Free For All Tuesday No. 93

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.

Reader Under the Spotlight - Coralie

Hi everyone, I'm Coralie and I am delighted to participate in Philofaxy's Reader under the Spotlight.  I am based in the UK and have an addiction (or rather passion) for notebooks, Filofaxes, stationery and organisation.

I have recently started 2 new blogs called Printed Portal and Planning with Printed Portal. For all you Filofax lovers planning with Printed Portal contains all my filo ramblings while printed portal is focused on organisational notebooks.

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

As a kid I had all of the funfax range (they are probably still knocking around in my parents attic somewhere). My first "adult" purchase was a pink personal sized Metropol which I bought last November.

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

I have toyed with purchasing a paperchase own brand binder, as some of the patterns are so     pretty, but I have yet to make the plunge.

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

I love them all, but my current favourite it my personal cross in chocolate. It is providing much amusement as I am still perfecting my set-up.

4. How many Filofax organisers do you own?

I own 5. Two personal metropols (one in pink, one in lavender), personal cross in chocolate, personal London 2012 sporting icons and Malden mini (vintage pink).

5. What do you use your Filofax for?

I have a different set-up in each of my Filofaxes.

• Personal metropol (lavender): this is my diary (wo2p inserts) and contains my after work schedule notebook and to-do list.
• Personal metropol (pink): this contains my lists and key information. I am still working on turning this into a proper stay at home fax as my bag can't take it anymore.
• Personal Cross: this is my blog/notebook filofax. It contains a planner, ideas list, blog post info/drafts and time recording among other things - I am still perfecting/experimenting with this set-up.
• Mini Malden: this is my wallet and financial Filofax.
• London 2012: my Filofax lists 365/30.

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

I can personalise my pages to suit my needs and the fact that I can add and remove pages - and most importantly - experiment.

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

A larger pouch/pockets for notebooks - I already comfortable carry a6 and pocket sized notebooks in my personals but it would be nice to slot them in securely/neatly.

Other than that I am more about customising my inserts rather than the binder.

8. How do you carry your Filofax?
The mini malden, both personal metropols and personal cross currently get carried about in my bag. Yes - it is heavy.

I am looking to change my pink metropol into a complete stay at home fax (the two metropols used to be one binder before I ran out of space) and/or get a slimline for my diary...

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

I am currently eyeing up a Cuban slimline (currently in the sale at WH Smiths) Although I would happily purchase a Filofax personal Classic in Pink or Holborn in Wine.

10. What is the most you have ever spent on a Filofax? Which model?

The most expensive was my mini Malden which I bought from City Organiser. Can't remember now how much I paid for it.

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

Everything: it is a great community and I love the way everyone shares tips and ideas.

12. And what do you not like about Philofaxy?

Nothing not to like - other than the fact I have time blocked out in my schedule for web finds and general catching up with Philofaxy.

13. What was the last music album CD you bought or downloaded?

 I don't listen to a lot of music, I tend to enjoy the radio more. I have currently stolen my partners "take that progress" cd for the car to listen to when the radio is boring.

Thank you Coralie for agreeing to go under our spot light. 

If you would like to to be a future 'Reader Under The Spotlight' please get in touch with us at philofaxy [at] gmail [dot] com

My 2013 set up...

I was very smug thinking I've got my 2013 set up all sorted, just a continuation this years set up..... or so I thought....

One day last week I spent a very productive morning printing my own diary inserts, so that in 2013 I would be using my own inserts and none bought from Filofax. 

This year I've only been using one of my own printed inserts the others have been Filofax ones on their thin paper.

In my A5 I carry two diary inserts one for planning and one for my journal. Although I might consider some way of combining those two functions in to one insert in the future.  The A5 tends to sit on my desk alongside me all the time.

In my personal size Filofax I have a simple week per page just to record my appointments so when I'm out and about I have the details of where I will be and I can add to this should I need to. Yes it does mean I'm keeping two (or three if you include iCal) diaries in sync manually, but I don't find this an issue.

For 2013 I am using the same basic format, but ones of my own designs, the TM Enhanced Week per View A5 insert as I have been using for most of this year. And a week per view journal insert which is a nice and simple layout. Both A5 inserts are printed on 80gsm A5 paper which goes through my laser printer just fine.

In the personal size for 2013 I have printed my own Week Per Page insert on to Filofax Cotton Cream plain note paper. After fanning the the pages these also feed through the printer just fine. I leave them for a few minutes to cool down and then print the reverse side. The Filofax cotton cream paper is thicker than the normal white Filofax note paper.

As you can see from the pictures the finished results do look very good and I'm really looking forward to using them next year.

