The Recollections Planners from Michael’s are very similar to the Erin Condren planners but with a much more affordable price tag (and nicer colors). There are more and more cover options, sizes and layouts each year. I’ve previously reviewed the vertical and horizontal, so in this post let’s take a look at the vertical hourly layout!

Quick facts

• Cover Size: 7.5″ wide x 9.25″ high
• Inside pages” 7″ wide x 8.75″ high
• Coil binding
• Laminated cardstock cover (no personalisation option)
• This belongs to page in case your planner is lost
• Dates at a glance
• Colorful inside pages
• 2 page weekly spread (starts on Monday)
• 2 Page monthly calendar (starts on Sunday)
• Monthly notes page
• Notes pages at the back
• Double sided pocket folder
• Clear plastic pencil case
• Tabs

Price: $30 USD (although the Recollections planners are regularly on sale)

Let’s take a closer look!

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The Cover

There are various covers to choose from. Each has a cardstock cover with sturdy laminate. <3 that rose gold coil.

Clear pocket for storing planner stickers, receipts etc.

Related: How to make planner stickers for free using Silhouette Studio (Introduction – Video Tutorial)

Monthly Calendar

Week starts on Sunday (not consistent with the weekly spread)

The dot grid sidebar on the monthly calendar is something different. Dot grid seems to be popping up more often with the increasing popularity of bullet journaling. I don’t mind dot grid but for a sidebar I’m not sure.

US holidays are printed on the monthly calendar and weekly spread.

Unfortunately the calendar does that annoying thing where it splits some boxes into 2 diagonally, rather than just restarting the numbering on the top row.

The monthly calendar is printed directly onto the back of the divider page (like the Happy Planner does) so you miss out on some planning space where the laminate of the tabs stickers to the planner.

Weekly Planner

Week starts on Monday (not consistent with the monthly calendar).

The schedule for each day starts at 7am to 10pm. There are 2 lines giving the option of planning half-hourly.

<3 the colors in the recollections planners – the color scheme of this one is my favorite so far

Dates at a glance

This is a very different dates a glance that reminds me of a timeline. It would be good for tracking a few things but I can see it getting filled very quickly. I’d probably draw a circle around the date and then an arrow and write birthdays, holidays, project due dates etc. in the white space between the months.

It could be used for habit tracking but it seems like a waste of 2 pages when you can fit more habits on a habit tracker printable (download a free printable habit tracker here).

Related: 12 Planner Layout Ideas for Monthly Habit Tracking in Your Bullet Journal

Extras pages

There are notes pages at the back of the planner – some are lined and some are graph paper.

Tabs

In addition to the 12 months of the year, there’s also a notes divider tab.

Because the tabs are cardstock they’re laminated for durability. Unfortunately this laminate extends onto some of the boxes in the monthly calendar.

Pocket Folder

Roomy and made of sturdy cardstock

Planner Stickers

Same as the other Recollection Planners, a few sticker sheets are included in colors & style that matches the rest of the planner

Pen Testing

Since the paper is the same for all the Recollections Planners, here’s the pen test I did for the vertical version:

I tried various ballpoint, gel, fine tip and marker tip pens. The 3 marker pens (Uni Pis, Pure Color-F and Muji Hexa Pen) had some light ghosting but there was no ghosting for any of the other pens. And no bleed through for any! ?

I also did some highlighter and stamp swatches – no ghosting either.

However, as always, the MAMBI stamps bled through the page ?

Overall, one of the best pen test results of the 80+ planners I’ve reviewed! ?

PROS OF THE RECOLLECTIONS PLANNER

• Affordable without comprising quality
• Pen test went well
• Multiple layout options, sizes & covers to choose from
• Graph and lined notes pages
• Nice color scheme
• Different divider designs for each month
• Variety of patterns on the tabs
• Pocket folder

CONS OF THE RECOLLECTIONS PLANNER

• Could be more durable e.g. tabs and the laminate on the cover
• Can only buy it from Michael’s in the USA
• Monthly calendar splits boxes into 2 for some months rather than restarting numbers on the top row

Would I use this planner?

Vertical hourly isn’t the right format for me (#teamhorizontal) however if I was going to use one this would be near the top of the list. The paper is good quality, the colors are so nice, the page size is perfect and it’s affordable.

COMPARISON WITH ERIN CONDREN

As to whether I think the Recollections Planner is better than the Erin Condren? My answer would be yes! They’re much cheaper, have nicer colors (that aren’t as ‘in your face’ as the Erin Condren) and the paper quality is great.

More planner reviews:

• Recollections Planner Review (Vertical Weekly Layout) Pros & Cons
• Trying out the Eccolo weekly planner (better than Erin Condren and Recollections?)
• 7 Alternatives to the Erin Condren Hourly Weekly Planner

Planning Tips:

• The Process Behind Making a Printable Planner
• Which planner stickers are right for you?
• 50 Tips for writing a better to do list that will make you more productive

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