Cat's Corner

So I finally succumbed to the infamous Malden Filofax!  If you’re reading this because you like Filofaxes, this is no revelation I’m sure, but I think it may actually be the perfect binder!!

I wrote in November about my new setup and hole punch in personal size (here), which really opened my eyes to how useful a binder for social/home use can be.  I was also looking to use it as a purse, so the obvious choice was the Malden.  Fortunately just before Christmas it went on sale on Filofax UK and I snapped it up at half price!

My setup was fairly well worked up and had been serving me well to keep a track of my social life, birthdays, to-do lists, etc so I haven’t changed it too much.  I really feel like for the first time that my personal life is organised and having my purse in the same place helps me to keep on track of my budget too.  I even planned out our hectic Christmas – presents, hosting, cooking, ordering food, etc, and it worked a charm!

How am I using it?

Take a peek inside…

I’m still using my Paperchase postcard as a cover and the little owl tabs too – I thought I was being so original and then saw both on other blogs within days of getting mine, doh!  I recently found a matching pen with the owl design so I snapped it up – it even fits in the pen loop!

First I have two sheets of card inserts, then a plastic wallet for my shopping vouchers and stickers before we move into section 1, maps.  Section 2 has my week on one page diary, which I’ve tabbed month by month using sticky flags (from Muji) and inserted my to-do list next to it using pastel paper.  I’m also using diary stickers from hubby’s Moleskine because he didn’t want them and they’re so much easier to lift off the backing than the Filofax ones!

Section 3 holds my other to-do lists (I have a lot of those!) and then section 4 has my blog notes and plans.  Section 5 has my personal finance and work expenses sheets as well as a plastic wallet for my expense receipts.  That just leaves section 6 for my birthdays pages (WHSmith ones) and addresses, which I’ve recently rewritten using a Frixion pen, so that I can rub out and make updates when people move.

2012 planning = sorted!

Why do I love the Malden?

• You can feel the quality, but it feels workable, not precious (in a good way)
• It lies flat from day 1 – whoop!
• It has a zip coin pocket on the front and four card slots
• The rings are a decent size to fit LOADS of pages in!
• Space for a pad in the back (or a moleskine notebook, as I’m planning to try)
• The colour – although I hear there will soon be a PURPLE version (my fave colour!)

In summary, I love, love, love the Malden – can you tell?! 

Grab a bargain Malden on Amazon UK here

As I recently mentioned in my Philofaxy interview a few weeks ago, I had not one, not two, but nine Filofaxes - oops!  It didn’t seem right to have such an odd number, so it wasn’t long before Filofax number ten came along!  It was my birthday recently and I took the day off to go into London with hubby, who of course I dragged along to the Neal Street Filofax store.  I couldn’t persuade him to come in, although that turned out to be a bonus, as he couldn’t vet my purchases haha!

The thing I love most about going to the proper Filofax shop is the clearance section at the back – there’s usually rows of tantilising bargains, and it’s inevitable that I’ll leave with something new!  I managed to side-step the Malden stand, which I must admit, held a lot of appeal – it’s a very tactile cover, I can see why many have fallen for it! 

Lurking at the back of the store was a beautiful red Slimline Amazona, which I snapped up immediately at half price!  What a lovely replacement for my sadly broken red Balmoral Mini!  Now I know I only recently bought a Slimline Finsbury, which is a bit of a shame, but it served its purpose for finding out if the slimline would work for me.  I’m sure it will go back into use at some point!

I also upgraded my new purchase to next year’s diary and bought some cotton cream notepaper, which has a lovely quality to it.  When I mentioned I was treating myself as it was my birthday, the lovely lady who served me also gave me a pack of trial inserts, including the little black book, which I like as a cover page (no secrets within it, I promise!).

I’ve changed the last tab in my setup now, from ’sketches’ to ‘expenses,’ as I’m finding that keeping receipts in my purse means they don’t always make it into my work Filofax (an A5 Balmoral, in case you were wondering!).  Now they’re centralised in a plastic pocket (also bought at Neal St), and I’ve inserted a Finance sheet to keep a track of my mileage – much more organised!!

Now that the sketches section has disappeared, perhaps I could use the Finsbury as my planned Filofax sketchbook!

Anyone else using a Slimline?  How do you get on with it?

Cat x

PS  The pen is from Swarovski – an xmas pressie last year!

As usually happens around the mid-year mark, I’m bored of my everyday diary… time for a new Filofax! 

