Favorite Planner Supplies From 2020
For the past several posts, the focus has been on the end of the year as it relates to goal-setting. That is because the new year is when many of us begin to plan out changes for the coming year.
But, the end of the year also means shopping. And, for those of us who love planner supplies, or need to shop for someone who does, there’s no better type of gift to fill up your wish list with.
I love planner supplies, and my Amazon wish list often has a ton of them. Not only are planner supplies fun and practical, but they can also be an inexpensive gift item!
Now, I am continuing to encourage everyone to check out my posts on supporting planner and planner supply companies run by women of color. For resources on some amazing shops, check out my original post from this summer and the one I released in time for Black Friday sales days.
However, I will always to try give suggestions based on products I have or am actually using, so I thought it might be fun to write a list of the best supplies I’ve found for this year. I’ve even included how I use these items.
I know that putting the word “favorite” with 2020 seems ironic, but one of things that has kept me sane during this insane year is planning. Read on for suggestions ranging from planners to planner accessories that wound up being my favorite to use this year.
Table of Contents
Planners
If you’ve spent any time reading my blog, you will know that I use a number of different planners (which will be the topic of another post this month). And, I love them all. Here are some of the ones that I used this year and how I used them:
Emily Ley’s Simplified Daily. I have been using this planner for the past 2 years and am excited about starting another next year. As I noted in this prior post, I use this planner to time-block my day, set priorities, and work on an organized to do list.
Happy Planner Classic Vertical Weekly. This fall, I moved into an 18-month Boho Stargazer vertical, which makes this my second year in this type of planner. I love that I can use the three boxes per day to write out individual lists for different aspects of my life. This year, I’ve used it as an after-work planner, homeschool/personal organizer, and currently as a home and self-care planner. It’s also fun to be able to use a planner I can easily decorate! Here’s one in a cute design!
Lily Pulitzer To Do Planner. I wrote about this handy planner last year. It is basically an undated, 2-page spread daily, but I use it as a weekend planner. I love that the to do list is a full, lined page, and there is room for a shopping list, appointments, top priorities, and calls/emails. Because it is undated, I’ve used mine for about 3 years and am on the verge of replacing it. They are no longer making undated To Do Planners in this style, so get them while you can!
Powersheets Goal-Setting Planner. I’ve written about this planner a lot this year, as I did most recently here, but it’s because I have yet to find a planner that has the sort of prep sheets and habit trackers this one provides while allowing me to use my other planners for planning. This is an intentional goal-setting planner, and it has helped me to achieve goals, both big and small!
Recollections Creative Year Personal Planner & Accessories. As I noted in a post last year about how to create an easy and affordable faith planner, I use this personal binder and the coordinating inserts from Michael’s craft stores for faith planning. I write my evening gratitude list, save sermon notes, and do some spiritual goal-setting and tracking. I use the calendar to keep up with my church activities and obligations. It’s small and exactly what I need. I can’t wait to use the one I bought for next year.
Spaces Planner. Although, as I noted in this recent post, I use this unique planner mostly for journaling about my goals and intentions, I do use it in ways that are similar to a bullet journal. The monthly spread is for additional gratitude lists, and the daily spaces in the weekly layout are for mood tracking.
JM Planning Essentials Daily Planners. These beautiful little planners, with their crisp white Mohawk paper are another planner that I’ve repurposed. I have been using the versatile layout to create personalized recipe books for each of my children, which I mentioned in this post I wrote about creative journaling. I will also give a plug to the traveler’s notebooks, which I use in the holiday planner that I featured in this post from last year. They are thick and beautiful, and I’m using them for everything from list-making and creative journaling to holiday spend-tracking! All the products in this shop are extremely reasonably priced!
Paper Penguin Co. Notebooks. I have also gotten some traveler’s notebooks from this company to use in a traveler’s notebook cover I have. I mostly use them for notetaking at meetings and whatnot. The designs are simple and the prices reasonable, especially for the notebooks they sell made of Tomoe River Paper.
Pens, Highlighters, and Markers
I don’t think there’s anything as fun as using pens, highlighters and markers. The pens I use for the obvious- writing down my schedules and tasks, brainstorming lists, and keeping up with my goals. I use highlighters mostly for color-coding my planners. The markers I use for decorating my planners. Here are my favorites:
Frixion pens. I love every kind they make, and I literally have each of the ones listed below. I definitely use them to color-code as well. The best part is they erase like a dream! So, no more ugly white-out or pencil smudges!
