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All About Planners

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April 21, 2018

Dabney Lee for Blue Sky Weekly Planner Review (Pros, cons and a video walkthrough)

I’ve been eyeing off planners from BlueSky for more than a year now. I’ve even emailed the company twice to check if they ship to Australia (which they sadly don’t). The company does collaborations with other popular companies such as Dabney Lee, Day Designer and May Designs. So when I randomly stumbled across a Dabney Lee for Blue Sky Planner on clearance I had to have it!

This is not a sponsored post. I paid for the planner myself and all opinions are my own. 

Features of the Dabney Lee for Blue Sky Planner

  • Letter size 8.5 x 11″ (other sizes are available)
  • Frosted protective cover (the actual patterned cover is a shiny smooth material similar to photo paper)
  • 12 month planner
  • Wire binding (approx 1cm thick)
  • Double sided clear storage pocket that can fit a lot of paper
  • For a large planner it doesn’t feel like it weighs that much
  • No monthly dividers
  • Tabs for each month
  • No notes pages
  • 2 page monthly calendar (starts on a Sunday)
  • 2 page weekly planner (starts on a Monday)
  • 2 contacts pages
  • 3 lined notes pages at the back
  • Dates at a glance

Price: Approx $20 – $30 USD for Blue Sky Planners (Depends on what size you choose)

While the planner I purchased is dated for 2017, the layouts tend to be the same each year (just different colors and patterns). I like to switch between planners throughout the year so the fact that the planner is ‘expired’ doesn’t bother me. I can always add date dot stickers for the weeks I use it, or put week numbers and to/from dates at a the top of the page and ignore the dates on the weekly spread.

LET’S TAKE A CLOSER LOOK!

To enlarge the screen of the video, click the square icon in the bottom right hand corner of the video (it will say ‘full screen’ when you hover your mouse over the icon).

Subscribe to my YouTube channel for more planner videos

The Cover

The cover is a thin glossy cardstock with a frosted cover over the top.

dabney lee for blue sky planner review horizontal weekly spread large lined cheaper alternative to erin condren letter size spiral binding monday sunday start

blue sky planner review horizontal dabney lee lined monday start weekly spread 2 page large cheaper alternative to erin condren soft cover spiral binding thin

dabney lee planner for blue sky calendar year academic 2 page horizontal weekly spread layout lined dated simple minimalist cheaper alternative to erin condren review

Yearly Overview

Dates at a glance for the year of the planner (2017) and 2018.

dabney lee for blue sky planner review weekly horizontal pros and cons affordable planner under 50 dollars cheaper alternative to erin condren large letter size light weight

Monthly Calendar

The monthly calendar starts on a Sunday and includes a large notes sidebar. The boxes for each day are also lined with national holidays (for USA) pre-printed.

The calendar does my pet peeve when it comes to planners – combines the daily planning space rather than re-starting the number on the top row 🙁 The planner has a large page size though (8.5 x 11″) so it is still possible to write stuff in the boxes.

blue sky planner review dabney lee colorful 2 page monthly calendar sunday start monday week start cheap affordable simple horizontal lined large writing space handwriting

All that wasted space on the top row…

dabney lee weekly planner blue sky collaboration sunday start lined monthly calendar 2 page spread horizontal large size light weight

Weekly Spread

The weekly spread starts on a Monday (while the monthly calendar starts on a Sunday) – shame these aren’t coordinated. However, the weekly spread is lined and has plenty of space to plan each day.

blue sky planner review horizontal dabney lee lined monday start weekly spread 2 page large cheaper alternative to erin condren

Weekends are combined but there’s still a decent amount of planning space

blue sky planner review horizontal dabney lee lined monday start weekly spread 2 page large cheaper alternative to erin condren pros and cons

Contacts

I’m not sure why some planner companies still include contacts pages since most people just keep this info on their phone, but if you need the pages there are a few.

An alternative could be to use these as a password log with columns for the website, username and password.

dabney lee for blue sky planner review weekly horizontal pros and cons affordable planner under 50 dollars cheaper alternative to erin condren large letter size light weight compact

Notes & Holidays List

There are 4 years’ worth of holidays in this planner – more than most planner companies include!

