The Planner Is Always Greener on the Other Side of the Fence
Next weekend is my trip to New York City. This trip is specifically for shopping at retailers who sell Filofax products. I don’t live that far from NYC and I’ve been plenty of times. Yet, I’ve been so looking forward to this trip for so long. It’s a bit ridiculous how excited I am to be going. Sure, a day trip with an old friend for some shopping and a great lunch is always nice. But the Filofax opportunities! This is where the ridiculous excitement comes from. There aren’t any retailers on Long Island who sell their products (at least none that I know of and definitely not any within a 20-mile radius from my house). So this day trip is a great opportunity to stock up on some items.
So with this upcoming trip, I have been wondering what lovely products I might come home with. I have a small list going, though to be honest, I can’t really say what I might get until I see what’s available. I’ve been scouring the Filofax website (UK and US), as well as eBay and other Filofax-related websites to see if there is anything out there that I might want.
My biggest interest at the moment is another Slimline binder. I am currently using the Guildford and have the Classic in chocolate. I like the classic; I love the Guildford. The classic is a harder leather than the Guildford and so it needs to be trained to stay open (like so many binders). The Guildford’s leather is so soft that it doesn’t need to be trained at all, even when fresh from the box. I wish, wish, wish they made more colors available in the Guildford style. That’s probably my biggest Filofax wish at the moment (please hear me Filofax Gods).
I am a person who craves variety. I like to switch my binders with the season, if not more often. I do switch my at-home-use binder seasonally, mainly because I have additional binders that allow me to do so. The Slimline I don’t switch (or haven’t as of yet) because I love the Guildford too much to use to Classic. But there is another reason: for the spring/summer I want something lighter than black or brown. I know that at one point Filofax made a camel color Classic. I remember seeing it on their website and elsewhere but of course, as just mentioned over at Philofaxy, it is no longer available. It is still listed at Pensandleather.com but is noted as being sold out. I emailed them to see if they were getting anymore, but no; since Filofax stopped making them, they will not be getting any more. I checked eBay – nothing. I checked TheDailyPlanner – nada. Amazon – nope. I finally did a general Google search on it. That brought up a listing from the Better Homes and Gardens Shop – with diary refills for 2007. So I emailed them as well to see if it was still available, figuring it wasn’t based on how old the refills were. Their response was, “Wow. That was a bad mistake... We no longer have that item. Sorry.” I figured this, but it never hurts to ask, especially since I am interested in the binder itself and not the refills. Even while a “bad mistake,” I notice that the Camel Classic Slimline is still a choice on their site and listed as “In Stock.” Why is it that websites still list products that they no longer have? Such a tease!
I’m now sort of considering either the Classic in Cherry or the Chilli Cuban. I’ll have to see what is available when in NYC.
Then today, I was making a call about my summer vacation and possibly one for October. Being as I only carry a few months worth of diary pages in my Slimline, I had to refer to my at-home-use Jade Finchley. Since I was at home while making this call, it was easy enough to refer to it. But it got me wondering if I should use my personal size binder all the time – after all, it can hold everything I’d ever need and I wouldn’t have to open two different binders for long-term planning. The whole point of using the Slimline though is to not carry unnecessary items with me at all times and a majority of what’s in my personal binder doesn’t need to be carried all the time. But maybe I could have everything in the personal binder and use the Slimline only when the need arises for a smaller version. But wouldn’t that be every time I leave the house?
Oh, the options! Like many of you, I torture myself with indecision.
On the one hand, there are many more color and style options with the personal size binder. But on the other hand, the Slimline is so easy to carry and the Guildford is so beautiful and functional. But on the other hand, what if I need to refer to something that is in my personal binder? But on the other hand, I don’t want to carry unnecessary items with me all the time.
You get the idea, I’m sure.
It’s almost ironic that the one binder I thought I’d never be able to get used to (the Guildford Slimline) is the one I have used the longest consecutively. I love it for many reasons. Yet, I can’t help thinking that going back to the personal size might be better. And at one point I did. I instantly missed how thin and wonderful the Guildford is. This should be a clue as to what I should use and how. But the option of going back to the personal size is now in my mind and I just can’t decide.
Someone please help me before I combust!
So with this upcoming trip, I have been wondering what lovely products I might come home with. I have a small list going, though to be honest, I can’t really say what I might get until I see what’s available. I’ve been scouring the Filofax website (UK and US), as well as eBay and other Filofax-related websites to see if there is anything out there that I might want.
My biggest interest at the moment is another Slimline binder. I am currently using the Guildford and have the Classic in chocolate. I like the classic; I love the Guildford. The classic is a harder leather than the Guildford and so it needs to be trained to stay open (like so many binders). The Guildford’s leather is so soft that it doesn’t need to be trained at all, even when fresh from the box. I wish, wish, wish they made more colors available in the Guildford style. That’s probably my biggest Filofax wish at the moment (please hear me Filofax Gods).