Retractable 0.7- this is my favorite set!
Retractable 0.5- I like this set for small planners like my faith planner.
Retractable 3-color- I use this for my Powersheets planner.
Color Sticks- These are handy when I’m using a planner or folio with small pen loops. You can also travel with them easily as a bunch will fit into a small pencil case.
Frixion refills. Theses get a shout-out of their own. Frixion retractable pens become far more cost-effective when you keep them and just replace the ink with refills. Here are some in for the ones I mentioned above, but they come in every color pen they sell:
0.7 Refill-
0.5 Refill-
3-Color Refill
Frixion Highlighters. I use the bright colors for my main planning and the pastels for my Powersheets.
Bright-
Pastel-
Frixion Markers. These are great for decorating, especially if you worry about coloring outside the lines. The regular markers are fun for coloring in pages or underlining. The Fineliners are perfect for when you need a more detailed pen stroke.
Regular-
Fineliners-
Monami Live Color Markers. If you are a fan of Erin Condren dual-tip markers but are not a fan of the price, this is the most amazing find of the year! These markers are basically EC dual-tip markers except for the brand logo. And, you can get a ton of them for a fraction of the cost of your basic EC marker set.
Uniball Signo White Gel Pens. For the rare occasion I have dark stickers or pages to write on, these white gel pens glide on smoothly and write really nicely. I also use them in my art projects to create highlights on fancy hand-lettered words or to make stars on a night sky I’ve painted.
Hong Dian Fountain Pens. For really smooth paper, like the Mohawk paper in the JM Planning Essential line, it’s nice to be able to use a pen that keeps you writing with minimal hand strain. I have enjoyed using this really affordable fountain pen.
As well as cartridges for it, in case you don’t want to mess with filling its chamber with ink.
Pentel Sign Brush Pens. For a beginner at hand-lettering, this is the easiest brush pen set I’ve found. The nibs are firm, so you have far more control. And, they come in lots of colors for a very reasonable price.
Tombow Brush Pens. As I continue playing with hand-lettering, I can see why these are the gold standard. The colors blend beautifully, and the wide, flexible nib creates dramatically thin and thick strokes.
Faber Castell Pitt Artist Pens. This pen set is great for any sort of doodling you might want to do. There are 4 different nibs, and once the ink dries, it’s water-proof, which means you can use wet media over it.
Micron Pens. Like the Faber Castells, these pens are waterproof once dry and come in various sizes. The nice thing is I can usually get a set of them in different colors, so I have more than just black ink to work with.
Ohuhu Markers. Here is another bargain buy. While Copic markers are amazing alcohol ink markers (which means they are super blendable), they are pretty pricey. For a fraction of the cost, you can get these highly-rated markers by Ohuhu. I use them to create homemade stickers and faux “die cuts” for my journals and planners, in addition to using them in my sketchbooks.
Stickers and Washi Tape
While my sticker and washi collections are pretty monstrous, I will point out a few products that I find necessary for planning.
DG Journal Co. Stickers and Washi. I have enjoyed every product I have purchased from this store, which I first featured in my June Resource Roundup post. I have bought amazing stickers, a sticker book of planner stickers, beautiful washi tape, and even decorative paper clips. I highly recommend checking them out!
Color-Coding Dots. I’ve been using these dots for almost a year and they have revolutionized my daily planner. People ask about them all the time- what brand are they and where do I get them. Here they are!
Decorative Washi. Washi tape is such a great product. Not only can you use it for arts and crafts projects, but it creates instant decorations in any planner. Use it as a border, or to tie in a theme from page to page. I’ve even used it to block off vacation weeks on my monthly calendar spreads. Here’s a fun collection on my Christmas wishlist this year:
Skinny Washi. Sometimes you need to section off parts of your planner pages to separate work from personal or schedule from to-do lists. Skinny washi provides a decorative and functional way to do that in your planners, without eating up valuable writing space. Here’s a great set that I own and use:
Sticker Kits. Now that I’m using a vertical planner for my personal stuff (rather than my weekly, which has confidential information about my cases), I can decorate my planner for fun and share it via my Instagram account (@planonthesunrise). Here are some of the kits I’ve been using:
Kell of a Plan’s Sticker Books. Whether it’s her hand-lettered word stickers or her sticker kits, which come with coordinating vertical planning stickers, these sets make decorating a planner really easy.
