Erin Condren 2017 Life Planner Review {& sneak peek}

Edited to add a link to the most up-to-date review of the 2017-2018 Life Planners launching May 4, 2017 – check out my latest review with photos here!

I’m really excited to share with you this {extremely photo-heavy} review of the 2017 Erin Condren Life Planners…and I even added a video at the bottom, too! If you’re reading this because you can’t wait for the launch of the new Erin Condren 2017 Life Planners (June 1, 2016) – I think you’ll see a lot of the great features you’ve come to expect from Erin Condren as well as some fantastic new features, colors, options, and goodies! If you’re reading about this and you’re new to the idea of an Erin Condren Life Planner, or you’re on the fence, or you’re reading this because you landed here after a web search {welcome!} and it’s well past launch date – there are some great treats here for you, too! Lots of pictures and thoughts so you’ll know how to consider if this is the right planner for you {and a coupon code at the bottom of the post if it is!}

As I write this, what I can’t do is link you directly to the products I’m reviewing…because the folks at Erin Condren very generously let me have these items so I could share some photos and thoughts with you…early…as in before launch!  And since the products aren’t live on the website at the time of this post, I don’t have links or prices yet. What I do have are some great photos and insight…and I have two planners: the interchangeable cover we’re accustomed to AND the new Luxe planner! I’m going to talk about paper quality, cover thickness, differences between Luxe and a regular interchangeable cover, coil comparison, the new color options, and I’ll share about all the great new accessories that are really making this planner fantastic this year!

So…if you’re not a planner gal, now might be the time to click away! This post is going to be full of photos and details for review! If you’re a planner gal – let’s get rolling! We have a lot of ground to cover to see the 2017 Erin Condren Life Planner!

Before we start, I do want to let you know that you will have more choices to customize this year than you ever had before!

1. First, you have a choice of…
   • Luxe Cover –  in the new leather-like {some people say “vegan leather”…in any case, it’s not real leather but it feels and looks like leather} cover. The luxe covers are not able to be personalized and come with covers that are permanently coiled in, available in three options…
     • light taupe and metallic silver coil
     • teal and metallic gold coil
     • deep plum and metallic rose gold coil
   • Interchangeable Cover – these are the same laminated, removable covers we’re familiar with but this year they come in some beautiful new designs! You have a variety of choices for customizing and personalizing your cover!
2. Then, you need to choose your interior color theme – will you choose…
   • Colorful – in beautiful gem tone colors – very rich and vibrant with watercolor washes and mid-century circles throughout.
   • Neutral – in shades of gray to black – this neutral theme includes black tabs, a different font theme, and simpler more minimal pages. It’s beautiful just the way it is, but will look lovely with your pen colors, stickers and washi because the neutral color scheme will provide an understated foundation for your planner.
3. And, you need to choose your preferred weekly layout – will you choose…
   • Vertical – unlined, with three boxes vertically arranged on the page – organize your planner however fits you best: morning, noon, night – work, home, chores – school, home, errands.
   • Horizontal – lined boxes that stretch horizontally across the page.
   • Hourly – lined boxes, arranged vertically from 6 am to 7 pm – ignore the times and plan within the lined vertical boxes, or use the times to coordinate your appointments and to-do’s.
4. Finally, you get to choose your coil!!  Choose from…
   • Metallic gold {my fave!}
   • Platinum
   • Rose Gold
   • Black
5. OH…and…it’s your choice – personalize your laminated cover or not!

This year, more than ever, you can build your planner your way –

BUILD IT AND PLAN IT LIKE YOU LIVE IT!

One more general note: the paper this year is different. It is slightly thicker and ever so slightly smoother in its feel {to me}. In terms of pen bleeding/shadowing, the only pens that bled through the new paper for me were permanent pens. So if you were looking for a thicker paper with less bleed through, I think you’ll be happy.

Just for reference sake: I’m reviewing two different planners which I’m so grateful to the team at Erin Condren for sharing with me and providing so I could share with you:

• Interchangeable laminate cover in mid-century circles {a personal fave!} :: colorful color theme :: horizontal layout :: gold coil
• Luxe teal :: neutral color theme :: hourly layout ::  gold coil

Are you confused or overwhelmed by all the choices or options? Let’s get started with some pictures – I hope they’ll help!

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Erin Condren 2017 Life Planner with Interchangeable Cover

This is the mid-century circles cover {in multi} on a gold coil planner and the colors are just gorgeous! It’s a laminated cover which is able to be snapped on/off – making the cover interchangeable. This is similar to the last few years’ of EC planners and I do love the interchangeable covers. The new cover options this year are so fun! So, if you’re a change-your-cover-with-the-seasons-gal, I think you’ll enjoy all the different options! And, like always, Erin Condren’s commitment to personalization continues – many of the new cover designs can be customized in color theme and you have the option this year to personalize your cover or not.

