Filofax Tip No. 14

So today's tip.

I always carry a couple of envelopes and a small number of postage stamps in my Filofax organiser. It is my emergency communications pack.

You could add a couple of sheets of letter writing paper as well, but we all have ample amounts of paper in our organisers!

You will then be ready for when you need to send someone a letter and you don't have email or any form of phone or internet connection.

Until the next tip happy organising.  Check out other tips here.

Filofax Tip No 13

So today's tip.

I'm sure we all like to take care of our organisers and cherish them. I often see questions from people looking for advice as to what products to use to clean and care for their organisers.

Filofax give the following advice:

Leather is a natural material and there may sometimes be textural or shading variations within the surface. These are natural characteristics and representative of the leather’s unique, individual beauty and proof of its genuine origin. It is recommended, however, that you avoid exposing your leather organiser to harsh elements such as moisture, bright light or direct heat.

In the event that your organiser becomes soiled or dirty the following care guidelines may be helpful:

• Light scratches to waxy leather can be removed by rubbing softly with a clean finger
• Smooth, porous leather can be treated with good quality, neutral coloured leather cream (subject to manufacturer’s instructions)
• Textured or coated leathers can be wiped clean using a lightly damp cloth
• Suede is treated with a dirt resistant finish and a dry brush or cloth should be used to remove dirt or stains
• Fabrics can generally be cleaned by using a damp cloth
• Smudges on badges, metal edges or poppers can be gently buffed with
• a soft dry cloth

Expanding on the advice above. For fabrics I have found foam cleaners recommended for cleaning carpets without using water are very good for removing dirt and grime from fabric covers. 

Here are some products that come recommended for leather care:

Wheelers Natural Beeswax Leather Balm - I've been using this myself for the last 18 months or so. That is my bottle of it pictured above, as you can see you don't use a lot of it in that amount of time, so  a bottle will last some considerable time. 

Collonil Leather Gel for waterproofing leather as recommended by Mulberry

Saphir Universal Creme - highly recommended by Janet Carr for caring for leather hand bags and organisers.

There is an excellent page on Leather and Leather Care here.

Until the next tip happy organising.  Check out other tips here.

Filofax Tip No. 12

So today's tip.

'Where can I get.....?' is one of the most frequently asked questions that people ask me or I see on the net.

Well of course there is Ad-spot here on Philofaxy, we have items For Sale and we will also place Wanted adverts for you.

But here are some other places to go and look for your much wanted organisers!

• Van der Spek organiser fans - Facebook group
• Gillio Market Place - Facebook Group
• Vintage Filofax - Facebook group
• Filofax and Pens For Sale - Facebook group

And if none of those turns up what you want there is of course Ebay....

Until the next tip happy organising.  Check out other tips here.

Filofax Tip No. 11

So today's tip.

If like me you swap from one organiser to another during the year. Instead of just taking all the pages out and moving them across in to the other organiser.

Take 5-10 minutes to see if there are any pages you can remove, discard or archive. It is very easy for your organiser to grow through the year.

I try to remember to do this every couple of months, it helps if you have a variety of different ring sizes in your organisers.

Until the next tip happy organising.  Check out other tips here.

Filofax Tip No. 10

So today's tip.

'I've lost my Filofax'

A heart stopping moment for anyone wouldn't you agree? But it's a statement I've seen very often on Twitter.

However, Filofax offer a simple personal organiser registration scheme, you register your name and address and contact details on their website. Then you are given a unique number, you write this number on the form in the diary insert (see below) and if found the person rings one of the numbers on the form and they are given details about where to send the organiser and they get sent a Freepost envelope. In return they receive a free gift.

If you aren't using a Filofax diary refill, why not print out the forms below and put them in the front of your Filofax...

Now after reading this you will go and register won't you...... now.... please...

And before you ask... no I haven't lost any of my Filofax organisers... that was just to grab your attention....

Until the next tip happy organising.  Check out other tips here.

Filofax Tip No. 9

So today's tip.

If you use a compact or a slimline Filofax organiser and you find that there isn't enough space for the tabs on your dividers as well as your favourite pen. Why not try using top tabs instead?

They are easy enough to make. But if you aren't the creative type and you would just like to buy some instead take a look on Etsy, there's quite a selection there.

Until the next tip happy organising.  Check out other tips here.

Filofax Tip No. 8

So today's tip.

If you regularly go out and leave your Filofax at home because you are just going to walk the dog or you are just going to the supermarket. However, if you are like me and your short term memory has this tendency for you to forget things that you want to remember for later..... why not carry a Filofax Mini?

The Mini is great as a notebook, you can put some paper and a pen in it and it tucks in your pocket or jacket pocket and you will always have a pen and paper to hand.

Now the clever bit... paper in Mini size will slot on to the top or bottom three rings of an A5. So you don't have to rewrite those notes, just take the page out and pop it in to the A5 at the relevant place. See this previous post.

