(by the way there are some affiliate links in this blog post)
I'm A Happy Planner
Me And My Big Ideas (MAMBI) CREATE 365™ The Happy Planner™ is now in charge of organising my life and a big task it has ahead of it! For the last few years I had been using a series of notebooks which I would alter with a calender and a weekly diary section but it just was not keeping up with the job or I wasn't keeping up with it more like. So I have been looking around to replace this system and I've been looking at all the planners that are on the market or even thinking about making my own again, but who has the time to do that! I mean that is why the notebooks were no longer working for me.
Anyway, I've been looking at planners for a while now, trying to decide which would suit me the best. But then earlier this year the MAMBI Happy Planner popped up and as soon as I saw it I KNEW that this planner was just what I needed to organise my life and when it popped up in a daily sale at Blitsy I snapped one up.
It has totally revolutionised my life! I'm not kidding, I'm now all organised and know what needs to be done and when, it even makes my afternoon cup of tea. Ok, that last bit was a lie, it doesn't make tea but what it does do it does brilliantly. I use my planner to keep track of commissions, key dates, things I need to do, it is also my blog calender and social media organiser and I'm even using it for some memory keeping too. Perfect!
Why The Happy Planner?
For me this is easy to answer -
- Customisable
- Size
- Price
What I love about this planner, and why I picked it over the many others on the market, is that it is customisable. It works on a disc-bound system which is surprisingly robust and you can add in or remove pages as you need. There are different versions of the year planner and I got the Life is Beauty Full version with a couple of the planner accessories, like the gold expander rings, some note and graph paper, I'm a sucker for note and graph paper, new covers, pocket pages, notepads, inspiration cards.
Ok, I confess, a few accessories might have jumped into my shopping basket!
Planning Is About Details
It is also a great size approximately 22 cm x 24.5 cm (8.5 x 9.5 inch) or a bit bigger if you use the expander rings, so a good size to have as a desk planner. It is perhaps a bit on the big size to take out and about in a handbag, depending on how big your handbag is of course, but I really needed something for my office so the size is perfect for me. The Year planners come with 18 months worth of planning and start in July 2015. I got mine at the end of July so I've used the first month for a some memory keeping.
Each month starts with a tabbed divider and a double page spread so that you can see the month ahead and then the following pages are a week by week view. The last page of the month has a notes page where you can put important dates, or your goals for the next month. My fellow Blitsy Creative Team member Laurel Beard did a great video walk through for her Happy planner so go check that out.
Make It Yours
Did I mention it is customisable? Erm, yes you did Kim, like only a nanosecond ago. Well when I got mine I swapped out the front cover and added in some of the pocket pages. I've also set up an overflow / notes planner using the expander rings, this is where I hold the months I'm not using at the moment as well as the extra planner bits and bobs that I got to keep them all in one handy place.
But customising doesn't stop there, I have the heart of a papercrafter after all so I've been doing a bit of planner hacking. I made my own pocket page using some journalling cards and the MAMBI Planner note paper. You can see the full tutorial to make your own over at the Blitsy blog,
You really can use your planner how ever you want and there is a lot of inspiration out there. Plus there are some themed Happy Planners too such as one for organising your recipes or one for helping you to keep track of your exercise (I totally NEED that one!).
Where To Buy Your MAMBI Happy Planner
I got mine for a steal in one of the 4 day Blitsy daily deals and if it pops up again I shall shout, so make sure you are following me on Twitter or facebook. Or just go sign up at Blitsy to get the sales information first hand!
EDIT:
HOLD THE FRONT PAGE! I've just heard from a very reliable source that the Happy Planners will be back on sale at Blitsy on Friday 18th September! That is this Friday! You can wait until Friday can't you?
If you are in the UK and want some tips on buying from Blitsy then check out my new As Featured On Blitsy post which has the link to more Happy Planner inspiration too.
Thanks for all the questions about it, if you have more questions please do get in touch. For all of you already planner-obsessed folks, which planner are you using and what to you like about it?
Kim
Come And Connect With Me:
YouTube
My Shop
Join My Newsletter!