I’m going to be using two planners this year – one as my actual day-to-day planner {I’ll use my new Luxe hourly planner for that – details below}, and one as more of a journal/list-landing-pad for my blog, Sarah’s wedding, and other personal health goals…and all of that is going to live in this horizontal planner with the mid-century circle cover. I’ll see how I like it. I’m an affirmed “one-planner-only” gal because I like keeping all the different pieces of the puzzle in one place so I can see how they relate, but I do think I’ll appreciate the journaling room in the horizontal for some of the details…while I’ll still keep all the plan-plans in my hourly. I’ll let you know how it works out!

The colors on this mid-century circles planner are absolutely vibrant without being garish, and the personalization is done in a slate/navy blue. It’s beautiful! I thought I would want the turquoise/metallic gold option in mid century circles, and the EC team was nice enough to send me that cover just so I could see it, but you know what? I’m totally smitten with the gorgeous multi color circles on this cover!

Details & Specs of the Interchangeable Cover 18 month planner: 

• A brand new, out of the box planner is 7/8″ thick
• Coil: 1 1/4″
• Cover is a heavy laminate; most have the option to be personalized, or not.
• These covers are coiled so that they are removable – clip your cover in, or unclip it and change your cover with the season or your mood.
• The covers are perfectly smooth and easily slide in and out of bags/planner pouches
• The laminate covers {both front and back cover} now include a white wet erase dashboard on the inside cover.
• The cover dimensions are different from the luxe covers – the laminate covers are not as wide as the luxe, and the laminate covers are taller than the overall height of the luxe.

Opening the cover you can see the new wet erase dashboard. I love the potential in this! Write your menus, home maintenance checklist, inspirational quotes, chore rotation – anything! The front cover has a lined dry erase dashboard and the back cover has a blank white dry erase dashboard.  {More on this feature and the wet/dry markers below in the accessories section and on the video!}

I’m not going to show you every.single.page of the planner…but I had to show you the gorgeous vellum in watercolor mid-century circles. It’s stunning! The vellum is thicker this year, too – still transparent, but definitely a heavier feel.

The yearly calendars for reference and future planning will be familiar to you, but they, too, reflect the updated gem tone color theme with the light watercolor wash at the top and bottom of each monthly calendar. This graded color theme is reflected throughout the planner.

This spread has been updated and I much prefer it! Journal…

• yearly budget goals
• personal health/weight loss goals
• monthly home maintenance plans
• blog post themes
• liturgical year themes, ideas, picture books
• yearly events like birthdays, anniversaries
• dedicate a box to each of your kids, yourself and your husband…or maybe a box for…
• virtues, habits, chores, favorite restaurants to try, new prayers or hymns to learn

Anything!

At this point, we get to the monthly spreads and the weekly layouts which follow each month. Before each month is a lined note page and an opposite facing quote page. These pages are very useful to me as I plan! {more details on this page below!}

Each month in the colorful theme has its own unique color, and as an accent, different gradients of that color are used throughout the month, much as you see different gradients of pink in the watercolor wash on the quote page.

The monthly calendar pages and the weekly layout remain the same as last year in the horizontal planner {you can read last year’s post with those details here}.  I do want to show you the new watercolor wash at the top of each weekly spread, and also how a weekly spread that reflects two different months {like when December transitions into January in the middle of a week} looks. You can see the monthly change easily with the change of color.

After all of the monthly/weekly spreads in the planner, we come to the notes section. There are 6 lined pages, 4 grid pages, and 4 blank pages. Each style of page has a different design on it – the blank pages have this beautiful watercolor wash at the top.

Following the notes pages is one of my absolute favorite new additions – the in the coming year 2 page spread!

This new addition is so welcome! Now, as you’re scheduling things throughout the year – events that land outside of your planner sometime in the next year – you now have a place to jot them! Note appointments and reminders under the corresponding month…

…or if you don’t know a date for an event, but you know something is upcoming, note it in the large blank boxes at the bottom of the page!

Immediately following the new *future planning* pages are the stickers that have always been included in the EC Life Planners.

The standard pre-printed birthday/appointment stickers are in the back of the planner, along with 2 full sheets of the blank stickers – this year’s blank stickers aren’t rectangular; they’re flag stickers!

