After trying out using an Erin Condren size planner sticker kit in the MAMBI Mini Happy Planner in week 22 of the 52 planners in 52 weeks challenge and not having enough planning space, I decided to try the stickers in the MAMBI Classic Planner size.

Before the pen

The MAMBI Vertical planner has a very similar layout to the Erin Condren vertical life planner with 3 sections per day. The main differences are:

• The Happy planner shades the weekend boxes to distinguish them from the other days of the week
• There is no header / title box for each section of each day

The Weekly Spread

This sticker kit used in this week’s spread was made by me and is sold in my sister’s planner supplies shop.

I love how aesthetically pleasing this spread turned out. It probably helped that I used a week in the Happy Planner that featured a similar shade of light blue. That’s something to keep in mind if you want your spreads to look nice – make sure you choose colors that coordinate with those that are already there – or use some washi tape to cover it up.

Related: Favorite washi tape for planning, planner decorating & color coding

So what size stickers designed for the Erin Condren Life Planner fit the MAMBI Happy Planner?

• Flag checklist stickers are a similar size – the boxes of the Happy planner are 2.25″ high whereas the Erin Condren is 1.9″ high so there’s a little bit of white space underneath – not very noticeable. I find flag stickers are too small to use with vertical weekly spreads as you have to write really small – they’re not ideal for longer tasks that require multiple lines.

 

• Icon stickers can be used in practically any type of planner – hence why they’re my favorite type of stickers to plan with!

Related: How to use functional icon planner stickers

The daily planning boxes

• 1 Erin Condren full box size sticker (1.9″ high x 1.5″ wide) and 1 quarter box size sticker (0.25″ high x 1.5″ wide) fit in 1 Happy Planner box

 

• 2 half box size plus 1 quiarter box Erin Condren size sticker fit in 1 Happy Planner box

 

• 2 header stickers and 2 half box size stickers fit in 1 Happy planner box

 

• 3 half inch (0.5″) icon stickers and 1 quarter box size sticker fit in 1 Happy Planner box

 

• 2 quarter box size stickers (0.5 x 1.5″ and 1 half box sticker fit in 1 Happy Planner box

Related: How to print printables at MAMBI Happy Planner Size (step by step tutorial)

The Sidebar

No matter what planner I use, I choose a variety of stickers and stack them to create a custom sidebar. Usually it consists of:

• Top 3 tasks for the week
• Habit tracking e.g. hydrate, exercise
• Bills to pay
• Due dates
• Reminders

Related: Planner pen testing in the Erin Condren Life Planner, Plum Paper, Happy Planner by MAMBI and Limelife Planner  

In terms of creating a weekly spread I tend to stick to this:

• A light color sticker next to a dark color sticker (so for this kit, light pink next to the darker shade of blue)

 

• 2 shades of the same color next to each other (e.g. the hot pink meal plan header sticker with the light pink weekly planning sticker)

 

• Try not to cluster too many of the same color together – unless that’s the look you’re going for

Remember you don’t have to use every single sticker in a kit! Your page will end up looking really busy plus it’ll take you a long time to plan.

Pros of the vertical MAMBI Happy Planner (Classic Size)

I liked using the sidebar for meal planning in terms of saving space, but it does get a bit crammed if you need to write longer meals

Cons of the vertical MAMBI Happy Planner (Classic Size)

• The columns are only 1.5″ wide (same width as the Erin Condren) – I personally find this is not wide enough – tasks extend over multiple lines so you have to write really small to fit everything in. I had to use sticky notes (Post it Note 3M) for blog planning as there wasn’t enough room to write the titles in the planner (and still have space to decorate)

• Unlike the Erin Condren planner there are no pre-designated title boxes for the 2nd and 3rd boxes of each column for each day (although you can add your own using header stickers)

Related: How to make your own custom Erin Condren (or any planner) header title section planner stickers (step by step video tutorial)   

• No in-built checklists – this one’s more of a personal preference – since I create a lot of checklists for planning, it’s always nice when a planner has these already printed

Read my full review of the MAMBI Vertical Classic planner in this post. 

Would I use this planner again?

No. The vertical MAMBI Happy Planner is too similar to the Erin Condren vertical life planner. I’m not a fan of vertical planners as there’s hardly any room to write. I especially don’t like vertical planners with unlined planning space. The Plum Paper vertical is lined if you’re of the same opinion as me!

Related: Week 17: Using the Plum Paper Vertical Weekly Planner

I stopped doing no white space planner sticker spreads last year after them taking too long (it took me about half an hour to decide where to stick the stickers this week!). This week reminded me of why I stopped doing it. No matter how many pretty weekly spreads I see on Pinterest and Instagram, and no matter how much I enjoy making sticker kits, unfortunately they just don’t suit the way I plan.

Related: MAMBI Happy Planner horizontal dimensions & measurements (classic size) for making planner stickers 

Catch up on past week’s of the challenge:

• Week 19: Mi Goals Weekly Planner 
• Week 20: Weekly planning using only a checklist and habit tracker – download a free printable
• Week 21: Using Microsoft Word to plan your week
• Week 22: Using Erin Condren size planner stickers in the Mini Happy Planner 

Related posts:

• Mi Goals Planners Haul & Review (Planners made in Australia) 
• Ultimate Comparison: Erin Condren Life Planner versus Plum Paper Planners – Which planner is better? 
• 5 Planner supplies you should never skimp on

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