It also works for personal but you need to snip a corner off the page to avoid one of the rings. I snip the corners off before I put them in the mini and then they will be ready to use.

Until the next tip happy organising.  Check out other tips here.

Filofax Tip No. 7

So today's tip.

If you are new to Filofax, or you want to try a new size of organiser. Before you go and buy an expensive organiser, consider buying just some paper in the size you think you want to use and try out for a few days, create a simple folder in some card with some tags to hold the paper in place.

Alternatively buy an inexpensive organiser and use that for a few weeks and see how it works for you with the other things you will be carrying in it. Review your use of the organiser, how much space there is to write in it on a busy day. Does it take all the cards and extras.

Once you have satisfied yourself then by all means buy a more expensive model and you can keep the other one as a storage binder for unused inserts or as a place to archive your older diary inserts.

Until the next tip happy organising.  Check out other tips here.

Filofax Tip No. 6

So today's tip. I know quite a few of you have mourned the passing of the black Filofax boxes and sleeves, which have been replaced by a clear plastic sleeve.

If like me you like to store your organisers in a box so they retain their 'box freshness' until you next use them. Then there is a simple solution and they aren't expensive either.

Do a simple search for 'gift box' on your local Amazon or stationery supplier and I was surprised at the number of different options that come up... and in a variety of colours too. No more pulling out black box after black box searching for that elusive Malden or Holborn!

Until the next tip happy organising.  Check out other tips here.

Filofax Tip No. 5

So today's tip.

Time for a Spring clean of your organiser? Lots of people ask me how do you clean the leather or the textiles on my organisers.

For the exterior leather I use a small amount of leather care balm, any good shoe shop or hand bag (purse) shop should have something. I use a beeswax enriched product which I bought from a UK supermarket by Wheelers.

But for the interior if it's a textile type finish they pick up paper dust and general dust, can't be helped. My 'Sticky tape' dust lifting method works every time! Watch the video and you will see what I mean. The metal part just need a little light polishing with a liquid polish and a soft cloth to keep them shiny and finger print and rust free.


I've been asked if the rings have got surface rust what to do. A metal polish or cotton wadding which has polish impregnated in to it is the best way... and lots of rubbing with your fingers should remove it. I'm reluctant to suggest using any form of abrasive, sure it will remove the rust quickly, but you will be left with a scratched surface.

If the textile interior has become soiled in any way, try using a spray type foam carpet cleaner, don't get it too wet. Water and planners don't go very well together!

Until the next tip happy organising.  Check out other tips here.

Filofax Tip No. 4

So today's tip.

If you use more than one diary insert, use extra 'today' markers as well.

I use two diary inserts, one for my general planning, and another dedicated to blog posts, with a today marker in each one it is easy to flip from one to another.

If I have an event coming up that I'm planning in my personal size organiser, I add in another today marker to make it quick to refer to event planning page.

Until the next tip happy organising.  Check out other tips here.

Filofax Tip No.3

So today's tip.

Do you worry about carrying your Filofax organiser in your bag/purse? Could it get damaged by other things in your bag, such as keys or loose change etc?

Why not carry it in a dust bag. There is a great simple to make travel pouch on Thomas's site here. Or look out for dust bags, some examples posted below.

Until the next tip happy organising.  Check out other tips here.

Filofax Tip No.2

So today's tip.

Keep a couple of sheets of notepaper (lined or plain) close to the front of your organiser. They are then easy to get to for quick notes, when you need to jot down a phone number or a message. You can move the information to the correct section later in the day.

Use the flexibility of your Filofax organiser to keep important information where you need it ready to hand without endless page turning.

Until the next tip happy organising.  Check out other tips here.

Filofax Tip No.1

This is the first in a series of Filofax Tips that I hope to run over the next few weeks. They will be short simple posts. I hope you find them useful. Check out other tips here.

So today's tip. Add a year planner to your organiser, it can help you plan those distant dates and appointments quickly and you can reduce the number of months of daily or weekly pages you are carrying.

We have some year planners you can print out yourself and use on our Diary Inserts page....

Until the next tip happy organising.

Tip of the Day

If the interior of your Filofax organiser is cloth or part of it is cloth and it's starting to look a little 'grubby', mainly from paper dust, try this.

Open your organiser and lay it flat. Take a length of sticky tape or packing tape and press the sticky side down on to the cloth and then lift the tape off. Repeat this with a new length of tape until you have done both front and back of the organiser.

The dust will stick to the tape and leave the cloth looking like new again. The tape shouldn't leave any residue behind as it is only on the cloth for a few seconds.

For the leather covers, I use an ordinary household silicon based spray polish. However, before you try this, I would recommend using a small amount on a small area of your organiser to ensure it will not alter the colour of the leather too much. My organisers are mainly dark colours so any colour change is not noticeable.

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