April Planner Set-Up

I have enjoyed sharing my monthly planning set up and tools with you. I hope you find it inspiring or enlightening too.

I have been starting each month with a “color of the month”. March was purples which I enjoyed so much. I got to experiment with new brush pens and some gel pens that I hadn’t used before.

For April, I want all the tender greens. My soul colors. The color of new shoots and spring leaves. It’s time to get fresh with green for me.

By limiting my choices at the start of each month, I take a lot of the decision making out of my day-to-day planning and allows me to make sure I have pens that are all in functional order and coordinates with an overall theme each month.

I spend an hour or so at the beginning of each month putting a monthly calendar into my planner (I glue in pages from a planner I did not end up using but already had monthly calendar pages). Then I add any upcoming events. Finally, I turn the page and stick the first date sticker down with some decorative washi tape so I’m ready to go.

The brush and gel pens that I swapped into my zipper pouch for the month of April are:

• Tombow 158 Dark Olive ($3)
• Muji 0.25 gel (Pentel Slicci in a different barrel) ($3.25)
• Pentel Brush Sign Pen in Olive Green and Lime Green ($2.50 each)
• Marvy Le Pen in Olive Green ($1.80)
• Faber-Castell PITT Brush in Warm Grey IV (part of a larger set for $28)
• Sakura Pigma Micron 05 in Grey ($2.50)
• Zebra Mildliners in Grey and Green (from the Natural Set of 5 for $8)

I use a brush pen to write the day at the top of each page in my page-a-day planner set-up. If nothing else happens in my day, I have the date, day and a sticker or bit of washi tape. I add any to-dos or plans for the day (“lunch with Tina”). I then add if something happens that I want to record (“watched a squirrel run across the yard with a plastic Easter egg”), if I watch, read or listen to anything interesting (“listening to 60 Songs That Explain the 90s”) and maybe any other life nonsense (“made Thai Basil Curry using the hydroponic basil growing in the kitchen. Smells amazing”).

For decorative stickers and calendar stickers, I am using:

• The Botanist Sticker Anthology ($14.49)
• The Forest, Fairies and Fungi Sticker Anthology ($17.46)
• Monthly Date Stickers ($6.99)

I also dug through my ridiculous stash of washi tape and selected a handful of rolls in all shades of green. I would list links to the tapes but many I’ve had for years and I don’t know where they came from. If you’re looking for yummy green tapes, start here.

I never thought I’d be the kind of person who decorates their planner but I have loved adding little elements of prettiness or silliness. I bought all these stickers, washi and ephemera so why not use it?!?!

I am also planning to fill my daily writer pen with Wearinguel Peter Pan ($22) to keep with my theme.

I tuck all my bits and bobs into my lap desk. I can sit on the couch and lift the lid and grab tapes, stickers and other goodies and embellish my planner in the evenings while watching tv. I don’t mean to tempt you with this ridiculous lap desk but I do love it. It was created while I was working at Victorian Trading Company  and has a padded base to make it comfortable on my lap. It’s slightly angled like a writing desk and features vintage florals with a very “dark academia” vibe. The closest lap desk I could find to this one is available on Amazon and called the Schoolhouse lap desk ($49.99) if you want to embrace your inner cottage core lifestyle. Ebay is also great for actual vintage lap desks.

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