I love planners. Planners of all shapes and sizes, colors and functions make me a happy planner girl. But planners can be expensive, really expensive. And I’m sure the hard work of design and printing are worth it, some of us just cannot justify a $40 or $50 planner that will be most likely spilled on, dropped, scribbled on, and most definitely thrown in our purse or diaper bag. But, as any happy planner girl can tell you, you may change planners sometime in the year…or multiple times. Or, you may just need a couple of planners for a couple of different things: work, family schedules, cleaning or homemaking schedules, etc. I’m going to start reviewing the various planners I have used for varying lengths of time over the past couple of years. Today is the Recollections Hourly Planner from Michaels.
I started using the Recollections Hourly Planner after drooling over the Emily Ley Simplified Daily Planner, as every happy planner girl does! It’s so pretty and functional…and expensive. I cannot justify paying $58 for a planner. But I wanted it (said in a semi-whiny voice because really, how first world problem can I get?) I also wanted an Erin Condren but again, I can’t justify the money. It’s because of my Erin Condren love that I found the Recollections Line of Planners at Michaels.
While drooling over the Erin Condren, especially the interchangeable covers, I found the Recollections line at Michaels were strikingly similar and surprisingly a whole lot less. Sorry Erin Condren, what’s the saying, “Money talks…” although the rest of the saying I know it by isn’t relevant here, I do want to share the less expensive options to help out a happy planner girl with champagne taste on a bottled water budget. If for nothing more than you can fall in love with the cheaper versions while saving your pennies to purchase the more expensive version now that you know you love it. Make sense? It does to me.
So let me tell you about the Recollection Hourly Planner. The thick laminated covers easily come off, but not too easily, so you can change them out, but not worry about losing the covers in your bag. I found some lovely covers on Etsy of all places! Like this Buffalo Check Plaid Reindeer–Believe cover, perfect for Christmas. Or this fun Watermelon cover for summer. And I love this Post It Notes cover. Enough cover talk, I’m sure you get the point that these planners are super customizable–a must for a happy planner girl.
One more thing while we’re browsing Etsy for planner goodies, here’s some loose leaf inserts for the Recollections planner. Don’t worry about stuffing this planner too full by the way, the sturdy gold spiral rings can handle it. I’ll note also, the paper is good quality.
When you open the planner, it has a full two-page spread of the current year the planner starts and the next year. Pretty colors! Flip the page and you have A Year at a Glance, Important Dates, and Important Contacts. Flip that page and there’s an entire page for Yearly Goals. The monthly tabs are subtly pretty and sturdy. The monthly spread is two pages with the previous and next month shown in the upper corner with a place for notes.
Next is a weekly two-page spread in the hourly. The day begins at 7 am and ends at 10 pm, set in hourly, with a blank space for the half hour. There’s a notes section down the right-hand side and a blank page for notes, doodles, and scribbles at the end of the month. At the end of the calendar section, there is a notes section with lined, blank, and graph pages followed by a couple of sheets of coordinating stickers. Finally, a pocket and pouch finish the Recollections Hourly Planner. I flipped through the weekly and they are similar in format.
This hourly planner is a perfect, no frills planner. If you’re looking for budgeting, serious goal planning, mind mapping or project planning extras included, this planner may not be for you. If you don’t mind buying them after the fact and adding them yourself, Planner Popins on Etsy has lots of extra inserts.
Keep checking back as I begin my reviews of various planners, one happy planner girl to another, in an effort to help you choose the right planner or system for your family and life. *My review of the Illustrated Faith and Dayspring Planners.
Also, and this is important! If you sign up with Ebates, you’ll earn 2% cashback on your Michaels purchases. If you’re new to Ebates, you get $10 just for signing up! Click here for my referral link. You can also use Ebates on Etsy–1% cashback, and Dayspring–an incredible 6.5% cashback!
Here are some other posts I’ve written about planners:
Happy Planner Ideas: Planning the Night Before
Huge Mistake = Happy Catholic Planner Girl
Beautiful Printable Pages: Blank Calendar, Planner, Bible Journaling, Gratitude List and Many More!
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