When I added both A5 inserts to my A5 Malden I realised I might have a problem, being that the paper is thicker, it does take up more room on the rings. So I measured the thickness of the respective inserts:

• A5 Filofax 4.25mm thick for a full 12 months
• 80gsm plain paper 6mm thick for a full 12 months

With some archiving of past pages I was able to get both 12 month inserts in to the A5 Malden, but it is still looking a little fat! So I might have to take out 6 months from each insert to reduce the number of pages and store those until we get further in to the year and then archive the first few months etc.

Then I looked at the personal size:

• Filofax white paper 2.25mm thick for a full 12 months
• Filofax cotton cream 3.5mm thick for a full 12 months

It might not seem a very big difference, but at the moment I'm using a compact Malden with 15mm rings. But it's already more or less full to capacity and I only keep a couple of months of pages in it, plus my A-Z contacts and some note pages.

So I think I will be ok with the A5 with a bit of careful management, but I thought a bit about the Personal size and decided to pull all my personal size organisers out of the cupboard and assess them as alternatives.

I narrowed it down to the existing Malden compact zip (15mm rings), a normal Malden (23mm rings) or the big Cuban Zip (30mm rings), a stepped progression!

I found the best way to assess my real needs was to gather together all the pages I need on the desk, as well as dividers and other contents and then assemble the total fill in to each organiser in turn to see how well it all fits, what problems there are etc. 

Whilst I was doing this I also consolidated all my spare personal size pages in to one box rather than across several unused organisers, so it's not been a wasted exercise! 

In the end I've decided to give the normal non-zip Malden a try and I will see how that works for me for the first month or so. Going back up in ring size will allow me to also add things like maps and other information inserts in to my organiser that I've had to leave out in the compact Malden.

I might return to the compact zip Malden if I find I'm not using all of the pages. I might also enhance the diary by using some month to a page sheets as well as the weekly sheets so I can have the rest of the year in the organiser as well. I will print these on cotton cream paper as well.

So we don't have problems.... we only have solutions to our problems!

Web Finds - 10 November 2012

Here are the latest Filofax blog posts from the internet.

1. In which I wobble - Sky Blue Pinkish
2. Filofax vs ARC notebook. 
3. In Search of "The One": A Filofax ♥ Story - Friday, I'm in Love
4. All Stars Guest Post - Vanja's Filofax Journal - Thoughts and Exploration 
5. FREE 2013 Calendar for your Filofax! - Lime Tree
6. In which I fall off - Sky Blue Pinkish
7. Filofax Competition time - Rapunzel's World 
8. Calendar 2013 – English - Bigrell Design
9. Rungs on the organizing ladder - The Crazy Suburban Mom
10. 365/30: What colours...? - Filomaniac
11. New Filofax diary layouts to download - My Life All in One Place
12. dressing like my deco/osterley - Paper Lovestory
13. Filofax and Phone: The Honeymoon Recording Dream Team - The Crazy Life of J
14. Filofax dissection. - Filofax Filosophy
15. Swirl Agenda - Cloudberry Musings
16. October Month in Review - Behind my Purpley Life
17. Planner fail, or rather planner indecision - Girl in Maths
18. Tabs and Dividers: Progressing with my Filofax setup - Planning with Printed Portal
19. Tech - Just an Essex girl 
20. A Look Inside my Fliofax Flex A5 - Matryoshka Vegan! 
21. Who’s Got a Filofax Full of Men? - From My Pantry
22. Using a Filofax to plan a website - Design in a Teacup
23. Filofax Print - MCR Print
24. What colours should they add to existing Filofax ranges? - Filofit
25. Using Embossing Powders on the Domino - Jagged Little Thoughts
26. Back to the old.. - Circus Life with Disturbed Mamacita
27. Filofax Friday – New Inserts - The Yarn Yard
28. custom to-do inserts - Paper Lovestory 
29. First Impressions: Personal Holborn in Wine - Friday, I'm in Love
30. New Filofax Dividers! - The Wonderful Life of Alice
31. List of Filofaxes i NEED! - The Wonderful Life of Alice
32. a bargain in the filofax sale! - Paperplane Thinking
33. wild ‘o fax?! - and then she read 
34. North West (Manchester) Meet Up!! - Filo Obsessed

And here are this weeks Filofax videos from the internet.








Enjoy

Free For All Friday No. 208

There's been lots of Planner Fail lately. I keep hearing about people tweaking their systems, trying new diary formats or even a different size from what they were using before.

Some people are dissatisfied with what they used this year and are looking for something better for next year. Other people have a change in circumstances (workload etc.) and are looking for an immediate solution.

Are you experiencing Planner Fail? Let us know and maybe people will have some suggestions for you.

And as always on Fridays, feel free to discuss any ring-binder related topics.

Happy Friday everyone!