There are only 3 lined notes pages at a back of the planner – a few more would definitely be useful.

blue sky planner review horizontal dabney lee lined monday start weekly spread 2 page large cheaper alternative to erin condren spiral

Pen Testing

I tried various ballpoint and gel pens, highlighters and planner stamps. Disappointingly most of them has ghosting and some bled through the page – moreso than most planners I’ve done pen testing in. 🙁

Related: Ultimate list of the best planner pen brands and how to choose colors for color coding 

blue sky planners pen testing gel fine tip ballpoint highlighters stamp mambi frixion erasable lined note paper mate needle tip

dabney lee for blue sky planner pen testing bleed through ghosting ballpoint gel ink stamping highlighters pros and cons swatches

Would I use this planner?

Yes. I tried it for the 52 Planners in 52 Weeks challenge. See how I customised the planner here. I really like the large writing space for each day as there was enough room to create 3 columns – most horizontal planners don’t have enough space to do this.

If you’re after a planner with a simple layout that’s also pretty and affordable, this planner would be a good fit for you.

dabney lee for blue sky planner review 52 planners in 52 weeks challenge rainbow blog checklist sticker decorating ideas simple minimalist bright colors

A similar planner is the Dabney Lee for Blue Sky horizontal layout which I did a review of in this post.

More planner reviews:

  • Review of the Point Journal (similar to the bullet journal)
  • Review of the Plum Paper Me Planner
  • Lorna Leigh Lane Weekly Planner Review (Pros, Cons & a Video Flip through) 
  • Passion Planner Review – Compact and Classic Sizes (Pros, cons and video walkthrough) 

Planning Tips

  • How to clean your printer (prevent smudging, streaks and make the colors POP!) 
  • Minimalist planning: simple decorating & divider ideas for your planner using pens 
  • What to do if your planner isn’t working

Browse all posts on the blog.

You may also be interested in...

  • Using the Dabney Lee for Blue Sky Weekly Planner (Week 48 of the 52 Planners in 52 Weeks Challenge)Using the Dabney Lee for Blue Sky Weekly Planner (Week 48 of the 52 Planners in 52 Weeks Challenge)
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  • Graphique Weekly Planner Review (Pros, Cons and a video walkthrough)Graphique Weekly Planner Review (Pros, Cons and a video walkthrough)
  • It’s That Kinda Day Weekly Planner Review (Pros, Cons & Video Walkthrough)It’s That Kinda Day Weekly Planner Review (Pros, Cons & Video Walkthrough)
  • Review of the Ultimate Weekly Planner by Studio 331Review of the Ultimate Weekly Planner by Studio 331
  • Rainbow weekly spread in converted Blue Sky Teacher PlannerRainbow weekly spread in converted Blue Sky Teacher Planner

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Posted In: Horizontal Weekly, Planner Reviews · Tagged: blue sky planner, blue sky planner review, blue sky planners, dabney lee for blue sky, dabney lee planner, horizontal weekly planner, planner review, weekly planner review

Comments

  1. Keri C says

    April 21, 2018 at 09:58

    I love this planner! Looks perfect for me. I would use the additional space in those blank squares you mentioned (which bugs me too) for fun stickers or drawing/doodles. I also sometimes use those squares for notes when I’m online and see a quote or word or something I’m interested in. I don’t throw away my planners from the previous year until I’ve completely gone through and made sure all those notes have been looked at or cut out and taped into the New Years planner. So my planner always has an originality and duality to it. Especially since there’s only 3 note pages

  2. renee says

    April 22, 2018 at 10:52

    i discovered blue sky’s clipfolio binder last year (barcelona) and fell in love. this year i picked up the 2018 monthly tabbed spiral (artisan warm.) i’ve found my home planning system! my home planning is simple; i don’t need much space for tracking. both work well together and the slim space of the monthly binder is easy to store and review year after year!

  3. Tracy says

    April 25, 2018 at 06:44

    http://diply.com/article/weird-things-only-stationery-addicts-admit-to-doing?publisher=recommendations&config=20

    Thought you’d relate

    • Rachael says

      May 7, 2018 at 21:17

      A very relatable read! Thanks for sharing 🙂

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