Last year I was using a vintage personal sized Filofax and the paper size was perfect, but I found the weight a bit much for everyday use (see it in this post) .  Previously I’ve also used a mini size and loved it, but sadly the rings came away from the binder and it couldn’t be fixed – hence my switch to the bargain vintage one, which I thrifted from a charity shop!

Anyway, I saw a post about Slimline Filofaxes over on Philofaxy a while back and was intrigued – the paper size of a Personal Filofax, with the depth more akin to a pocket notebook – and it can double as a wallet!  I’m surprised I’ve resisted for so long, but now seemed to be the right time; I ordered a Slimline Finsbury in black.

A couple of days later, however, the plot thickened… I popped up to the charity shop near my work one lunchtime and lo and behold in the bric-a-brac corner was a brand new Filofax Finsbury Mini in purple, my favourite colour!  Guess how much?  The grand price of £1.50!!

So now, a quandary – which would I use?  Well, the slimline arrived and it wasn’t love at first sight…at all!  It was black and shiny and nowhere near as appealing as the cute little purple mini.  Left confused, I decided to leave it a few days.  I asked my Filofax friends on Twitter and concluded I’d set up the slimline and see how I felt. 

It wasn’t long before I was in love, it’s perfect for my needs.  Not too heavy, a paper size I can cope with, it lies flat and even has a few card slots for the cards I carry, but don’t need access to at all times.  The quandary is not completely settled yet, as I still love the mini, but I’m thinking perhaps that will do for next year’s everyday planner.  I’m not sure how I’ll cope going back to the tiny paper size though!

Do you have a mini?  I’d love to hear some views on what you use it for and how you get on with it – please leave a comment on the post!

Find a Filofax bargain on Amazon UK here.

Read all my Filofax posts here.

I’m always interested in finding new ways to use my Filofaxes and this year even more so, since my ‘everyday’ Filo has been put aside while I use the gorgeous Paperblanks diary I was gifted at Christmas (don’t panic – I’m still using my trusty A5 Balmoral for work!). 

Last year I customised this vintage Filofax as my everyday diary and this included a section of plain paper for impromptu sketching:

I’m still using this organiser at home for the other sections, but what I really miss is always having the sketchbook with me out and about.  I do have other sketchbooks, but the spines always get tatty in my handbag, whereas Filofax protects the inner pages much better – plus I don’t have to keep a pen and pencil loose in my bag as there are two handy pen loops.

Soooo…this is my plan – to convert this organiser into a multi-use sketchbook! 

I, like many other sketching types, tend to use a variety of media – pencil, ink, watercolour, pastels, etc and this often means lots of different requirements of paper type.  But what if you could get every type of paper in one place?  All it would take would be to trim the paper required down to the right size, use a Filofax hole punch and then separate using dividers! 

All I need to do now is get a Personal sized hole punch – I’ll let you know how I get on!!

Read all my Filofax posts here.

I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that I’d visited the Filofax store on Neal Street, London.  It was my first visit and I was hoping to pick up an A5 hole punch for my desk planner – I wasn’t disappointed…

On arriving at the door, hubby elected to stay outside, but quickly followed me in when he realised I may need a little ‘taming’ before I got near the cash register!!  The ladies in the store were very friendly, chatty and helpful and even recognised me from Twitter and Flickr!  They gave me room to check out the stock without hassling me, but were there when I had questions - perfect service! 

Row upon row of all things Filo were on offer, even Filofax handbags – very tempting!  I managed to resist the beautiful displays, but I did get my punch, plus some dividers and an envelope for my personal sized filo.  The punch was a necessity for work, where I clutch my A5 Balmoral like my life depends on it – I’d been getting through so many packs of paper it seemed a good investment.  I’ve started by using up some old A5 letter-writing papers, which make for good scribble sheets!

Plus, I’ve been able to organise the Personal sized vintage filo that I carry around for everyday use.  I’ve used the dividers to separate out maps and general info for when I’m travelling, a monthly diary to plan my hectic social life, birthdays reminders (for all the cards I hand make!), notes and finances, blog notes and sketches.  I’ve also added the new envelope at the back to keep track of expenses receipts – no more lost train tickets ;o)

I’ve recently filled my Shaeffer propelling pencil with 2B leads so I can get more enjoyment out of sketching, and I’ve celebrated by drawing out a front cover that matches my calling cards from Moo:

If this post has given you the urge to get some new accessories, check out a range of Filofax organisers and accessories online here.

Read other posts about my Filofaxes here