Planner supplies can get expensive. While you don’t need every type of washi tape and pen that’s ever been manufactured (although it’s tempting), there are some planner supplies you should never skimp on!

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1. Your planner

If you use a planner that costs $60+ and it works for you then great, stick with it. It’s worth investing in a quality planner that will last all year without getting damaged, if it also has a layout that keeps you productive and on track to achieving your goals.

If you work it back to a cost per week, spending $60 on a planner works out at little more than a $1 a week – not much money when you look at it from that perspective (money well spent!) You planner is basically your life plan – it’s important so don’t skimp on it!

At the same time, if you find a generic planner from Target etc. that you customise to your liking using stickers and find they make you more productive, then I do consider buying stickers a worthwhile investment. There is a difference between sticking stickers in a planner for the sake of it, and using them to actually plan. Some of my favorite functional stickers are hydrate trackers and habit trackers.

I feel like there’s a bit of ‘shame’ around using a cheap generic planner rather than a ‘designer” planner but if that’s what works for you then there’s nothing wrong with it! I’m more of a horizontal planner and find that a lot of the more well-known planners only come in vertical, but the cheaper, generic planners come in horizontal. I’m on the hunt for different horizontal style planners for the 52 planners in 52 weeks challenge so if you’ve seen a cute one let me know in the comments!

The other option for your planner is to DIY your own. I’ve used a mixture of planners made by others (my current favorite is the Plum Paper Planners) as well as printable planners I’ve designed myself. You can customise most planners that are already on the market to suit your needs, but if you want something that fits you to a tee and have been using planners for years that just don’t work for you, then I recommend doing the DIY route and making your own.

2. Quality pen

Like with a planner, you’re going to be using a pen every day to write in your planner so make sure you invest in nice pens that writes smoothly and don’t skip (leave white gaps in the ink when writing).

A quality black pen is obviously a must – I shared a roundup of my favorite black pens for planner addicts. I highly recommend the Frixion erasable.

I love color coding – if you love it to or you want to give it a go, my favorite are the Papermate Inkjoy Gel 0.7mm. They’re pricey but they come in all the essential colors I recommend for color coding (pink, green, blue, orange, purple, red and black) and they write sooo smoothly!

3. Sticky notes

I love using sticky notes for plans that are prone to changing and particularly for meal planning. They’re a great tool for color-coding.

Sticky notes from the cheap shop are fine if you’re pre-planning your week or just need a temporary sticky note stuck in your planner for a day or 2, but they’re not ideal for long-term planning (for example, I sometimes use them to plan blog posts for a month).

It’s not so bad when they’re in a planner if it’s closed most of the time as it keeps them stuck in place. But if you want to use sticky notes for recurring tasks to save having to re-write them each week, they’ll last longer if you invest in the super sticky ones (my favorite are the post it note 3M).

4. Washi Tape

Like with the sticky notes, you’ll want to make sure it’s sticky, not just tacky cheap quality stuff. You don’t need every washi tape under the sun (this is hard for me to admit as I often raid my sister’s stash of 1000 types of washi!) <3

I’ve tried to scale it back this year and mainly just use Doodlebug washi tape (my fav!) – it’s thinner than normal washi at about 0.25″, but without being too thin. Plus it comes in chevrons and rainbow colors (need I say more?!) While it is a bit expensive it’s super sticky and great for sectioning off your planner without taking up too much space.

One of the layouts I made for the 52 Planners in 52 Weeks challenge using Doodlebug washi tape and days of the week stickers (see this post).

Some of my favorite washi…

Although you don’t actually need so many… it’s nice to have some options 🙂

Related post: Best pens for writing on washi tape

5. Sticker Paper

I use both glossy and matte label paper. Glossy label paper really makes the colors POP. I’m yet to come across a pen that doesn’t write on matte label paper.

If you do a lot of planning using stickers (such as no white space planner spreads) then I’d recommend investing in removable matte label paper. You can buy label paper in bulk from Online labels and eBay among other places such as:

Worldlabel (Worldwide but expensive shipping to Australia)
Online Labels they even have metallic label paper (which I am dying to try!) (Worldwide but expensive shipping to Australia)
Office Depot (US only)
Amazon (Worldwide but expensive shipping to Australia)
Walmart (US only)
Officeworks (Australia only)
Staples (US and Australia)
Ebay (Worldwide)
Labelsbythesheet (US only)
Sheet Labels (US only)
And of course, Avery.

Need a way to organize all your stickers? Check out this free printable binder cover I shared in a previous post. I also like receipts folders and document wallets.