The attached folder at the end of the planner has a repeat of the mid-century circles. The flap itself is completely detached all the way to the bottom of the folio, making it easy to fit a variety of papers in there! On the backside of the folder is a smaller storage pocket.

And that’s it…or at least that’s it for my pictures of this planner! Now, let’s talk a bit about the new Luxe planner!

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Erin Condren 2017 Life Planner – Luxe in Leather-like permanent cover

This Luxe planner was difficult for me to photograph! I’m definitely not a professional photographer, but there was something about the rich, color-saturated hue of the turquoise cover and the material…and then the metallic – suffice to say, it was a challenge to capture just how striking all of those elements are together and even harder to try to get the photo to represent the true color of this cover, which is just beautiful.

The Luxe leather-like cover is somewhat textured, which you can see above, but the overall feel is very smooth and buttery. It slips in and out of my bag and a carry all clutch with ease. {and yes, the Luxe planner fits in the carry all clutch…with room to spare}

Details & Specs of the 18 month Luxe Planner:

• A brand new, out of the box planner is 1″ thick; exactly 1/8″ thicker than a standard 18 month. This extra thickness reflects the leather-like covers, but overall, it still doesn’t feel clumsy or too thick. It’s comfortable in the hand going from place to place.
• Coil: 1 1/4″
• Cover in vegan or leather-like material. There is a little bit of flex in this cover, but not much. It’s not as rigid as a hardback book, but is much more rigid than the standard laminate cover. The cover itself is thicker than a standard laminate cover and is backed in a smooth heavy-weight cardstock {paper} material.
• These covers are permanently coiled into the planner and cannot be changed/removed nor personalized.
• The covers have a slight texture but are smooth overall and easily slide in and out of bags/planner pouches
• The cover completely protects and overhangs the tabs of this planner
• The cover dimensions are different from the laminated covers – the laminate covers are not as wide as the luxe, and the laminate covers are taller than the overall height of the luxe.

I’m going to try to show the differences between the colorful planner option and the neutral. And since this is going to be my main planner this year, I may talk about how I use certain features in planning.

This planner is a neutral color theme with an hourly layout, and the first difference to note is the vellum page which is in gradients of gray and black as opposed to the jewel-tone colorful mid-century circles.

The year-at-a-glance overview page is also a simple black and white page, but one thing that is different in the neutral color theme is the scripted font, which really adds a touch of pretty to this color theme. That font is going to be a big sell to many!

Before each month, just as in the other layout options {vertical, horizontal} there is a lined page for listing monthly events: like {larger or special} purchases that need to be made, household chores for the month, big home projects like cleaning out all the kitchen cabinets, etc. I keep lists of clothes switcheroo needs here {you know…at the beginning of every season when you swap the kids closets from one season to the next and you realize they have exactly nothing that fits – that list}, as well as some of my monthly personal goals, blog post topics, and any big project lists that need to be broken down into smaller lists. This year these lined monthly pages will contain a lot of wedding planning lists for my oldest daughter! 🙂  It’s hard to believe that THIS planner will reflect her wedding {which is a little less than a year away!}. I’m glad I’ll have all of it recorded!

When I plan my month this lined page is the page I start with. Last year, I printed another lined/grid page on my printer, cut it to size, and washi taped it to cover the facing quote page. I like the quotes…but I need the writing/planning space before each month. I’ll probably do something like that again this year.

I coil clip our church calendar right here and I used to keep my seasonal menu list here, but that is going to live on a wet erase dashboard now. I list projects, goals, and lists and then move into the calendar spread to lay out my month…which is always full these days!

Above is the gorgeous monthly spread in neutral. You can see the pretty font and the gray-scale watercolor wash in the mid-century circles, but overall the design is very visually minimal. Last year in the hourly layout, these calendar boxes were lined, but they are not lined this year. I miss the lines. However, I do like having the monthly goals box on each calendar spread page.

The weekly spread in the neutral hourly is just as pretty! The only color on the page is the small flag over the weekly goals/to-do list as well as a mini-flag next to the month name. The color changes with each month and reflects the color theme for that particular month in the colorful themed planner {in other words, if March is mint in the colorful planner, then the flag on the weekly neutral pages will be….mint.}. I love that the thankful thought box is dotted in its outline; it’s such a small thing, yet it makes a huge impact and difference, visually speaking. I write prayer intentions & requests in the thankful thought box.

The times listed on the vertical hourly planner go from 6 am – 7 pm which is a pretty good fit for my days {my kids are early risers, but I also try to get a few key tasks done early to set our day up for success and I like that I can list them in those early morning time slots now! And…love the lines in the vertical.