I am a person who craves variety. I like to switch my binders with the season, if not more often. I do switch my at-home-use binder seasonally, mainly because I have additional binders that allow me to do so. The Slimline I don’t switch (or haven’t as of yet) because I love the Guildford too much to use to Classic. But there is another reason: for the spring/summer I want something lighter than black or brown. I know that at one point Filofax made a camel color Classic. I remember seeing it on their website and elsewhere but of course, as just mentioned over at Philofaxy, it is no longer available. It is still listed at Pensandleather.com but is noted as being sold out. I emailed them to see if they were getting anymore, but no; since Filofax stopped making them, they will not be getting any more. I checked eBay – nothing. I checked TheDailyPlanner – nada. Amazon – nope. I finally did a general Google search on it. That brought up a listing from the Better Homes and Gardens Shop – with diary refills for 2007. So I emailed them as well to see if it was still available, figuring it wasn’t based on how old the refills were. Their response was, “Wow. That was a bad mistake... We no longer have that item. Sorry.” I figured this, but it never hurts to ask, especially since I am interested in the binder itself and not the refills. Even while a “bad mistake,” I notice that the Camel Classic Slimline is still a choice on their site and listed as “In Stock.” Why is it that websites still list products that they no longer have? Such a tease!
I’m now sort of considering either the Classic in Cherry or the Chilli Cuban. I’ll have to see what is available when in NYC.
Then today, I was making a call about my summer vacation and possibly one for October. Being as I only carry a few months worth of diary pages in my Slimline, I had to refer to my at-home-use Jade Finchley. Since I was at home while making this call, it was easy enough to refer to it. But it got me wondering if I should use my personal size binder all the time – after all, it can hold everything I’d ever need and I wouldn’t have to open two different binders for long-term planning. The whole point of using the Slimline though is to not carry unnecessary items with me at all times and a majority of what’s in my personal binder doesn’t need to be carried all the time. But maybe I could have everything in the personal binder and use the Slimline only when the need arises for a smaller version. But wouldn’t that be every time I leave the house?
Oh, the options! Like many of you, I torture myself with indecision.
On the one hand, there are many more color and style options with the personal size binder. But on the other hand, the Slimline is so easy to carry and the Guildford is so beautiful and functional. But on the other hand, what if I need to refer to something that is in my personal binder? But on the other hand, I don’t want to carry unnecessary items with me all the time.
You get the idea, I’m sure.
It’s almost ironic that the one binder I thought I’d never be able to get used to (the Guildford Slimline) is the one I have used the longest consecutively. I love it for many reasons. Yet, I can’t help thinking that going back to the personal size might be better. And at one point I did. I instantly missed how thin and wonderful the Guildford is. This should be a clue as to what I should use and how. But the option of going back to the personal size is now in my mind and I just can’t decide.
Someone please help me before I combust!
You are so funny. Because most of us drive ourselves absolutely crazy about which binder. At one point, I was going to give it ALL up and use my Blackberry exclusively, because I was so fustrated. To give you an idea, you're not alone, I have a FC classic planner, a A5 Kendal, and a personal Guildford lying on my desk right know as I type this. The FC is so structured but sort of a "cult" thing I'm trying to get away from. The A5 Kendal is easier to write in than the personal Guildford, but I like the portability of the personal size and like you, I love the Guildford leather. Referencing back to other binders to get information is what I don't want to have to do so I feel your pain on that subject. So if I tell you what you should use, can you tell me the same? Maybe we can make both of us not "combust!"
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear I'm not alone! Reading all the comments on Philofaxy, I know there are a lot of people out there like me, and that doesn't make me feel so bad about driving myself crazy - it's great to know there are people who totally get it and understand! I don't really like having to use two binders, but considering I can't make up my mind, it provides less stress (usually) over what to use and what to carry with me. It's very rare that I plan things so far in advance - usually this isn't a problem. But given that I have the opportunity to buy new items and change things up a bit, it's got me thinking, and that's a very dangerous thing! =)
ReplyDeleteAs for what you should use - you're very brave to consider a Blackberry exclusively - I'd be too afraid I'd lose something and wouldn't be able to get it back. Also, while I like the FC inserts, I've never been able to use them because of their cult-like planning methods - it's like they tell you how to organize your time. If that works for someone, great, but I think for a lot of people, they need their own system and using such a structured one that someone else has created just won't do. I've never used an A5 so I don't have anything to compare that to. I love the personal size, so I'd have to say, go with that one! But of course, you need to be comfortable with it and it has to be useful for you.
Good luck!