So I was planner shopping recently (big shocker, I know … :p ) and came across Zulilly. I was drawn to the rainbow pens (I shared the haul in this post) and also found some Erin Condren Planners on clearance! I’ve tried their spiral bound planners but hadn’t made a repeat purchase as the planners themselves are expensive, not to mention shipping is so darn expensive from the USA here to Australia.

If you’re new to Erin Condren you can get $10 off using my referral link (click here)

Quick facts:

• Hardcover (although the cover feels like kind of like velvet) with pretty gold foil effect
• Neutral (black and white) although you can get a colorful inside layout
• Dates at a glance pages (with space for notes)
• Open-ended planning page
• 2 page monthly calendar
• Monthly calendar starts on Sunday
• Weekly spread starts on Monday
• 12 Month planner – January 2018 to December 2018

I purchased 2 sizes:

• 5 x 8″ (lined, horizontal)
• 8 x 10″ (vertical)

The sizes reflect the page size – the covers extend a few millimetres beyond the page to protect from wear and tear.

Let’s take a closer look!

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The Cover

There’s a few different colors to choose from but I opted to get the same style in the 2 sizes to compare.

Apart from rainbow, black and gold is my favorite color scheme / planner theme. Gold foil makes everything look just a bit more classy and black means I can use stickers and colored pens without worrying about the colors clashing with the colros of the planner

The pages feature gold edging which is SO PRETTY!

The planner also has a built in page marker / bookmark

Since I purchased the planner on clearance from Zulily rather than direct from the Erin Codnren Website (as shipping to Australia is ridiculously expensive) it didn’t include cover personalisation.

I’m thinking about adding a foil monogram sticker or writing my name on the cover using a gold glitter Sharpie Pen.

Back cover has the same pattern as the front – love black and gold paired together <3

Small size

And the large size… Both of the planners are the same in terms of what included, except for the weekly spread.

Quotes in gold foil <3

Important Dates

Oddly this page starts on a Sunday (along with the monthly calendar), but the weekly spread starts on a Monday. I’m not sure why some planners (including this one) don’t keep the week start consistent.

I really like the petal / watercolor style splotches that are continued throughout the planner.

Planning Pages

I really like that these pages don’t have pre-filled labels so you can use them in whatever way suits you. Some ideas are:

• 1 box for planning each month
• Favorite memories for each month
• Birthdays and special events
• Bill tracking
• Items from your bucket list that you’re going to do each month
• Blog planning
• Cleaning routines
• Last time I did e.g. changed your toothbrush, updated your insurance etc.

Related: How to use the monthly notes pages of your planner

Monthly Calendar

The 8 x 10″ version

The boxes of the 8 x 10″ version are approx. 1.75″ wide x 1.5″ high.

The 5 x 8″ version 

The boxes for each day are between 1 and 1.25″ wide (and high). The sidebar is a bit wider than 1 inch (i.e. very narrow).

The monthly calendars are interspersed throughout the weekly spreads but there’s no tabs and only 1 page marker so you’ll probably need a paperclip or butterfly clip, sticky notes etc. to hold your place.

The sidebar in the 8 x 10″ is a much more useable space than the 5 x 8″. I like the open-ended box at the top – would be ideal for putting a focus goal for the week.

There are no monthly planning or notes pages, it jumps straight to the weekly spread:

Weekly Spread

The Erin Condren planners have changed over the years to remove the morning, afternoon and evening titles that used to feature on the weekly spread (you can now also get hourly and horizontal layouts too). In the latest spiral bound versions the title boxes are removed from the spread.

I do like the neutral style – the grey at the top of the page is a bit too dark for writing in black pen, but you could always make some header stickers (tutorial here) or use a white pen (such as the uniball signo). The spacing between the daily columns is quite wide and you do lose a bit of planning space due to this. The widths of the daily planning column boxes in the 8 x 10″ are 4.1cm wide (between 1.5 and 1.75″) x just over 2″ high.