I’m not always pegged to a time, but there is enough going on that is time-specific that I really wanted to move to hourly. {I enjoyed a horizontal last year} My oldest daughter had an hourly planner last year and when I saw her layout I really started thinking about how useful it would be for me. Overall, the pages are crisp and bright with a nice smoothness to them.

There is very little color on the weekly spread pages of the neutral layout. I mentioned the little flags over the weekly to-do list which coordinate with the monthly colors in the colorful theme planners, but there is one other color to note. When the month changes in the middle of a week {as often happens}, the neutral hourly planner indicates that visually by designating the 1st day of the month in a slate blue flag {as pictured above}. This keeps the theme very visually simple, but allows the first day of the month to stand out on the page.

The rest of the planner is the same as the other layouts – with the exception of color.

The folder in the neutral is an ivory color with gradients of gray/black mid century circles and the small pocket on the backside is black with metallic gold lettering.

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What Comes With Every Erin Condren 2017 Life Planner?

The Plan For It Pouch comes with each planner, but this year the pouch isn’t coiled into the planner! Oh my goodness, how excited am I about that! I loved the idea of a zipper pouch, but I ended up not using it that much because I forgot about it. This year, the Plan For It Pouch comes with a large coil that has adhesive backing – stick it to your pouch, and move it around in your planner – up front, before the month – or leave the coil clip off and just use the Plan For It Pouch in your planner bag! This year, Erin Condren gives you more options than ever!

Another change on the pouch has me cheering! I love the zipper slider feature! Sometimes I had a difficultly opening/closing the old press/pull zipper pouch so this zipper is welcome!

As always, there are lots of goodies in the pouch! The mini sticker book is adorable and I love the pretty colors on the new compliment cards this year! Also inside the pouch is a little card with a coupon code for you and one for you to give away to a friend!

Another accessory that is always included with the Life Planners is the little perpetual calendar included in the back of the planner!

Each month is listed on a page and the intended purpose of the perpetual calendar is to record birthdays and anniversaries. Keep them all written in your perpetual calendar and you’ll always have them handy! When I first set up my perpetual calendar with my first Erin Condren, this was life-changing! I always felt like I was forgetting something…some event, birthday…something! Now I just open this up at the beginning of a month and jot down who is celebrating what!

But you don’t have to feel limited in the usefulness of this little book…especially if this isn’t your first EC planner and you already have a perpetual calendar from previous years! You can use this in so many ways – as a budget book, gratitude journal, record your steps for a day or your fitness/activity for the day, write down your baby’s milestone/memorable moment for the day. Or use it as a mini-calendar & planner to tuck in your purse – jot down the big events, meetings, appointments in this little calendar at the beginning of every month and then you won’t need to carry around your bigger EC Life Planner everywhere! There are so many great ways to use this…and one comes with every single Life Planner!

Here’s something new in this year’s perpetual calendar booklet – a contacts page {sorry I cut that off in my photo} and a password page. Handy!

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Let’s Talk: New Accessories for the Erin Condren 2017 Life Planner

The new wet erase {because they only erase when they get wet…different from “dry” erase} dashboards are going to be such a functional addition to this year’s Interchangeable Cover planner! {These are not inside the Luxe planners} The colors of the wet erase pens are perfect – vibrant gem tones in deep hues {pastels work in other areas, but on a wet erase, you really need vibrant colors}.

They come in a set of four and and I love them! They write clearly and dry perfectly and the writing doesn’t smudge onto the vellum on the opposite page. It doesn’t come off your dashboard until you erase it with a wet wipe or wet paper towel. If you find a little color shadowing or streaking after you wipe, just grab an alcohol wipe and it will look brand new {you can pick up a handy little box of alcohol wipes in any pharmacy/stuff-mart and they are so amazing to have around!}

This is not really a feature…but I love the metallic gold on each of the new EC pens. So pretty! I talk more about the new wet erase pens in the video below!

These little mini snap-in bookmarks are fabulous! I love their small profile for marking pages! And since they’re so small and come in a set of three, you can mark sections you frequently flip to in your planner!

Pictured in the packages are {top left} the metallic set, {top right} classic set, and {at the bottom unpackaged} the watercolor set.

I didn’t receive the magnetic page markers to review, but these are definitely something I plan to purchase after launch! They are small flexible/plastic folding magnets that wrap around a few pages of your planner.

The new stylized stickynotes have been updated to follow the new watercolor and mid-century circle theme and they are so pretty! I had trouble with the sticky on some of my stylized stickynotes last year, but I’m happy to report that these stickynotes have much better stick – like a standard post-it note.

