I wish the silver f on the front weren't there, and that the tab closure were a simple rounded shape instead of the angular cut.

Here are some photos of my A5 Boston Filofax:

I took the items out of the pockets (personal information). That full size front pocket holds A4 pages folded in half perfectly. I like the different sized card pockets for holding cards and smaller pages.

That awesome secretarial pocket in the back holds a pad of paper very nicely.

Thank you to Laurie who you can find at Plannerisms.com, QuoVadisBlog.com and as a contributor here on Philofaxy.

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

A5 Boston Filofax

Our cries for a slimmer A5 Filofax have been heard!  Behold, the Boston A5!!

The A5 Boston has 20 mm rings, and most of Filofax's A5 binders have 30 mm rings so this one is significantly slimmer. It's also not as wide as some of the A5 binders. I could definitely carry this one in my bag with me everywhere! And, I can switch out the A5 pages with my Mother Ship A5 Finsbury that stays on my desk.

So here is the A5 Boston compared to my A5 Finsbury. Here you can see how much wider the Finsbury is:

Not a great photo, but you can kind of see how much bigger the Finsbury is (bottom) with its 30 mm rings as opposed to the Boston's 20 mm rings:

Below you can really see the size difference, Finsbury on top and Boston on bottom:

I tried to get a shot comparing the rings on the Finsbury (top) and Boston (bottom):

Anyway, you get the idea: the Boston A5 is significantly slimmer, narrower and less bulky than a Finsbury A5.

The Boston is made from soft Nappa leather.

Here's a view of the inside cover. There is a full-length pocket, and several card pockets. The top pockets are smaller than the bottom ones so larger cards can fit in the bottom pockets.

I was surprised to find, at this price, that the inside where the rings touch is fabric, not leather. I'm assuming that is to reduce weight.

At the back of the binder is a notepad. I took it out to see how much slimmer and lighter the binder would be without it.

CHECK OUT THE BACK POCKET!!! That, my friends, is a wonderfully functional pocket for sticking in papers, tickets, and anything you want. Hooray!!

With its classic design, the Boston looks great.  And its super-smooth leather feels great in your hands (which is very important to those of us who are tactile like I am).

The A5 Boston organizer is available in the US on PensAndLeather.com and in the UK from CityOrganiser.co.uk. (I am not affiliated with either of these websites.)

Many huge enormous thanks to Filofax USA for sending me this binder as a sample to review. This is the A5 Filofax I've been searching for!!