I’d plan a couple of weeks writing in your planning categories until you decide which ones you’re going to stick to, then use header stickers to save time. I shared a tutorial on how to make them in this post.

The 5 x 8 version comes in a horizontal format which I prefer – especially since the planning space is lined.

Some of the notes sections have inspirational quotes and other weeks it’s blank:

Notes pages

Unlike most planners this one includes lined, grid dot and blank notes paper – and a couple of pages each type is included too 🙂

Grid dot pages seem to be all the rage lately with the rise of bullet journalling. Grid dot pages are also ideal for year in pixels (mood trackers), habit trackers and savings trackers / graphs.

And there’s some blank pages too!

Pen Testing

I tried various gel pens, ballpoint pens, needle tip, marker pens highlighters and stamps.

There was much promotion from Erin Condren about the upgraded paper used in the 2018 planners. The paper is quite thick and feels good quality so I was surprised that most popular pens were still ghosting.

The highlighters also had ghosting on the back side.

2019 dates at a glance

I really like the dates at a glance monthly / annual planning pages with the top 3 for each month.

Tabs

Sadly the hardbound planners do not have tabs 🙁

The planner is book / sewn bound which I normally avoid since they tend not to lay flat without using a hand to hold it open. However I was pleasantly surprised that the pages do stay open

Pros of the Erin Condren Hardbound Life Planner

• Choose from vertical or horizontal weekly layout
• Cover personalisation available if you purchase direct through the Erin Condren website
• Functional planning pages
• Lay flat book / sewn binding
• Neutral color scheme so you can add as many stickers, washi tape etc. as you like and the colors won’t clash with the colors of the planner
• Multiple sizes available
• Gold foil detailing on the spine of the pages is nice

Cons of the Erin Condren Hardbound Life Planner

• Pens bled through
• Only 1 page marker – it really needs 2 – 1 for the monthly calendar and one for the weekly spread
• The sidebar column of the monthly calendar is very narrow in the 5 x 8″ size
• There are no monthly planning or monthly notes pages
• Expensive to purchase the planner
• Expensive international shipping (if you live outside the USA)
• No tabs

Would I use this planner?

I normally gravitate to colorful planners but have been finding a new appreciation for the simplicity of neutral style planners (as I can use lots of stickers, washi and colored pens without worrying about the colors I use to decorate clashing with the colors of the planner). I was surprised by how much I liked the hardbound planners – especially the horizontal layout.

Weeks I’ve planned using Erin Condren Planners:

• Week 6: Planning using the Horizontal Erin Condren Life Planner 
• Week 9: Customising the Erin Condren hourly planner for task based planning 
• Week 25: Using the Erin Condren Teacher Planner for weekly planner 

More Erin Condren Reviews

• How to print printables at Erin Condren planner size from your home printer (step by step tutorial) 
• Planner pen testing in the Erin Condren Life Planner, Plum Paper, Happy Planner by MAMBI and Limelife Planner 
• How to make your own custom Erin Condren (or any planner) header title section planner stickers (step by step video tutorial)   
• How to make a DIY Erin Condren Planner Cover for less than $2 (plus free printable cover) 
• Ultimate Comparison: Erin Condren Life Planner versus Plum Paper Planners – Which planner is better? 
• Erin Condren Horizontal Life Planner versus Horizontal Happy Planner: which planner is better? 

Free Printables For Erin Condren Planners

• How to print printables at Erin Condren planner size from your home printer (step by step tutorial) 
• Free Printable Erin Condren Vertical Life Planner (or any planner) Ombre Pineapple List Stickers
• Importance of prioritising and free Erin Condren Vertical Life Planner (or any planner) Weekly priority stickers 
• FREE Printable planner stickers – pineapple lists for the Erin Condren vertical Life Planner (or use with any planner)
• FREE Printable To Do Checklist Planner Insert (For Erin Condren or Any Planner)

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Disclaimer: If you make a purchase via my Erin Condren referral link you’ll receive $10 off and I’ll receive $10 for referring you.