The colors look so pretty with the colorful themed planner!

And the dashboard that the stickynotes are arranged on snaps right into your planner! This is definitely going in the front of my planner and will be used a lot! I’m ordering another of these to keep handy!

The snap-in dashboard works so well with the new wet erase markers and if you have a Luxe planner that doesn’t come with the wet erase dashboard on the inside of the covers, the snap in dashboard gives you the same benefits!

I love how I can move mine around in my planner and I’ve already got it set up and ready to go. My only complaint is that the snap in dashboard is sized to fit the Interchangeable Planner covers, which are a little different in height/width than the Luxe covers. So this means that there is a bit of overhang with the snap in dashboard….

Since I usually keep my planner on my desk this won’t be anything more than a visual irritation, but if I want to stand my planner up in my planner stand on the shelf above my desk, or easily slide it in and out of my bag, I’ll have to take the dashboard out. Maybe EC will come up with a dashboard sized for the Luxe – that would be fabulous!

The sticker book has been updated like everything else this year and the new design reflects the mid-century circle and the watercolor wash. What I love about this year’s sticker book is that there are three pages of each different layout, and each page is embellished with one of the metallics – so a metallic gold set of stickers, metallic rose gold set, and platinum set.

While the stickers in this year’s sticker book are still very pretty, they also seem a bit more functional – with box stickers and flags and checklist stickers.

How much do I love these stickers?! It’s so pretty AND practical! I’ll take 50 pages of this, thanks very much! I’m definitely going to be ordering another sticker book after launch!

More flag stickers and look at that washi strip! That’s not the only one in this sticker book either!

The new gemtone elastic bands come in hot pink, a deep royal blue, and a plum/purple.

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If you made it this far, I feel like you should earn a prize!! LOL!! But I guess you wouldn’t have read this far unless you were really, really interested! In which case, you might possibly be interested in watching a video I made. It’s kind of crazy that I actually even made a video – I’m definitely not a professional you-tuber. AND…if you hear me huffing it’s not because I’m exhausting myself hefting planners…it’s because our AC was being worked on and we had NO AC while I did this video – 90 degrees in the blazing sun in the south gets a little smokin’! But I really wanted to share a few extra observations and I think you really get a sense of these planners when someone does a video – I know I’ve appreciated videos from so many of you!

Erin Condren 2017 Life Planner Video Review

with side by side comparison!

I may have missed something you were interested in…let me know if you want to see something else!

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Nice planner…but…how can you possibly spend $50 – $75 for a planner?

I get it. I do. I was there a few years ago. You’ll have to answer that for yourself based on your priorities and family budget; I would never want to encourage you to step outside of it! But, I do want to tell you why I think that this planner is a worthwhile investment.

• First, it is a mom-made business! Which I love supporting!
• And it’s a US business – printed and assembled in the USA!
• I’ve had great customer service experiences with EC over the years because…yep, with customizable, hand-assembled products there have been some errors. But when I follow up and report an error, I receive rapid attention and solutions. It’s certainly understandable that mistakes happen sometimes, and when we invest in a planner tool, we want it to be perfect. I like knowing that the customer service at Erin Condren is ready to ensure my order is perfect!
• It’s a fantastic planner with lots of room for the practical as well as your favorite embellishments. On top of that, I’ve not seen a better spiral or more durable laminate cover. It’s a high quality planner.
• Having a planner does not guarantee order, but it sure is a fantastic tool for living out your day and it can be a help in providing ideas, meetings, appointments, to-do’s, menus, activities, and almost anything else…a place to land.
• Time is a gift to steward. Think of it as a time budget. I believe that! Stewarding any gift means I have to consider my time, how I’m using it, where I’m using it – a planner helps me see that and helps me spread it around!
• And finally…about the price! {and remember I didn’t know the price of the planners at the time I wrote this post…I’m making a guess!}
  • A $55/planner that lasts for 18 months breaks down to:
  • $3.05/month…which is about .10 cents/day. A planner tool…that costs .10/day!! That is pretty AND functional! 🙂
  • I can easily save $3 a month in other areas in order to finance a functional and pretty planner tool
• If this is your first Erin Condren planner, click the image coupon below and you’ll get $10 off your first order! And remember, your planner will come with a coupon code in the pouch so you can use that during the year to grab a few accessories!

This kind of planner might not be a fit, preference or priority for you – and that is totally fine! I’m not trying to convince you! I do want to show you that it is affordable when considered as a tool that is used daily and monthly.

HAPPY PLANNING and happy Life Planner launch day on June 1, Erin Condren!