I have a very very cheap planne to see if I like it. I can see how it could be useful and also very addictive! I love the idea of this set out as a proper diary type. Currently I have to write the days in every week and it doesn't give a very good over view. I shall see how I get on, but this looks really good! Thanks for sharing! Xxq
ReplyDeleteThat is exactly what I was doing Ruth! But what turned me was not having that monthly overview and having to set time aside to divide my notebook up and put the dates in. After a while a got a bit behind and stopped doing it and that is when I knew I needed something else LOL! Now I'm a crazy planner lady LOL! :) Kx
DeleteHi Kim,
ReplyDeleteI have just seen the thing on Blitsy. As always what they call a good deal is nothing worth to mention. These planners are only $5 less than the original price, that is about 3.21 GBP.
Blitsy never has half as good offers as they claim. But who bothers to check out the price from the original source? Well, people should do that and would be surprised what they might find: better prices!
Linda
Thanks for your comment Linda, you are quite right people should shop around. I am one of those that does, I'm a very careful shopper and I've spotted some really good deals on Blitsy that, even with the postage and packaging, work out cheaper than I can get anywhere else. But as you say you do need to do a comparison check.
DeleteSo for instance the Happy Planner is currently available in the UK for £24.99 +£2.95 p&p so £27.94 total. In Blitsy it is on at the moment for $19.99 + $9.95 p&p so $29.94 which according to xe.com is £19.28 total (at the time that I write this). So a saving of £8.66 if bought at Blitsy. Plus you have a wider choice of planners at Blitsy as many of them have sold out in the UK already. But then you will have to wait just a bit longer to get your planner as it takes a little longer to be dispatched and to get to the UK from the US.
Hope that helps.
Kim
Of course if you are already in America Linda, then perhaps this is not as good a deal as you might get else where, sorry if that is the case! But for us in the UK it is a great deal!
Deleteby the way Linda, if you are in the US you do know about that Blitsy accepts the 40% box store coupons? Checkout https://blitsy.com/box-store-coupons.
DeleteHi Kim, this post has helped me no end. I was too was searching for a decent planner to help with organising my deadlines and future projects because what I'm using currently isn't really working for me.
ReplyDeleteI am a careful shopper and always look for reviews so was so pleased you spoke so highly of the MaMbi planner, I've looked longingly at them since their launch.
Amazingly (for me as I always miss out) I was able to buy the version (good things are going to happen) I was after on Blitsy at a fab price,as part of their 4 day deal! as it is I longer on sale in the UK. I can't thank you enough for writing the review and posting it when you did, the timings were perfect.
Hey Claire, you have made my day! I'm so happy this post came at the right time and could help you out. I've been meaning to write about this planner for a while but kept pushing the post due to other projects, always the way! So it is even better that it just came at the right time for you. I'm kind of excited about the Happy Planner as you might be able to tell :) and I'm so pleased you were able to get the one you wanted from Blitsy at the great price! Total Score!
DeleteDo come back to let me know what you think and how you get on with it and let me know what you think about Blitsy too!
Kx
Hi Kim I can't work out how to purchase from Blitsy from the UK. Can you help
ReplyDeleteHi Kim I can't work out how to purchase from Blitsy from the UK. Can you help
ReplyDeleteHi Sharon,
DeleteDo you have an account with Blitsy? If you don't you can join up for free. I'm happy to help, let me know what the problem is either here or via email (kim(dot)dellow(at)gmail(dot)com) and I will do my best to walk you through it.
Kim
Hi Kim
ReplyDeleteI joined earlier and picked the things I wanted in my basket, then when I checked out I put in my address etc but it still wants the state even though I've put united Kingdom theres a little red box that comes up saying they don't deliver to this address ??? Help
Hiya, so when you fill your address out in the form you do still need to fill out the 'State' box. But once you change the country box to United Kingdom the 'State/Province' box should give you a list of UK areas and you pick one of those. If it didn't then you might need to use the Help desk.
DeleteCheck that the country changed to United Kingdom properly and then check if the 'States' have changed to UK areas first, (you can find your address in the My Account Tab under 'Address book'.
Ps. Have you ordered from the US before and do you know about the UK Import tax limitations?
I warn people 'coz not everyone knows that you have to pay tax on product over the value of £15.
Shout if you need more help and let me know how you get on too :)
Kx