Paper House Productions. I was looking for an easy to find set with lots of options, and this one did not disappoint. Not only does it have some seasonal and holiday options, but also themed ones like Harry Potter, Wonder Woman, and a Stargazer set that matches my Happy Planner!
Happy Planner Stickers. I have at least 10 of these sticker books, but this company has made dozens of them. I highly recommend them for any kind of decorations you want to add to your planner, regardless of whether you have a Happy Planner or not. This one is great for seasonal layouts:
Other Tools and Supplies
Here are some of the various tools and accessories I use that help me with my planning:
Magnetic Page Markers. As you can see from both my Simplified and Powersheets purchases this year, I am a fan of magnetic page markers. I used them in my planners as well as in notebooks and as book marks.
Metal Book Corners. If you don’t appreciate hardcover planners with pointy corners or have ones that might fray from being tossed in to bags and toted around, you can add these corners to your planners. I have them on my To Do Planners (to protect them from wear and tear).
Fiskars Paper Trimmer. When I’m doing a decorative spread in my Happy Planner, it might require me to cut some other paper to create borders on my page or to slice through stickers that make up a decorative spine. This paper trimmer is economical and does a great job. It’s also very portable.
Fiskars Micro-tip Scissors. These little scissors have a dangerously sharp point, but they make quick work of trimming little pieces of stickers that might be hanging off my pages. I find they’re perfect for any small, detailed cutting jobs.
Disc Paper Punch. If you have a disc-bound planner (like a Happy Planner), it makes sense to have a disc punch. Although they are not cheap, it will save time in money in the end as you can add printables or create your own inserts. I recommend getting the larger one so you can use other disc-bound notebooks and planners.
Clear Rulers and Protractors. I will often use a ruler to create additional sections in my planner spreads. Having a clear ruler makes sure that I am placing those lines in the correct spots and not on top of writing that’s already on the page. I keep a protractor to create circles in bullet journal pages or just to draw some straight lines. Since it’s smaller, it’s more portable. Grab one of the many you’ve probably bought for your kids (it’s on the supply list each year for us), or try this set, which has various sizes of both.
Organization
Now that you have all of these planners and tools, you may need a way to store these supplies. Here are some of my favorite planner organization items-
A4 Folio Pouch. I am able to carry around a planner, pens, highlighters, stickers, and a couple of folders (for work and personal documents) in this folio. It has a large pocket on the front, a zippered pocket on the back, and the interior has both zippered and unzipped spaces to store anything you might need for planning on the go. (They also come in a variety of colors and styles).
Travel/Stationery Pouches. There are as many of these as you can imagine, but this is the closest to the one I have been using for years to organize my PowerSheets planner supplies. I use mine to hold sticky notes, washi tape, pens, and highlighters. It zips up so I can take it with me.
Desk Organizer Caddy. You can keep this on a desk, but I actually have mine on the floor next to a chair in my bedroom I use for planning, reading, and writing. It has a large space where I keep journals and some sticker books, and the roomy pocket are perfect for pens, colored pencils, and markers.
Tool Tote. These totes were originally meant for tools you’d use for handyman work around the house, but they are great for holding planners and planning supplies. The interior is big enough to hold several books, and the many pockets can hold washi tape, pens, and other supplies. I also use the sides of the tote to clip on extra decorative binder clips.
3-Tier Craft Cart. I feel like everyone in the planner world has one of these, but it’s because they are economical, move around on castors, and fit in small spaces. I keep a ton of planner supplies on them, and my tool tote sits on top.
Zippered Pouches and Pencil Cases. As you can see from the photo above, I have the large Simplified pouch, which holds a ton of notebooks, planners, and supplies. I also have lots of pencil cases, which I use to store my many pens, markers, brush pens, and fineliners. You can also use big makeup bags for storing planning supplies like this one-
As I’ve said in prior posts, having fun accessories and making pretty pages in my planners keeps me using them. And, when I use them, I stay organized.
I hope this list was helpful to folks who are looking for new ways to enjoy their planners. Are there any must-have or favorite planner supplies you use? Leave a comment below!
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** Images of planner supplies in the graphics as well as the image of the woman writing in a planner were found on Unsplash.
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